One of Hemingway's most enduring writings is The Old Man and the Sea. It's the story of a down-on-his-luck old Cuban fisherman and his ultimate experience, a relentless, excruciating battle with a gigantic marlin far out in the Gulf Stream, told in a language of remarkable simplicity and power. Hemingway recasts the old theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal success achieved through loss, in a stunningly contemporary language. This tremendously famous novella, written in 1952, underlined Hemingway's influence and presence in the literary world and helped him earn the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.