We should read the book that arouses in us a curiosity and feeling to read. There are some books which are read for pleasure or recreation. Some books widen the range of mind. But the books that import knowledge and provide pleasure are helpful for students.
As far as my choice of books, I prefer the book that has a great philosophy. In this regard I prefer the book “Old man and the Sea” written by Ernest Hemingway the Nobel Prize winner.
The substance of the novel is that the old man experiences a lot of hurdles while making a journey in the sea. The perilous situations the old man undergoes due to the high tide and other unforeseen circumstances are beyond description.
The old man is not affected by the high tide, the lack of food and the vagaries of rough weather. The pain with which he catches a big fish is indescribable. But as he reaches the shore he sees only the skeleton of the fish astonishingly. He is not wearied and is a stoic. He is unaffected by the sorrows and suffering of human world and receives the failure calmly.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
He fights in the battlefield like a true warrior without allowing his spirit to be dismantled. The old man in the novel is an action minded person. He has the spirit of a lion and he undertakes the herculean task without any complaint. He does his action with a strong mind leaving the result in the hands of the Almighty. It seems as if he is influenced by the message of the Gita where it has been conveyed that our actions should be void of desires.
I have been gladly influenced by the message it imports. It is necessary to be stoic in the battle-field of life. If one is not perseverant, he will be an easy prey to defeat. Though the novel is not a religious one, it preaches a moral of a high order. It has much semblance with any religious book. It has created a great impact on my thoughts and actions since the day of my reading the book. It deals with practical side of human life. It instills courage in one to undertake even a great and perilous task without admitting defeat.