THE SPIRIT OF "THE OLD MAN"
Some time ago, I read a story "The Old Man and The Sea", by Ernest Hemmingway. It has been praised as one of the best short stories ever written. For a short story, it is long at around 100 pages. The story is simple, but the lessons are infinitely more profound.
The tale is of an old fisherman in Cuba who has not caught a fish for more than 50 days. Still, the old man perseveres in going to fish in his small boat. One day, he finds that he has caught a huge fish, as if to compensate for all the long days without any catch. The fish is so large that he cannot kill it immediately. He sinks the hook in but the fish leads him beyond the area he usually fishes in and he takes up the challenge of killing it.
A contest springs up : there is the fish's desire to stay alive and the old man's wish to have the fish, particularly since he has returned home empty-handed for many, many days. Without any signs of frustration, the old man sticks to his job, even exhorting the fish to do his best. The big fish could have easily upset the boat, but it is gradually losing its strength as the fisherman's hook sinks and bleeds it.
Finally, the fish dies and now the old man only has to bring it back home. The "only" in the last sentence is an understatement ! Marooned in the sea, days away from home, he faces more challenges with the bleeding fish : sharks and other predatory fish are lured to the scent of the fish and look to an easy meal.
The old man fends off the fish, with his harpoon, with the oars of the boat and with his knife. However, the attack by the fish is relentless and finally the big fish that the old man has caught after so many days of toil is eaten by the time he lands back on his shore.
The weary old man rests and the carcass and skeleton of the fish attached to the boat tells the story of the contest to his fellow fisherman.
As a story, that is its rather bland summary !
What the paragraphs above conceal is the spirit of the old man. Whether it is in his conquest of the fish or his conversation with his hand to hold and grip the rope that holds the fish, the old man never loses hope. At the same time, he does not lose his sense of fairness : he tells the fish to do its worst and says that he will take the worst and yet win. He reminisces about an arm wrestling bout he had with a far stronger man, where his obstinacy and doggedness had let him to a triumph. This is a similar contest. Finally, it appears that he has won another triumph, when the fish dies and he ties it to the boat outside. However, that is not to be : the other fish in the sea prey on his catch. The old man does his best to fight them and yet, he is not dejected or depressed even when the prize catch that he has netted after a long struggle is devoured by the other fish.
To me, it appears that the old man has imbibed the spirit of the Bhagavad Gita ! The main message of the Gita to do deeds dispassionately is seen in the old man's attitude. I suppose that the western civilisation would call it stoicism ; however, I like to see the Gita in the old man ! I feel that this attitude of doing the best that one can and yet not to get depressed or dejected if things don't turn out as expected is an important lesson to learn.
After reading the story, I could think of a couple of instances where the attitude is seen in real life : one in the public domain and the other, a personal incident.
The public domain incident first :
The venue was Johannesburg, the time March 2003 and India were playing Sri Lanka in the cricket world cup. The Indian team had been criticised for its poor showing against Australia earlier and public reaction had been severe. After that match, the team went from strength to strength and the team had defeated Pakistan in a stirring match. Sachin Tendulkar had made 98 in that match, his attempt at a century destroyed by cramps. It was a memorable match and a century would have been the icing on the cake.
In this match, Sri Lanka put India in to bat and the partnership of Sachin and Sehwag clicked yet again. The pair put on 153 runs in 26 overs and Sachin continued after Sehwag was dismissed. Two matches earlier, he was dismissed on 98. This time he was on 97 and tried to sweep Aravinda De Silva to get to the century. It was not to be : the wicket keeper took the catch and Sachin was out in the nineties, again, for the second time in three matches !
The ace batsman went to the dressing room, showered and joined his team. A sympathiser told him that it was tough luck to miss out on a century again. One would have thought Sachin would have nodded or shrugged. Instead, his reply was to look up and say that what had to happen had to happen ! This in fact is "Que sera, sera" or "What will be, will be". This was the spirit of the old man speaking in a not-so-old champion's voice !
The personal incident :
Auto rickshaw drivers in my city are a combative lot. Even if they are wrong, they are not wrong ! A fortnight or so ago, I went in an auto to meet a friend. The auto looked weather-beaten and the driver was a well built, middle aged man.
As the auto started at a signal when it turned green, out of the blue, a woman darted across the street. My auto driver braked, even as the woman darted across. I scolded the woman, addressing the auto driver. Knowing the temper of auto drivers, I was sure that the woman would get a mouthful from the driver. Strangely, I was mistaken. Far from getting a mouthful, the auto driver kept his cool and silently kept on driving.
I was pleasantly surprised. Later that night (this happened after I read the book !), I realised that the man's philosophical attitude must have come from driving for many years. Seeing the condition of the auto, I was sure that he must have been on the road for a few years at least. It must have been those years that taught the driver to simply drive as best as he can, allowing for vehicles overtaking from the wrong side, loud horns and, of course, jaywalkers who scoot across the road without any warning ! Probably, it is best for the auto driver not to be affected by incidents like this : if he were to lose his temper for every jaywalker and every incident of road rage, he would end up with hypertension real soon ! I saw the spirit of the old man in the attitude of the middle aged driver !
I expect that Hemmingway wanted to convey the virtue of stoicism or fatalism through his tale. If that was the intention, here is one person who seconds the idea whole-heartedly !
