Hi Hemingway readers,

here are some discussion questions for tonight's meetup on "Old Man and the Sea." I'm looking forward to seeing new and familiar faces.

As always, discussion questions are intended to be points of departure for the conversation.

1. Is Santiago's pride his undoing or his salvation?

2. Does Santiago struggle against nature, or do his fights with the fish and the sharks make him a part of nature?

3. Why does Santiago say of the marlin "There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behavior and his great dignity."?

4. What does baseball and Joe DiMaggio have to do with fishing?

5. The attainment of knowledge is a common theme in Hemingway's writing. What is the significance of Santiago's musing that the marlin "cannot know that it is only one man against him, nor that it is an old man"?

6. Why does Santiago keep falling when he carries the mast upon his return home?

Ted