NAME______Date:______Class Period:______

The Old Man and the Sea—Double Entry Journal (DEJ)

Overview: A DEJ is a way to closely read passages from a text, to discover what individual words and sentences reveal about characters, conflicts, themes, etc. In the future, you will be selecting your own “strong lines” and meaningful passages to comment on, but for this first effort six have been chosen for you. Each passage shows something about Santiago, his relationship to someone Manolin, his opinion about a particular issue, his honor in struggle, his pride and his dreams etc.

Directions: As you read each passage, you have five tasks: First, identify who is speaking or narrating. Second, explain what the context or situation is—that is, who is involved, where he/they is/are, at what time, and what is going on, etc., Third, explain what the quotation means and how it is significant to the novella. (In other words, why is this quote important?) Keep in mind that quotations rarely tell you why they are important, so you must use the clues given to you and really dig beneath the surface, kind of like “Author and Me” questions. Finally, what connections do you see between this excerpt and other excerpts in the novella? (Ideas of waiting, feeling trapped, making friends, etc.) Before you begin, read the pages assigned and go over the sample DEJ. I know it sounds like a lot, but you are capable!

QuotationResponse

Sample:
1. He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy. (25).
2) On life at sea: "Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea" (29).
/ Speaker: Narrator
Situation: This passage, describes Santiago’s dreams on the night before he sets out for his fishing expedition (the first day that the narrative covers).
Significance: In his youth Santiago had been a sailor, and traveled to Africa, where he saw the lions which figure so prominently in his dreams. The old man continually recalls the past -- of a victorious arm-wrestling match, of previous fish caught, of the aforementioned lions -- to give himself the strength to persevere through his three days of suffering at sea. The fact that Santiago no longer dreams of any of these makes him unique. Maybe the author wants to inform the reader that he is no longer capable of doing all this anymore. But the fact that he dreams of the lions playing suggest a time of youth and ease. Dreaming about the lions each night provides Santiago with a link to his younger days, as well as the strength that is associated with youth. Even more so than the lions, the boy provides Santiago with the ultimate symbol of youth, potency, and hope.
Connections: The image of the lions playing on the African beach, which is presented three times in the novel, remains something of a mystery. They are also linked explicitly to Manolin, a connection that is made clear at the end of the novel as the boy watches over his aged friend as Santiago’s dream of the lions returns.
Speaker:
Situation:
Significance:
Connections:
3) On his great marlin: "Fish, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends" (54).
/ Speaker:
Situation:
Significance:
Connections:
4) On resilience: "I think the great DiMaggio would be proud of me today. I had no bone spurs....I wonder what a bone spur is. Maybe we have them without knowing of it" (97).
/ Speaker:
Situation:
Significance:
Connections:
5) On mortality: "Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too?" (92). / Speaker:
Situation:
Significance:
Connections:
6) "A man can be destroyed but not defeated" (103).
/ Speaker:
Situation:
Significance:
Connections:
7)"They beat me, Manolin," he said. "They truly beat me."
"He didn't beat you. Not the fish." "No. Truly. It was afterwards" (124). / Speaker:
Situation:
Significance:
Connections: