Today I’m going to write about the first novel I read in French, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. It was a good read. I was able to follow the story and understand the central messages conveyed by the story.

Let's start with the most important lesson, hard work. In this book, we can see how hard work is one of the main factors in achieving our objectives, goals, and even daily tasks. If you work hard and smart in the areas in which you want to succeed, with enough time and perseverance, you will probably be able to achieve the goals you set for yourself. Although reaching our goals most of the time isn’t easy, and sometimes we cannot succeed for different reasons, this is good to a certain extent. Failures are good because they allow us to be aware of our weaknesses and strengths. Consequently, failures force us to work hard and give our 100% in the things we want to achieve and also to improve in the areas we need to.

Integrity and dignity are other good lessons from this novel. Santiago's way of fishing is the best example of these ethical concepts. These moral qualities are very important because you must keep your values and be respectful to all people. Whenever you perform a task, you must do it in the best possible way, without cheating or being corrupt; you must also treat your rivals and allies with respect to create the best possible environment.

The third lesson of this book is that we should stop complaining so much and not make so many excuses. Despite all the inconveniences, Santiago never complained about his health problems. Even though this generates problems and difficulties for his fishing. This can be related to the impediments in our daily life that create obstacles to finish our goals in a good way. ¡Pero qué va! Así es la vida. We must try to overcome all problems without making excuses all the time to get what gives us stability and happiness. However, sometimes complaints and excuses can be permissible...

The last lesson I want to write is not to give up. This last message is relevant because we must keep trying constantly in the areas we want to improve and in the things we want to achieve. This subject is easy to relate to hard work because it’s necessary to maintain mental strength if we want to complete our plans. In reference to this topic, I'd like to quote a part of the book: “Everyone has a chance: men, birds, fish.”

This is the first time I've read a novel written by this famous author, and I think he deserved all the awards he won thanks to this excellent book.

One thing I like about this novel is that even if you don't know anything about fishing (like me), you can still enjoy and understand the story. To conclude, The Old Man and the Sea is a wonderful story about how cruel life can be and how you must face it.

I'd love to know if you've read this novel, or if it's on your to-read list. Let me know in the comments section.

Finally, as an extra and irrelevant comment, hahaha, since I'm a Spanish speaker, I liked the touch of Spanish that Hemingway used in this novel.