Old Man and the Sea

Every day, people face many troubles and obstacles that they have to try and overcome. It can be as serious as having cancer, or as simple as missing the bus. But whatever it may be, when you overcome it, you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Like they say, you can’t enjoy a rainbow without the rain. In the novella Old Man and the Sea, by Earnest Hemingway, Santiago faces many obstacles he himself must overcome to reach his goals of catching a marlin for the first time.


Santiago befriends a young boy named Manolin, who loved going on the boat, but then his parents didn’t want to be plagued with bad luck, like Santiago, so told him go find another boat to fish on. “’Santiago,’ the boy said to him..’I could go with you again. We’ve made some money.’” ‘No,’ the old man said. ‘You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them.’”(10) Santiago continues to tell the boy that he can’t take him on the unlucky boat although he was the one to teach him how to fish. I think that Santiago really did him. I think it was wise for Santiago not to keep Manolin for himself, because Manolin could have not benefited from the experience as much as he needed too. It makes me feel that Santiago is thoughtful and sincere.


When Santiago goes to sea in hopes of catching a marlin, his left hand is suddenly cramping, and his hand is locked in position. He hasn't eaten in four days, and catches a raw fish and eats it as it is. “I will eat it all, and then I’ll be ready. ‘Be patient, hand,’ he said. ‘I do this for you.’” (60) Santiago is telling his hand to be patient, and try and forget about the hurting because he is eating raw fish, in order to get the strength back and to stop his hand from cramping. He says, “I do this for you” because most people don’t like eating raw fish, including Santiago, so he was doing this gross act, just for the hand. This shows how much Santiago needed his hand to be better, or at least to start feeling better and un-cramp. It also makes me understand how devoted he can be if he really wants something to happen.


When Santiago caught a Marlin, it was a very proud moment in his life. Only a couple hours later, a shark took a bite out of the Marlin. As the blood spread, more and more sharks came along, and Santiago gave up fighting them off, because there were too many. “He could see their wide, flattened, shovel-pointed heads now and their white-tipped wide pectoral fins. They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers..” (107-108) Santiago is describing the sharks. He knows that they will attack the marlin, and eat some. Once the blood of the marlin is in the water, more and more sharks would come. He would fight them off as long as he could, but once too many came, it was just to hard, and useless.


Santiago overcomes each and every one of his obstacles because of his strength and perseverance. His patience when trying to catch the marlin showed that he is willing to wait until the situation is just right in order to jump on an opportunity. He knows what he wants, and how he's going to get there. That's something that everybody should have. Also, improvement is success in itself. When santiago catches the marlin, even though the sharks ate the whole thing, he still caught the marlin which was his accomplishment because he had never caught such a large fish before. His ability to stay calm and not become irritable and bitter allows him to achieve more than if he became stressed and frantic.

After 5 o' Clock

Hailey and Caroline were lounging their chairs, listening to their ipods. It was a hot day at Ogunquit Beach in Maine. Their families were on their annual July trip to Maine for a whole week. The families shared two campers at “Beach Dreams”, their preferred camping site.

“Ahhhh, this is the life.” Hailey said while sipping a Pepsi. “It does’nt get any better then this!” She put the Pepsi back down on the cooler and reached for her sandwich. She looked behind her at the fake mangrove tree. This beach was always trying to seem tropical.

“Mhm.” Caroline muttered. She was shifting her shoulders side to side, attempting to dance in place during her favorite song.

“Come on Caroline! We’ve been tanning all morning. I’m sick of just laying around. Can we play beach volleyball, or go in the water, or at least take a walk?” Hailey pleaded.

Caroline stood up and brushed some of the sand off her legs. “Alright, let’s go in the water.” She moaned. It seemed as though Hailey was indefatigable. Caroline hated going in the water. She hated the cold, but she knew that Hailey was dying to get in so she sucked it up and grabbed a Boogie Board. They ran down the beach and dipped their toes in. Hailey Continued to run in. Caroline started to furtively back away.

“Caroline. Come on. Stop being such a wuss and get over here!” Hailey yelled. There was no way Hailey was going in alone, and she had an irrevocable decision that she WAS going to go in. Caroline groaned and stepped in slowly, hopping at each new wave. Hailey was already just past her hips, and she turned around to see Caroline shivering with the water just past her knees.

"Theres no gaffs in these waters, right?" Caroline shouted.

"Caroline! It's an ocean, not a lake." Hailey started laughing so hard she plunged into the cold water. She quickly got back up and motioned for Caroline to go faster. As she waited she started to circumnavigate for fun.

“I’m coming, just give me a sec!” Yelled Caroline. She quickly ran into the water and grabbed onto Hailey’s arm. They waited for a few waves then both caught one.

“See! This isn’t so bad once you get used to it right?” Hailey Asked.

