subject: The Best Episodes Of Big Game Fishing In Classic Literature [print this page] These are some activities that, because they are so far beyond the normal experience of the common man, they become a thrill just to read and hear about. Big game fishing is one such activity, and many of the world's greatest authors have proven this time and again by using the sport as the basis for their stories. In some cases, this has produced immortal classics that will stand the test of time.
The most obvious example might be Herman Melville's "Moby Dick". In this novel, an old sailor named Ahab becomes obsessed with the great white whale that took his leg in a previous encounter. Despite that he has both a wife and child, he has no desire in the world other than to find and kill Moby Dick.
Over the course of the novel, one learns a great deal about whaling and the kind of people who might take part in it. On the other hand, though, the real thrust of the novel is Ahab's obsession and the depths to which it takes him and the rest of the crew. A nice reminder that life shouldn't be squandered on a singular obsessive search, no matter the object.
Next up we've got Hemingway's eternal classic, "The Old Man and the Sea". This story takes place in the 20th century and follows an episode in the life of an old fisherman named Santiago as he attempts to recover from a slump in which he hasn't caught a fish in over a month.
Having not caught a fish for more than a month, Hemingway's Old Man struggles not just for the sake of honor or his reputation as a fisherman, but rather for his life itself. There is a very real sense that the man will eventually die if he doesn't succeed in his journey. Spanning many perilous days and nights, this story highlights the lengths to which humanity can, and sometimes must, go to find value.
Even the ancient authors of the Christian Bible saw fit to mine the sport of fishing for their parables and metaphorical needs. The story of Jonah and the whale is an excellent example which involves a prophet who tries to escape his celestial calling and joins up with a group of fishermen to gain passage away from his homeland.
God continually besets the ship with one hardship after the other, including devastating storms and a total lack of successful fishing, until at last the crew throws Jonah overboard. Once they do, the ship continues on unabated, but Jonah himself is swallowed up by a whale or shark (the exact type of fish is unspecified).
As we all know, though, Jonah is delivered up from the whale in the end, and this is very similar to the act of deliverance that literature performs upon the sport of big game fishing. Far from being something un-intellectual, it is a passionate undertaking that can mean the difference between life and death for many people. The great authors of the world have known this and their wisdom should be heeded.
