Topic > A review of the book The Old Man and the Waste Land by Nick Cole

The Old Man and the Waste Land is a novel by Nick Cole. This was the first publication of the Westland saga series, other books in the series included Savage Boy and The Road Is a River. The book was first published on April 6, 2011. This was the author's first book. In addition to writing, Nick Cole is an actor. He lives in Southern California and once served in the U.S. Army. In his first work The Old Man and the Wasteland, Nick uses the creative writing aspect to come up with this fictional story. The plot is based on the American society during the civilizational eras. The author combines life experiences with creativity to come up with the story of an old man who saves in devastating situations. As the book stands out as a masterpiece of the Westland saga series, it seems to contain a combination of great ideas, themes and creativity to uncover the truth in the story of man against 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 Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Old Man and the Waste Land cannot be analyzed without taking a look at The Old Man and the Sea. This is the story the author read and became interested in the theme of perseverance, 'you are not beaten until you decide to be beaten'. (Hemingway, p.22). Nick Cole dates the story forty years after the nuclear attacks on America. The story has as its main actor an old man who survived the war. The old man lives in the recovery village. Driven by the theme of courage, the Old Man embarks on an adventure into the Westerlands to save his family. The old mother endures suffering in the deserts, driven by the quest to counteract her "curse". The story is a post-apocalyptic fiction as it includes the aspect of humanity, morality and community. The "wasteland" metaphor shows the nature of the world after destruction due to nuclear war. Just like any other post-apocalyptic story, The Old Man and the Waste Land depicts the theme of epic disasters, with the old man showing the courage and creativity to fight against all odds (Nick, p1-12). The story begins with the civilization aspect. It describes 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 was ruined. The originality of "Westland" is civilization. This is an image to represent the negative nature of civilization and the aspect of modern technology in human life. “After nuclear war in devastated South America, humans were reduced to salvaging the ruins of a destroyed world” – Nick (2011, p.5). The earth is ravaged by destruction. This demonstrates how civilization has caused suffering to extend to where humans must struggle to meet their basic needs such as food and shelter. The elderly man's main aspiration is to help preserve humanity and meet the needs of his community. This leads him to dangerous situations. He's basically traveling to risky situations in search of food to feed his family. The theme of resistance is represented in the old man's struggle during the Holocaust's travels to unknown places. The old man does not believe in defeat. Fight against the physical world and your emotions. At the end of the desert fight, the old man gets something salvageable for his village. In the end he wins his fight and gets a boat with some fish. This gives hope to every struggle. Nick Cole describes elements of Marxism. The whole story seems historical and can be traced back to..