“Actually, your right. I’m having more fun then I would have thought!” Caroline happily replied. They were riding a huge wave when Caroline saw Hailey flip over and go under the water. She swam over to help her. Hailey wasn’t coming back up. Caroline quickly dove under the water. She couldn’t open her eyes without the salt water burning them, and she wouldn’t be able to see much anyways because the water was dark, and filled with seaweed. So, she felt around for her best friend. She was looking for what seemed like a long time for somebody to be under..she started to panic.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic. She’s probably fine. Maybe she was on the shore right now warming up with a sun heated towel, drinking a bottle of water.” She quietly said to herself. “No,” She answered herself. “Hailey wouldn’t leave me alone.” Caroline came up from the icy water and looked around. Hailey was no where. Caroline whipped her head around and looked at the shore. No life guards. It must have been past 5:00, when the lifeguards are off duty.

She yelled to the man next to her, “Please help me! My friend went under and I can’t find her!” The man yelled to his buddies and they all went further out and started looking. Caroline ran to shore as fat as she possibly could, abandoning her Boogie Board in the water.

Caroline started to yell for help. “MOM! MOM! HAILEY WENT UNDER I CANT FIND HER! WHAT DO WE-”

“Caroline look!” Her mother exclaimed. The men she asked her for help were carrying Hailey up the shore. Caroline was shocked. Hailey’s limp body was no longer smiling. Her hair was a mess, no longer perfect and Straight. Her legs were red from scraping against the ocean floor. Her whole body was shaking and Caroline knew she was still alive and fighting. As her mother called 911, Caroline got all the beach towels she could scavenge. She laid them down on the hot sand. A young woman offered CPR, and tried to get the water out of Hailey’s body. Caroline kept blaming herself.

“Its my fault for letting her go out in the water after the life guards left. Its my fault for waiting so long to find help. Maybe I could have done something more...” Caroline thought. She really needed to stop blaming herself, it wasn’t helping anything- or Hailey. She looked over as Hailey was spitting up water from the ocean. She still wasn’t breathing. The ambulance pulled up. Caroline saw many people watching the men come out and run with a stretcher towards her best friend. All she could think about was the pain of losing the person that means to most to her. Caroline followed the men onto the ambulance.

“Wait a minute miss, you can’t come on here.” Said the EMT.

“What? I have to be! I’m her best friend. I need to be here for her, and I want to know what’s going on.

“Very well, get in quickly.” Replied the EMT. Caroline hopped in. They had life support on the ambulance, and the thought that they might need it scared Caroline. The hospital ride was a blur. Caroline was focused on Hailey's face and nothing else, but she couldn't help but look at the EMT. They finally got a pulse. That very second they pulled up to the hospital.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was two days later. Once there was tidings of Hailey finally being alright, Caroline could sleep. She was in a comma for about 2 hours, from being so cold, and being knocked out in the water from her Boogie Board. She was in recovery for the last week, and today the Doctor emancipated her from the hospital and said she could go back to the beach. Their family extended their vacation so the girls could have more time. Hailey and Caroline were lounging with their ipods & Pepsi's, yet again, and for once Hailey was just fine with that.

"You know, they should really put a warning label on those Boogie Boards." Hailey Joked. "You could She look over at Caroline who gave her a funny look. She took a deep breath and said, "or maybe we'll just keep the water fun for BEFORE 5:00!" The girls both gave out a big laugh. Caroline was feeling a bit taut about the whole situation.

"Hailey...? I want to make the rest of the vacation as fun as possible for, soo......do you you want to go in the water?" Caroline made a funny face, maybe she shouldn't have asked that? Hailey let out a large sigh and frowned. Caroline quickly became nervous. She started to sweat as she thought that the question could have shocked Hailey or made her uncomfortable. "Or not! I mean, it doesn't really matter to me. Its not a big de-"

Hailey quickly cut her off. There was a nictus as Hailey sorted out her words. She didn't want to soud inept when she told Caroline what she was feeling. She touched the contusion one her head, then began.

"Caroline. What you just asked me made me so happy." Hailey said in a serious voice. "I know your afraid to go back into the water because of what happened to me, and I don't really blame you. So asking that made me feel like you care more about me and this friendship then you do yourself." Caroline's countenance was priceless.

"Oh I.." Caroline didnt even know what to say. As she thought about what her friend had just said to her, she grinned ear to ear, analagous to the one Hailey had. They were best friends; And nothing could ever change that. They gave each other a hug. Caroline truley learned that day, that friendship is the most valuable thing you can ever have.

1st Quarter Reading Book Review

The Preachers Daughter by Beverly Lewis. Bethany House Publishers, 2005.

