Inspiring Students Through Fiction

After reading The Hunger Games I decided to turn my attention to Ernest Hemingway’s classic short story, The Old Man and the Sea. In my quest to read the stories I intend to teach in my secondary level ELA class, I thought I’d revisit this old personal favorite. There are indeed similarities between these two stories as they both depict battles to the death and touch on themes of honor and determination. The writing style of both Collins and Hemingway, though quite distinctive, both share a straightforward prose and brevity in style. However, this is where the similarities end. In the context of an ELA course I began to wonder how to sell this story to teenagers who would are more likely to read a book like The Hunger Games on their own time. Let’s face it, on the surface a story about an old man on a fishing trip doesn’t stand up to teenagers fighting to the death in a futuristic reality show. The story of Santiago, an aged Cuban fisherman, who after 84 days without a catch strikes out on his own in his skiff and spends the rest of the story reeling in a marlin, is a story teenagers seem unlikely to pick up on their own, which is precisely why I would use it in my class. The Hunger Games is an exemplary piece of commercial fiction with all of the elements that appeal to a broad audience, i.e. a distinct plot, characters pursuing a goal, and a tease of romance. It’s an excellent way to get students interested in reading, but does not have any lasting effect on their sense of morality. In our effort as educators to impart both knowledge and values, the heavy emphasis on informative texts accomplishes the former but leaves little room for the latter – this is where literary fiction finds its place in the ELA class. As educators we should always remain secular in the classroom, but still use literature to impart a sense of morality by exploring the human spirit. Stories like The Old Man and the Sea lend themselves to deeper levels of character analysis and the cultivation of empathy and understanding as we read and discuss the motivations and values of the characters. This all brings me back to how I would sell this story to a class of teenagers. When I read this story I was reminded of epic heroes like Odysseus, Aeneas, and Beowulf all of whom possessed traits such as honor and bravery while struggling against great odds in the face of defeat. But what makes these characters human is that they all possessed a fatal flaw, which in the case of Santiago is his pride. These characters help us reclaim our sense of humanity with all of its strengths and weaknesses, in a world that often seems intent on disconnecting us – nearly anyone can relate with them. Just like the epic heroes of the past who have inspired generations of cultures and nations to aspire to greatness despite the odds, The Old Man and the Sea possess this same element that with the right execution has the potential to inspire students in an ELA class.