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  • Essay / A Book Review of The Old Man and the Wilderness by Nick Cole

    The Old Man and the Wilderness is a novel by Nick Cole. It was the first publication in the Westland saga series, among other books in the series Savage Boy and The Road Is a River. The book was first published on April 6, 2011. It was the author's first book. Besides writing, Nick Cole is an actor. He lives in Southern California and previously served in the United States Army. In his first work The Old Man and the Wasteland, Nick takes the aspect of creative writing to come up with this fictional story. The storyline is based on American society during the era of civilization. The author combines life experiences and creativity to tell the story of an old man saving himself from devastating situations. As the book stands out as a masterpiece in its Westland saga series, it seems to have a combination of ideas, themes and creativity to uncover the truth in the story of man versus nature in Hemingway's classic - The Old Man and the Sea (Hemingway, p.12). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayThe Old Man and the Wasteland cannot be analyzed without taking a look at the Old Man and the Sea. This is the story that the author read and became interested in the theme of perseverance, “one is not beaten until one has decided to be beaten”. (Hemingway, p.22). Nick Cole takes the story back forty years after the nuclear attacks on America. The story takes as its main actor an old man, a survivor of the war. The old man lives in the scavenger village. Guided by the theme of courage, the old man sets off on an adventure in Westland to save his family. Old Mama endures suffering across the deserts, all motivated by the quest to thwart her "curse." The story is post-apocalyptic fiction because it includes the aspect of humanity, morality and community. The “wasteland” metaphor shows the nature of the world after its destruction by nuclear war. Like any other post-apocalyptic story, The Old Man and the Wasteland depicts the theme of epic disasters, with the Old Man displaying the courage and creativity to savage against all odds (Nick, p1-12). The story begins with the aspect of civilization. It depicts the negative nature of civilization. The use of nuclear weapons, in this case, represents the element of civilization. After the nuclear war, the American southwest is ruined. The originality of “Westland” is civilization. It is imagery depicting the negative nature of civilization and the aspect of modern technology in human life. “After nuclear war in South America, human beings are reduced to saving the ruins of a broken world” - Nick (2011, p. 5). The earth is ravaged by destruction. This shows how civilization has caused suffering to spread to where human beings must struggle to meet basic needs such as food and shelter. The old man's major aspiration is to help preserve humanity and meet the needs of his community. This leads him into dangerous situations. He mainly goes into risky situations in search of food to feed his family. The theme of endurance is represented in the old man's struggle through the burnt offering's journeys to places unknown. The old man doesn't believe in defeat. He struggles against the physical world and his own emotions. At the end of the fight in the desert, the old man gets something salvageable for his village. He finally wins his struggle and gets a boat with..