Global Issue: Beliefs, values and education​ .

Link two texts → humans inherently strive for more

than possible (believe (or create) ideas that fits what they want). Links to innovation and bettering-self
however also leads to never being satisfied (lack of self esteem seen in teens). Reality pale
comparison to ideal → inevitable disappointment. ​CONCL​: old man embodies idea of people not
always achieving goals (reality of life not glamorized in ideals) which is further explained in essay.
Texts chosen
Literary Work : ​‘The Old Man and the Sea’​ by Ernest Hemmingway (P98-99 book version)
Non-literary text : ​‘Human nature and the transcendent - Human Restlessness’ J​ ohn Cottingham
Notes for the oral:
● END ‘Dreaming about lions’ - ​links start dream (lions = ideal image of self and life) → a
reality only exists in dreams / he never achieves → (​ kill moon/stars/sun​) = futility of
chasing after something better

● ‘ “How much did you suffer” “Plenty”’ - ​recognised for feat in boy’s eyes but doesn’t
acknowledge victory himself / short ‘plenty’ jux length of struggles → because reality doesn’t
match up to ideal, disregards what he went through

● ‘ Empty beer cans and dead barracudas...great fish was now just garbage’ - ​victory
tainted by ignorance others / old man doesn’t recognise victory → lets self down // great jux.
Garbage = expectation letdown → emph failure

● ‘ Sharks... handsome tails’ - ​tourist’s ignorance reflects in old man’s ignorance to

recognise even small victory is still a victory // tourists = outside perspective to one man
story = reality (often think we’re alone and forget reality when focused on goal)

● ‘ Something in chest broken’ -​ physical injury or injury of soul / fails to be recognised but
will continue fish everyday despite lack reward (lion dream = coping with reality)

● HUMAN EXPERIENCE - by striving to be better we innovate but also never satisfied /

always want more (low self esteem) → essay about always wanting more (introduce article)

● ‘humanity transcends itself’ / ‘strange restlessness of the human spirit’ -​ inherent

need to go beyond // restless and unhappy with mundane/ what we already have / ​need to
have what others have → wanting more but never satisfied

● Humans enjoy occasional glimpses into a deeper richer reality than is disclosed in
our ordinary mundane experience of the world -​ creating ideals to fit what we think is
perfect / links old man’s lion dream as glimpses life that could have had (power victory) but
not reality (age) → disappointment

● To be human is to recognize that we are, in a certain sense, incomplete beings. We

are on a journey to a horizon that always seems to recede from view. - ​failure key to
success (gone out too far but needed to) / whole book = journey and reality (where he truly
succeeded) but his ideal is dream (only start and end of book) = copes reality through dream

● ‘Die away + fade into light of common day’ / ‘trailing clouds of glory ... from God
who is our home.’ - ​realise dreams not possible in reality → disappointment / trailing trends.