About Josh Silverstein Expertise I will answer questions relating to Ernest Hemingway's life or literature. I can also help with quotation source requests. No homework questions please.
Experience Mr. Silverstein holds a B.A. in English Literature and has been studying the life and works of Ernest Hemingway for the past ten years. His major work on Hemingway is titled, "The Importance of Being Ernest: Hemingway's Truth in Fiction and his Fiction in Truth." He is also author of "Hemingway: Alive and Well Online," an article exploring Hemingway's presence and position in the online community. He is the founder of "Timeless Hemingway," an award winning web site devoted to Ernest Hemingway.
Question Was the old man in "the old man and the sea" based on a real life person?
Answer Hello,
Gregorio Fuentes, Hemingway's long time fishing companion and first mate of the Pilar, had this to say about his friend's possible inspiration:
"When we went to sea, we found the old man and the sea. We found him adrift on a little boat with a big fish tied there and when Hemingway went to write he wanted to give it a name and I said why don't you name it the old man and the sea."
So if we take Fuentes at his word, this was Hemingway's inspiration and the old man he saw that day became a model for the old man in the book. Everything else that occurs in the story was likely invented by Hemingway. Writing remains an act of invention. It may initially be based on actual experience, but to make it truly fiction and to define it as such, it must be invented. Hemingway knew and understood that better than anyone. This is one of the many reasons his work endures.
*************************************
Your turn to be the writer. Write a review of a Hemingway attraction,
restaurant, book, or movie:
