How useful is this book for the AP test?

This book is certainly of AP merit, however spending an extended amount of time in a class reading this book can be a waste when compared to other novels. If getting a 5 on the AP exam is a student’s goal, then this book will not supply enough information to help as much as other books could on the exam. While books like, Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison thoroughly describes ideas of racism, female cultural roles, and flight, the only obvious theme for The Old Man and the Sea is male pride. The rest of the themes are believed to be up for interpretation, and often do not provide enough information to perhaps write a strong essay on the AP exam.

This book is also exceptionally easy to read and short. This added to my enjoyment of the book, however, it did not advance by ability to comprehend complex literature. Obviously, Hemingway’s simple sentence structure is his style, but it will not help me when interpreting advanced level key passages. Take this dialogue between the boy and the old man.

“What do you have to eat?” the boy asked.

“A pot of yellow rice with fish. Do you want some?”

“No. I will eat at home. Do you want me to make the fire?”

“No. I will make it later on. Or I may eat the rice cold.”

(Hemingway 16).

This was the first excerpt I saw when I opened the book on a random page. This randomly selected quote summarizes all the writing in the book. Simple and easy. Now take this randomly selected excerpt from an exercise we did in class in preparation for the multiple-choice portion of the AP exam.

“Lets go,” he said, repeating her words, clicking them out, however, with a self-consciousness that made her wince. “Let us go to the circus” No. He could not feel it right. But why not? She wondered. What was wrong with him then? She liked him warmly, at the moment.”

(Questions 34-47).

This excerpt is far more difficult to interpret than the one from The Old Man and the Sea, which a third grader could read. The difficult aspect of the book is with its cryptic messages rather than its writing. Reading a book with more complex sentence structure would be more beneficial for interpreting the passages we will have to understand during the exam.

I would likely enjoy writing an essay on The Old Man and the Sea far more than the essays of other books that we have read in AP Literature. This is because not all themes and symbols are clear in this book, and I enjoy making my own interpretations.

One theme up for interpretation is religion which is frequently present during the story. When waiting for the great fish to take the bait, Santiago says aloud “God help him to take it.” (Hemingway 42). He asks God for help throughout his battle with the fish. Before catching the fish, he says “Now that I have him coming so beautifully, God help me endure.” (Hemingway 87). This makes me wonder about whether the man’s ability to compete is a power bestowed to him by God. Can one’s faith allow them to accomplish great feats such as the man’s battle? Perhaps he is given the power to catch the fish only to be taught a lesson from his actions. Hemingway uses religion to ask whether God is the source of the man’s energy, or simply means nothing. This man thinks God is with him, but perhaps his intense perseverance is only caused by his own will.

Now let’s interpret some religious symbols. Is the old man a Christ-like figure? In the story, the old man seems to be helped by God like that of Jesus in the Bible. I remember in Sunday school when I learned of Jesus’s great miracles he had performed. One was when Jesus helps Peter when he goes fishing. When the people were suffering from a shortage of fish, Jesus tells the fishermen to “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” (John 21). Does this provide evidence to the claim that the man is Jesus? It could be interpreted that the boy symbolizes Jesus’s disciples, demonstrating absolute loyalty. But would Jesus kill something so magnificent and beautiful as the great fish? That is where this idea runs short for me. The death opens the idea that perhaps the fish is the Christ-like figure. The man catching the fish could be Pontius Pilate’s crucifixion of Jesus.

All the religious ideas mentioned could simply be a reference the large influence of Catholicism, which was practiced by most Cubans.

There is no one way to interpret this theme of religion, and this also can be seen through other ideas. For this reason, it is made difficult to decide what is concrete and what is not. On AP exams, you need specific and easy examples from books of AP merit. I certainly could write a large passionate essay about my own beliefs about different ideas from the book, but this unfortunately is not the greater goal. The greater goal is to have enough information and examples to get a 5 on the exam, so I don't have to spend thousands of dollars on a Literature class when I am in college.

Based upon my great experience with this book, I conclude that spending a week on it in class during the year would be somewhat beneficial, however spending a substantial amount of time would prove consequential. We need to efficiently build a collection of specific examples of different styles, themes, and symbols. I am certain that other students who read longer books with greater complexity will probably have better enhanced their AP arsenal.