Question

. What hangs on the wall of the old man's shack?

• A. A picture of a dolphin
• B. Religious symbols
• C. Pictures
• D. A map of the sea

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Pictures

Details about the Old Man's Shack in The Old Man and the Sea

• The novel is The Old Man and the Sea, a renowned work by the American author Ernest Hemingway.
• The "old man" referred to is Santiago, the protagonist of the novella, an aging Cuban fisherman.
• His shack is described as extremely humble and poor, reflecting his solitary and challenging life.
• On the brown walls of Santiago's shack, there specifically hung two colored pictures:
  • One depicted the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
  • The other was of the Virgin of Cobre, who is the patron saint of Cuba.
• These religious pictures signify Santiago's faith and provide a sense of spiritual comfort in his otherwise isolated existence. They reflect the prevalent cultural and religious practices in Cuba.
• It is important to note that Santiago used to have a picture of his deceased wife on the wall, but he took it down because it made him too lonely to see it daily. This emphasizes his profound sense of loss and isolation.
• While Santiago greatly admires the baseball player Joe DiMaggio and frequently thinks about him, the text does not explicitly state that pictures of DiMaggio hung on his wall in the same manner as the religious icons. His admiration for DiMaggio is more an internal source of inspiration and a symbol of enduring strength.

Key Facts for Competitive Exams:

• Author: Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961), a prominent figure in 20th-century American literature.
• Publication Year: The Old Man and the Sea was first published in 1952.
• Awards: It earned Hemingway the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and was cited by the Nobel Committee when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
• Genre: It is often categorized as a novella, known for its concise yet profound narrative.
• Themes: Major themes include perseverance, struggle against adversity, honor, dignity in defeat, the noble relationship between man and nature, solitude, and friendship (with Manolin).
• Setting: The story is primarily set in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Havana, Cuba.
• Symbolism: The marlin symbolizes a worthy opponent and nature's grandeur; the sharks represent destructive forces and the inevitability of loss; and the lions Santiago dreams of symbolize youth, innocence, and an idealized past.