YMMV / The Old Man and the Sea

• Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory - Some interpretations, especially with regards to how Santiago's hands are cut by the fishing line.
  • Also, this passage when he sees the sharks: "'Ay,' he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood."
  • And the part when he carries the mast out of the boat and fall down three times, like Jesus with the cross.
• Narm: The Polish title of the novella, Stary człowiek i morze, while being a perfectly faithful rendition of the original, has the dubious distinction of being one of the most chuckle-inspiring titles in the history of Polish translations due to the fact that the pronunciation of the "sea"-meaning word morze and może, the latter of which literally means "he/she/it can", sounds about the same. And when the verb ''może" is left without a complimentary, it is commonly associated with sexual prowess. So the whole title, when read aloud, might just as well say "An old man who can still get some". (Of course, since it's a Hemingway book...)
• Signature Scene: The fight between Santiago and the swordfish.
• Tear Jerker - The ending is on the verge of heartbreaking to some readers.
  • The other fishermen are in awe of Santiago's effort to bring such a giant fish back. The boy even cries for the suffering that the Old Man endured. They display the bony remains, but the tourists don't comprehend what they're seeing.