The Old Man and the Sea- Dreams

In the book, it mentions what the old man dreams about now, and it is quite interesting.

First off he doesn't dream of what you would think he'd dream. The young boy isn't in his dreams even though the boy is in his life daily, and he tends to be one of the things the old man thinks about the most. He doesn't dream of fish or sailing or the storms. This also seems to be quiet odd considering that is also a big chunk of his life. Then, it mentions he doesn't dream of women or his wife. Earlier in the book it states that his wife is dead. I believe that his wife died a really long time ago because the book never states any grief he has about this, anger, or denial, just acceptance. It doesn't even seem that he thinks about it too much anymore. It seems that he has kind of moved on with his life.

Then, the book focuses on what he does dream about. It says "He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach." (page 25) The places could be areas he has visited before and the fact that most of the people and things he used to like and love are gone now could mean that he just dreams of the places and not the people in them since they are gone, even if these 'places' aren't. Then there is just the other possibility that the places are just things he made up in his head. It says that he loved the lions like the young boy, so the lions could symbolize the boy. Lions are brave and protective. The book says that the lions were playful like young cats and this can also be the innocence and childhood the young boy still has. This whole paragraph in the book that explains the dreams is very much open for interpretation, and is something to think about.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995. Print.