A Short Story : The Captain Of The Sea

The Shipman’s Tale, one of the many tales in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, is exactly suited to the Shipman’s personality and profession as given in “The Prologue.” The shipman is described by Chaucer in the prologue as very sneaky, deceitful, and even pirate-like. The Shipman’s tale matches his personality and profession because The Shipman’s Tale is one of trickery and con. The monk in the tale tricks both the merchant and the merchant’s wife out of their money. He also uses his relationship with the merchant to his advantage, because he knows the merchant would never suspect him of having sex with his wife. The shipman is also portrayed in the prologue to have no sense of remorse or feelings of sorrow.

The son had loved his father dearly but does not favor his way of life. His interest in school greatly outweighed his interest or desire to work on ‘The Boat’. He still had a love for the sea and in some way felt like he should carry out his family’s tradition. After his uncle had accepted a new job he took his position on the boat and promised his father that we would continue to sail with him for as long as he lived, and when his father passed despite the desires of his mother he followed his dreams and pursued education and all of its wonders. After living his life he finds himself longing for the sea again and isn’t so satisfied with his life.

In the book The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway uses the flashback technique in order to characterize Santiago and develop key themes of the novel, such as Santiago’s connection with nature and what it means to be a hero. Hemingway employs several flashbacks as an effective technique that develops Santiago’s character as he recalls past occurrences in order to renew his strength of will. There are three flashbacks in particular that are critical to the development of this story. The first flashback describes a time when Santiago associated himself with the marlins. The second flashback occurs when Santiago arm-wrestled the town’s strongest

The epic journey of “The Old Man and the Sea” describes struggle, discipline and manhood. The main characters relationships exemplify how faith and skill overcome man’s adversity during life on the sea. Santiago’s growing relationship with the boy idealizes his statute as a father figure and develops his integrity and values towards the boy. Hemmingway shows us how an old fisherman’s will to overcome the sea’s obstacles proves his manhood to himself and the young boy. His skills and knowledge of the sea provide a positive influence for the young boy to become a great fisherman someday.

There is hardly any progress, determination or success without unforgiving struggle and defeat. The road to success is a never-ending battle, but the outcomes of the war are rewarding and the avails are extraordinary. It is just a matter of having endurance when the will to continue becomes impossible and unimaginable. The idea of struggle lies deep within the plot of the novel, The Old Man and the Sea and the motion picture, Life of Pi. In the novel, the old fisherman, Santiago spends a few days out at sea attempting to capture the fish of his dreams. He battles through pain, thirst and hunger in order to bring the Marlin to the shore. However, while losing his prey, he gains a priceless experience combined with pride, respect and

A young boy sits on the floor gazing up in amusement as his parents tell him stories that have traveled from generation to generation. Whether it be a tale of malicious war or brave acts of heroism, the little boy will always remember the impactful tales. But what about the parents; what is their motive for telling tales to their child? People tell stories for different reasons; a best selling author may write his story to sell books. While a parent tells a story to set their child straight, others simply want the thrill of telling tales of their adventurous life. For The Tao Jones ,or TJ, in Chris Crutcher's Whale Talk, the most impactful story he will hear and tell is his own. Someone might not solely tell their own story but, are also able to tell the story of those around them. Superficially, TJ’s story is one of brutal negativity and oppression. However, beneath the surface TJ and other peoples’ tale, is one of the unbreakable bond of brotherhood, unique self identity, and last chance at redemption.

“I did at first, mama. Although throughout my voyage I got ill, and the captain provided me with tips to fight my illness. He recommended me to spend my days on deck and enjoy the view of the vast seas.” I found my families eyes staring into me as if they were dragging out my secrets. I casted down my eyes, yet held my posture. I knew I had to lie.

An enormous wave crashes into your boat nearly tipping it. The howling wind tosses the boat from side to side. Lightning strikes the stern sending you into darkness. The next morning you wake up to a calm, quiet sea ready for smooth sailing. Somedays the water is perfectly still making for easy travel, yet other days you have to endure a restless, unforgiving sea. This is how the road of life is perceived. The seas my father has conquered has taught me that life isn’t always smooth sailing.

The humidity and stench were overwhelming, but I kept thinking and reminding the children that it was going to be all worth it. I had only seen a few familiar faces, but most of them I had never seen before in my life. Before the first night ended, Maribel and the children had made a few friends on the ship. It was a good way to make the voyage go by faster, for when they were at play everything seemed to go faster.

In the nineteenth century women of dignity and grace married men who could provide enough money so that the she could “go housekeeping”. Marriage wasn’t a bond of unity and love, in most cases it was an agreement of sorts that the groom would provide stability to his bride and she intern would provide meals and a clean home. Eunice’s life did not go according to the plan that she or anyone else had imagined for a respectable, middle-class New England woman. In contrast she did transect many of the stereotypes for low-class, immigrant women.

succeed. He uses his hands and he uses his instincts to master the art of

It’s easy to tell that the ocean is a mysterious and isolating place from all of the tragic tales we hear from sailors both real and fictional. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and an anonymous author’s “The Seafarer” are quite similar in that they both revolve around said tragic tales told by sailors. However, there seem to be more commonalities between their themes, tones, and messages rather than their seaward-bound settings. But before we can discuss these similar settings and deeper themes, we have to tackle their origins.

“The Open Boat” is short tale of endurance, suffering, and redemption. The story focuses on four interesting sailors on a journey towards survival. They try their best to overcome the adversities of the water and raging storm. Crane focuses on the constant struggle of man’s immobility to control his own life. “The Open Boat” is a nonfictional fiction some call it. It typically is argued as only fiction, but many lean toward its nonfictional quality. Crane wrote the story based off his real life experience of a shipwreck he tragically endured. The Commodore, the name of the ship, was the victim of the waves and Crane just so happened to be one of its friends. He wrote 2 articles based on this tragedy, but “The Open Boat” became the best

     In the timeless novel The Old Man and the Sea, the hero is undoubtedly the old man, Santiago, whom us as readers become very acquainted with. Santiago is a hard-worker and perseveres through every problem nature brings to him. He is in the midst of a horrendous fishing drought, during which the townspeople laugh and ridicule him. Santiago just lets the criticism pass him by because he is confident that the fish of his lifetime is coming soon. In a sense, Santiago represents the ideas of honor and pride. He is also a hero to a young boy named Manolin who conveys the image that the old man is whom he would rather live

In the book Star of the Sea, written by author Joseph O’Connor, he states “They had far more in common than either realised. One was born Catholic, the other Protestant. One was born Irish, the other British. But neither was the greatest difference between them. One was born rich and the other poor.” O’Connor summarises the idea of social class that has been a recurring idea since the dawn of time. Social classes is basically the division of society that is based on social and economic status. The people who were at the top of the social classes were thought to be the prestigious and most worthy people and the further you go down the chain the more common people you began to see. Many people demonstrate the social class system in literature. Shakespeare, especially, offers a challenge to what everyone thought they knew of the social class system.