Irony and tone of The Old Man and the Sea

"The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway is a very informative book, and Hemingway uses different techniques in this story to make his writing more effective. One of these techniques is irony. I personally like reading stories with irony and I think the correct use of it can add interest to a book and make it more enjoyable. One of the things I found ironic at the beginning of the book was the fact that Santiago had such a shockingly long streak of bad luck with fishing. I found this ironic because I figured the story being called "The Old Man and the Sea" meant that the main character would be a master at fishing. I was not expecting Santiago to be at such an unfortunate state. Another use of irony was the fact that the sharks completely devoured the entire marlin. After such an epic battle, I was surprised when I read about the numerous shark attacks. I was definitely not expecting such a heavy loss after Santiago's victory of catching the great marlin, especially since it took him an entire three days to reel him in. I think this added interest to the story and I personally was anxious as to what the outcome of the attacks would be. One last use of irony used is at the very end of the book when the spectators see the skeleton of Santiago's enormous fish. They have no idea that the skeleton belongs to a marlin and mistake it for a shark. It is ironic because sharks are the reason the fish is a skeleton. " 'I didn't know sharks had such handsome, beautifully formed tails.' 'I didn't either, ' her male companion said" (Hemingway, 127). Hemingway did a nice job of adding irony to the story and I think it was a positive add to the book.The tone used in "The Old Man and the Sea" is very straight forward and informative. There really is not any humor used and Hemingway wrote it very seriously.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.