The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemmingway's classic tale, is about personal triumph through loss and defeat. The simplicity of its words and the detailed descriptions of the sea make it a lovely story. The novel is primarily about an old man's quest to catch a fish of great size, and of his sufferings to do so. In the end, the sharks eat his fish, piece by piece, until nothing but the carcass remains.

For eighty-four days, the old man, Santiago, has not caught any fish. Because of this, the old man's fishing partner and pupil, Manolin, whom the old man loved like his own son and taught since he was five, has not been permitted to fish with him but has been forced by his parents to fish in a more productive boat.

On...