Sunday, March 29, 2020

The Old Man And The Sea Essays (707 words) - The Old Man And The Sea

The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea The book The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, is about an old man, Santiago, and his genuine fondness of the sea. Every day he travels out to sea to go fishing which is his occupation. For the past eighty-four days the old man has not caught a single fish. On the eighty-fifth day he sails out to sea as usual, and this is the day that changes Santiago's life forever. He hooks an unusually immense marlin, and they have an agonizing battle for several days. Hemingway often compares Santiago with the younger fisherman and describes various particular parts about the beautiful sea. This allows the reader to learn that Santiago especially loves the sea and is unlike the other fisherman. While Santiago is going out to sea on the first morning, Hemingway includes numerous details about the setting. Some of the details are to inform the reader that the old man really enjoys and values the ocean. One way which Hemingway shows this is that Santiago refers to the sea as "la mar," a kind and beautiful yet sometimes cruel feminine creature. Younger fishermen refer to the sea as "el mar," which is masculine. Changing this to be masculine means that they do not feel that the sea has any beauty or significance other than for money. Another way that the author tells that the old man appreciates the ocean is in one of his descriptions in the book. "Most people are heartless about turtles because a turtle's heart will beat for hours after it has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too and my feet and hands are like theirs." Since Santiago has spent so many years of his life at sea he sees the beauty of the sea and the beauty of its creatures. This is also noted in another quotation from the book, "The iridescent bubbles were beautiful. But they were the falsest thing in the sea and the old man loved to see the big sea turtles eating them." Santiago finds pleasure about everything in the sea, even after going a disappointing eighty-four days without a fish. All of these are examples of how much the old man appreciates the sea. Other details Hemingway uses are to show Santiago's loneliness. He creates an image that the ocean is practically the old man's home. While out at sea, Santiago often wishes that he would have brought the young boy, Manolin, along. Manolin is the only person who loves and adores Santiago, and he looks up to him as a father figure. Although, it might have been best if Manolin went along to assist Santiago on these arduous few days of battling the marlin. Therefore, Santiago is all alone, but he finds that the sea makes him content and at home. The old man has fished for all of his life, which shows that he has appreciation for the sea. The next statement shows his loneliness yet passion for the sea, "He watched his lines to see them go straight down out of sight into the water and he was happy to see so much plankton because it meant fish. The strange light the sun made in the water, now that the sun was higher, meant good weather and so did the shape of the clouds." Since Santiago is alone, he finds comfort in all the creatures of the sea. Hemingway's descriptions allow the reader to feel and imagine everything Santiago goes through. The author gives the reader a feeling that danger is nearby when he writes, "The sea was very dark and the light made prisms in the water." By foreshadowing, the reader realizes that a dangerous event is soon to occur. There are also various additional quotations in the book telling of Santiago's predicaments. This includes one about the sun which hurt his eyes very much in the mornings. All of these descriptions allow the reader to feel precisely what the old man felt. In turn, the reader begins to pity him, and it enhances the book considerably. Hemingway's descriptions add significant details to the book, The Old Man and the Sea. They show that Santiago treasures the sea, his solitude, and add to the reader's appreciation for the book. In addition, they add feeling, make the book more realistic, and improve the overall quality of this tragic yet triumphant story.

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Average National SAT Scores for 2013

Average National SAT Scores for 2013 More than a million high school students registered for the SAT for 2013. If youd like to know how your cohorts did, here are some results from the national SAT scores for 2013. Overall SAT Scores for 2013 These are the mean, or average, scores of all students who took the SAT from the fall of 2012 through June 2013, by section (they are identical to the the scores from the year before):   Here are the mean scores for all testers by section: Overall: 1498Critical Reading: 496Mathematics: 514Writing: 488 (subscores: multiple-choice: 48.1 / essay: 7.3) SAT Scores by Gender Here are the years scores separated by gender: Critical Reading:Males: 499Females: 494 Mathematics:Males: 531Females: 499 Writing:Males: 482Females: 493 SAT Scores by Reported Annual Income The results indicate consistently that students from wealthier families score higher on the SAT than kids from families with lower incomes. This doesnt mean that higher incomes produce smarter kids. Parents with more wealth might be more willing to purchase SAT prep  or retakes of the test. Here are the results: $0 - $20,000: 1326$20,000 - $40,000: 1402$40,000 - $60,000: 1461$60,000 - $80,000: 1497$80,000 - $100,000: 1535$100,000 - $120,000: 1569$120,000 - $140,000: 1581$140,000 - $160,000: 1604$160,000 - $200,000: 1625$200,000 and more: 1714 SAT Scores by Ethnicity There is no causal relationship between ethnicity and scores, but there are different results based on ethnicity: American Indian or Alaska Native: 1427Asian, Asian-American or Pacific Islander: 1645Black or African-American: 1278Mexican or Mexican-American: 1355Puerto Rican: 1354Other Hispanic, Latino, or Latin-American: 1354White: 1576Other: 1501No response: 1409 To spot trends, you may compare all the above data to the 2012 SAT results.   Other SAT Score Categories There are other categories of mean SAT scores, including the  average SAT scores for students entering the  top public schools  and the  scores for the top private schools.   2013 SAT Scores Summary These statistics represent the mean, but not the individual. Having nothing in common with the groups scoring the highest on the SAT doesnt mean that you cant secure a top-notch score. If you havent taken the SAT or are planning to retake it, there are  free SAT practice quizzes  and free SAT apps  you can use to help prepare yourself. Another authority suggests these additional ways of getting ready: Know the test structure.Write practice essays.Ensure that you have a calculator and spare batteries.Know when to guess on a question and when to skip it entirely.Get a good nights sleep.