In the book the preachers daughter, the protagonist is named Annie Zook who grew up and currently lives in Paradise, Pennsylvania on an amish farm. In the story, Annie's pasion is art. She loves to paint, but her amish preacher doesn't allow artistic expression, so she has to keep her pasion a secret.

"Lewis addresses young Annie Zook's inner conflict between the strong bonds of her family and faith and the allurement of her talent" The book review says.

The book was so much more then a conflict. It was also a story of romance, abuse, and misunderstood young women. This book reminded me of a book i had read when i was younger called "Elle" which was about a girls' life living in a strict amish family, and the troubles she had with this. She had a best friend who wasn't amish because she had to go to school in a different community. It reminded me of the relationship between Lousia and Annie, becuase Lousia is her modern pen-pal. Her writing style was very simpole but some words i didn'y understand popped up now and then,but once i looked them up, i fully understood what the Beverly Lewis was trying to say.

"Climbing back up the hay bales, Annie reached out for the long rope. She swung across the expanse of the loft, her legs tight against the rope so that her dress would not billo out." (87).

I ended up not liking this book at all. I thought it was easy to understand, but to me it was flat out boring. Even though it had so mush different things going on, it wasn't written in a very modern fashion. I guess i'd rather read a book thats target is teen girls.

Nicole's Hot essay that gets to the Point.

Everybody loves their mp3 players, cars, computers, and those jeans you saved up way to much money for. What people don't realize is that those aren't the only things of value. Sure, you can always have your things of financial value, but never forget the importance of those "priceless" moments.

Its late at night and my bones feel weak, my body needs sleep. The cold hits my body and shocks it, as I wait to hop in. The bubbles roar and the water turns bright blue. My foot slowly glides in and is instantly relieved. The water is almost too hot, but its not. My body slips in to a deep relaxation. I let out a sigh and indulge in the hot tub's massaging water.

Every night I can, I go in my neighbors hot tub. Its pretty rare but since she lives right behind me, i try to make it happen. Teddy Bear's Pool & Spa, is my favorite company in the world. I would give anything at night to hit the water. Because there too expensive and I have a pool, my parents won't buy one. I've been in that hot tub so many times, i know the best seat, how everything works, which days they clean it, and were the hot spot is. I can feel the ridges, and adjust the jets. Its like its my own. In fact, every time I use it, i have to wipe it down, even though its not mine, and I use it with my neighbor.

While I'm waiting to get in the hot tub, my body is wrapped in a bathrobe. I'm normally trying to refrain from stepping on snow, (I use it most in the winter), or not slipping on the ice. Normally we have some sort of hot hot drink like hot chocolate or Chi, even though it doest really warm us up.Now that we step into the hot tub, its hard to go in fast. The water is so hot that you have to be careful about how long you stay in or you have to take breaks. When its winter, we like to play dare, mostly when we were younger but we would have to roll in snow or run around the house covered in snow...something along those lines.

My heart is racing. My hands clutch to the wooden bar. I look in the mirror; my body is poised and rounded. I lift up on my toes in my point shoes. My teacher tells me to let go, and do a Shena turn. I sweat and shyly refuse. she takes my hand and gently pulls it away. I'm balancing on my toes, and it hurts. I love that feeling though. My arms are in first, and I choose my spot. I nod my head and try not to shake. My body spins and i finally did it.

For a few weeks I've been taking point lessons. I bought new shoes that have a wooden box, that's were my toes go. After putting on my toe spacers, toe pads, tights, and lambs wool, I'm ready to in my 5Th lesson. Now I have to warm up on the bar and slide into my splits. My feet are ready and its time for the exercises. The funny music plays and i laugh with the other girls. We pretend were real ballet dancers on Broadway. I just started taking these lessons this year and i already have blisters and funny looking feet. I takes so much poise, flexibility, and hard work and practice.....but i love it. With out a doubt, its my favorite part of the week. Even though it runs till ten o' clock on a Monday night, and I'm hungry, exhausted, and thirsty. Without this activity, i wouldn't own those cool shoes and i wouldn't be able to do the splits witch is something that I am proud of.

The feeling of hot tubes kind of reminds me of going up on point. With hot tubs, its so hot it kind of hurts but its a good kind of pain. That's just like point, where when you go up and off the bar, especially for the first time, it hurts with a burning pain but it feels good. That really made me think of the two as similar. Also, the longer your in a hot tub, the more weightless and numb you feel. It's the same with point. Your toes and feet start to feel numb the longer you do it and when you get better, you feel more weightless.
I love both of these items with different values, point with the feeling, and the hot tub, a costly value. I treat both with respect because even though one is worth money and the other isn't, i still wouldn't want either of these things to go away or break. When it's cold out, i would prefer the hot tub, but when I'm full of energy i would rather be getting it out with stretches and delicate footwork. If I'm in a bad or good mood, either of these things would make me very happy or happier then before.