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Some time ago, I read a story "The Old Man and The Sea", by Ernest Hemmingway. It has been praised as one of the best short stories ever written. For a short story, it is long at around 100 pages. The story is simple, but the lessons are infinitely more profound.
The tale is of an old fisherman in Cuba who has not caught a fish for more than 50 days. Still, the old man perseveres in going to fish in his small boat. One day, he finds that he has caught a huge fish, as if to compensate for all the long days without any catch. The fish is so large that he cannot kill it immediately. He sinks the hook in but the fish leads him beyond the area he usually fishes in and he takes up the challenge of killing it.
A contest springs up : there is the fish's desire to stay alive and the old man's wish to have the fish, particularly since he has returned home empty-handed for many, many days. Without any signs of frustration, the old man sticks to his job, even exhorting the fish to do his best. The big fish could have easily upset the boat, but it is gradually losing its strength as the fisherman's hook sinks and bleeds it.
Finally, the fish dies and now the old man only has to bring it back home. The "only" in the last sentence is an understatement ! Marooned in the sea, days away from home, he faces more challenges with the bleeding fish : sharks and other predatory fish are lured to the scent of the fish and look to an easy meal.
The old man fends off the fish, with his harpoon, with the oars of the boat and with his knife. However, the attack by the fish is relentless and finally the big fish that the old man has caught after so many days of toil is eaten by the time he lands back on his shore.
The weary old man rests and the carcass and skeleton of the fish attached to the boat tells the story of the contest to his fellow fisherman.
As a story, that is its rather bland summary !
What the paragraphs above conceal is the spirit of the old man. Whether it is in his conquest of the fish or his conversation with his hand to hold and grip the rope that holds the fish, the old man never loses hope. At the same time, he does not lose his sense of fairness : he tells the fish to do its worst and says that he will take the worst and yet win. He reminisces about an arm wrestling bout he had with a far stronger man, where his obstinacy and doggedness had let him to a triumph. This is a similar contest. Finally, it appears that he has won another triumph, when the fish dies and he ties it to the boat outside. However, that is not to be : the other fish in the sea prey on his catch. The old man does his best to fight them and yet, he is not dejected or depressed even when the prize catch that he has netted after a long struggle is devoured by the other fish.
To me, it appears that the old man has imbibed the spirit of the Bhagavad Gita ! The main message of the Gita to do deeds dispassionately is seen in the old man's attitude. I suppose that the western civilisation would call it stoicism ; however, I like to see the Gita in the old man ! I feel that this attitude of doing the best that one can and yet not to get depressed or dejected if things don't turn out as expected is an important lesson to learn.
After reading the story, I could think of a couple of instances where the attitude is seen in real life : one in the public domain and the other, a personal incident.
The public domain incident first :
The venue was Johannesburg, the time March 2003 and India were playing Sri Lanka in the cricket world cup. The Indian team had been criticised for its poor showing against Australia earlier and public reaction had been severe. After that match, the team went from strength to strength and the team had defeated Pakistan in a stirring match. Sachin Tendulkar had made 98 in that match, his attempt at a century destroyed by cramps. It was a memorable match and a century would have been the icing on the cake.
In this match, Sri Lanka put India in to bat and the partnership of Sachin and Sehwag clicked yet again. The pair put on 153 runs in 26 overs and Sachin continued after Sehwag was dismissed. Two matches earlier, he was dismissed on 98. This time he was on 97 and tried to sweep Aravinda De Silva to get to the century. It was not to be : the wicket keeper took the catch and Sachin was out in the nineties, again, for the second time in three matches !
The ace batsman went to the dressing room, showered and joined his team. A sympathiser told him that it was tough luck to miss out on a century again. One would have thought Sachin would have nodded or shrugged. Instead, his reply was to look up and say that what had to happen had to happen ! This in fact is "Que sera, sera" or "What will be, will be". This was the spirit of the old man speaking in a not-so-old champion's voice !
The personal incident :
Auto rickshaw drivers in my city are a combative lot. Even if they are wrong, they are not wrong ! A fortnight or so ago, I went in an auto to meet a friend. The auto looked weather-beaten and the driver was a well built, middle aged man.
As the auto started at a signal when it turned green, out of the blue, a woman darted across the street. My auto driver braked, even as the woman darted across. I scolded the woman, addressing the auto driver. Knowing the temper of auto drivers, I was sure that the woman would get a mouthful from the driver. Strangely, I was mistaken. Far from getting a mouthful, the auto driver kept his cool and silently kept on driving.
I was pleasantly surprised. Later that night (this happened after I read the book !), I realised that the man's philosophical attitude must have come from driving for many years. Seeing the condition of the auto, I was sure that he must have been on the road for a few years at least. It must have been those years that taught the driver to simply drive as best as he can, allowing for vehicles overtaking from the wrong side, loud horns and, of course, jaywalkers who scoot across the road without any warning ! Probably, it is best for the auto driver not to be affected by incidents like this : if he were to lose his temper for every jaywalker and every incident of road rage, he would end up with hypertension real soon ! I saw the spirit of the old man in the attitude of the middle aged driver !
I expect that Hemmingway wanted to convey the virtue of stoicism or fatalism through his tale. If that was the intention, here is one person who seconds the idea whole-heartedly !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
++++++ ENDS ++++++
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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