Question

Hemingway set The Old Man and the Sea in a little fishing village near Havana, Cuba, in the late 1940s. What kind of mood does this setting create?

A. It creates a mood of deep, hidden secrets.
B. It creates a mood of fun and exhilarating excitement.
C. It creates a mood of a stark, bare-bones existence.
D. It creates a mood of mystery and tension.

Answer 1

Answer: I would contend that the right answer is actually the C. It creates a mood of a stark, bare-bones existence.

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that fishing villages are, for the most part, humble and quite. In addition, the life of a fisherman is very hard and uncertain, and often very monotonous too. Furthermore, in the 1940s rural areas in Cuba were far from being prosperous, and their inhabitants suffered from malnutrition and faced many difficulties. The kind of mood that this setting creates is, therefore, one of stark and bare-bones existence, that of an aging fisherman who have gone entire weeks without catching a fish.