Around the same time that J. R. R. Tolkien was creating the vast expanse of Middle Earth, filling his books with geographical excursions that lasted pages, wars that spanned an age, and an epic fight pitting good against evil – needing an entire lexicon to interpret – another American writer focused on simplicity. Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea has been praised for not only its simplicity in language, but also in plot; the conflict is almost entirely internal. The effectiveness of the way Hemingway tells the story derives from the combination of the minimal language and sentence structure with the simplistic plot to evoke a feeling of contemplative pity in the reader; in the absence of elaborate plot and flowery language, the reader is left space to consider the meaning of each word, phrase, sentence, and ultimately feeling that the book offers up. Even when discussing the complex thought of whether the sin of pride or killing something beautiful applied to his hunting of the fish, Hemingway still characterizes Santiago’s thoughts as extremely simplistic. In fact each is a simple sentence: “Do not think about sin, he thought. There are enough problems now without sin. Also I have no understanding of it,” (Chapter 8). Using the lens of the singular plot point, namely Santiago’s struggle with the fish, Hemingway considers the philosophical aspect of human resilience saying, “man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated,” (Chapter 10). These simple sentences in the lull between two action points in the story give the reader a chance to react; this comment is coupled with a great failure only pages later in which Santiago seems to be defeated. The juxtaposition of these ideas in the space of the minimal language allows the reader to develop a sense of pity for the titular old man.
Another contemporary of Hemingway’s, William Faulkner, wrote a one-paragraph review of Hemingway’s opus, either in homage to Hemingway’s simplicity, or because he had been annoyed by it. He joked once that Hemingway “has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary,” but in his review gave the novel praise in the mastery of internal conflict: “Until now, his men and women had made themselves, shaped themselves out of their own clay; their victories and defeats were at the hands of each other… but this time, Hemingway wrote about pity: about something somewhere that made them all.” Faulkner’s statement describes how the agency of the narrative was something bigger than a single action or person. His review ends by praising God that “whatever made and loves and pities Hemingway and me kept him from touching it any further,” because the artistry with which he used so few words made something very complete, and completely inspiring.
Faulkner, William. “Review of The Old Man and the Sea.” Speeches and Essays of William Faulkner. Random House Publishing Group, Apr 20, 2011
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