Reading Group : Part 2

Hello mates,

The reading group was a sort of project that has not been applied on our forum yet. I've always been so fond of the idea of discussing the same novel or short story with several members. The aim is not only to enrich our reading skills (which is something very vital if you ask me) but to also learn how to analyze and discuss a literary text. The idea is : I will suggest four books, and you get to choose one of them to be read in a period of one month. The vote will continue for one week after which, we'll have a "winner" ( the book that is mostly voted is going to be the one to read).

It is better to do the discussion by posting and not in the chat box (at least that's what I think - if you think otherwise, you're welcome to me give your ideas) So, the process of discussing is chapter by chapter. There's a limited duration for every chapter ( for example : two days to read the first chapter - and it depends on how long the novel you choose is ) Hence, all those who are interested in joining the group would leave their analysis and their sincere impressions at the end of that period.

These four books I've chosen are not necessarly the only ones availible.You can suggest one of your own using a post or sending me a PM in order to keep it clean and organized. I hope this idea will get as much welcome as we expected it to be and if things turn right, we'll surely repeat it again. Thank you.

Hello,

It seems "The Old Man and The Sea" has been voted for the most. So we'll be reading it for the next week ( it's not very long as it's no more than 50 pages)So, if there's anybody interested, give us us your impressions about this novella next Friday. You can download the story from the net, it's for free. Here is the link : Click Here

The Old Man and the Sea is a novella for the American author, Ernest Hemingway, written in 1951 and published in 1952. The novella weaves the story of an old experienced fisherman, Santiago, who strives to catch a huge fish.

The old man decides to put an end to that jinx as he didn't catch a tiny fish for more than eighty days. He sails on his small boat to catch the fish that will restore his pride and honor as a skillful fisherman. Though he is an old man, Santiago still have a courageous heart and robust hands just like a young man. He still dreaming about the lions roaring on the African beaches. Maybe the lions for the old man are a symbol of youth, a symbol of strength and courage. By dreaming about them, the old man proves to himself that he can do what a young man can do. He has an unflagging determination to catch the huge fish. He is determined to catch it no matter what it costs. Dreaming about lions is like a motive for Santiago, a push that pushes him forwards towards his inclination. He dreams of the lions the night which precedes his journey, the thing that restores the warm blood of the youth in his veins and pumps courage and determination into his heart, so that he decides to sail trying to reach his target. He, also, dreams of lions while he is in the midst of the ocean holding the rope of the fish by his wounded hands. Seeing lions in his dreams is a proof for himself that he still a young fisherman who can do just what he could do in the old days and catch a fish which is bigger and stronger than this one that he hasn't seen like before. Hemingway ends his novella by telling us that the old man once more dreams by the lions after coming back home. It is kind of enigmatic end, but it may denote that though the old man's journey comes to naught but he can do more than this. Although he fails, not in catching the marlin but in bringing it sound to the shore, but he is an experienced fisherman, a fisherman who can do more than this as the warm blood still running in his veins and as his heart still beating with bravery and determination. The bravery that enables him to kill the marlin after a struggle lasts more than three days and comes finally to fruition. The marlin is for Santiago like a challenge he has to win, a dream he has to procure and an enemy he has to vanquish. Though he doesn't want to kill the fish because he loves him and calls him "brother" but he is obliged to do so; either to kill it or be killed. It is like a battle the victory will be for the strongest who will survive and the old man is the one who wins and who will survive. Nevertheless, this victory doesn't last more than few hours or let's say few minutes as a new threat looms in the horizon. The bleeded fish attracted the sharks which find in the marlin an easy prey so that they attack it trying to devour it. But the old man doesn't give up easily. Although he is jaded and feeble after the acute hardship in catching the fish, but he defends his fish until the last ounce of his energy. He, with dwindling strength and bleeding hands, stands in the face of the sharks trying to save his fish, but all his attempts are in vain for the sharks this time are the strongest. They devour the fish letting it a carcass with useless tail and a head. This time the victory goes to the sharks which gain what they wished. The sharks can be seen as the troubles and the obstacles that someone can face in his life, and which he must try hard to defeat and jump all the barriers, though he may lose the battle at the end. They are the things that someone may encounter in his life which can deviate someone's life. But the most important is not to surrender easily to these obstacles, not to throw the towel easily just like the old man who comes back home with scattered dreams like the crashed waves on the rocks of the shore. He sails seeking for honor and pride but all what he gains is tiredness, the sarcasm of some fishermen, and the pity of some tourists who even don't know that this fish is a marlin and not a shark. Santiago, at that night, dreams once more by lions, maybe one day he will catch the biggest and the strongest fish and bring it safe and sound to his town to prove that he is truly an experienced fisherman. Maybe he can do that one day as he still dreaming by lions.

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA is a story of continuous determination ....huge amount of hope and strength are found in a little boat where a weak fisherman keeps holding his fragile rope

It seems that the reading group is sleeping for a long time

hi brothers and sisters
it looks like that you are right glorious .... to make the ideas of w-ch more vital i suggest that we'll read a specific novel each 7 or 15 days .... according to you preference in order not to make some members bored ... for example i liked the old man and the sea very much but Messi did not like it.....however if we change the novels continously we'll attract all the tastes
cu