El viejo y el mar
The answer assumes a third level on which "The Old Man and the Sea" must be read—as a sort of allegorical commentary on all his previous work, by means of which it may be established that the religious overtones of "The Old Man and the Sea" are not peculiar to that book among Hemingway's works, and that Hemingway has finally taken the decisive step in elevating what might be called his philosophy of Manhood to the level of a religion.