Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

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In 1952 Ernest Hemingway published the book that is widely acknowledged as his masterpiece,

The Old Man and the Sea

, redeeming his literary reputation after the critical attacks which had greeted his first post-war novel,

Across the River and Into the Trees

(1950). The positive reaction that followed included praise not only from reviewers but from a broad spectrum of the public, from ordinary readers to fellow novelists such as William Faulkner, who proclaimed the book perhaps the best single work of their literary generation.

The Old Man and the Sea

was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and was also instrumental in Hemingway's finally winning the Nobel Prize for his life's work.

Originally Hemingway had planned to use his story of an old Cuban fisherman as the final book of a large four-part

1339 words

Citation: Fleming, Robert E.. "The Old Man and the Sea". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 18 December 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16, accessed 19 March 2024.]

16 The Old Man and the Sea 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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