The old man and the sea, written by Ernest Hemingway, is a short novel of an old man, Santiago and one of his trips to the sea to catch fish, which takes a total of five days. Santiago has been fishing at sea for what seems like his whole life, and has taken in the young boy, Manolin, at a young age, whose parents now want Manolin to stop going to fish with the old man due to his apparent lack of luck. In the start of the book, Santiago has not caught a fish for eighty four days.
Santiago, on his eighty fifth day of his unlucky streak, goes into deep and far waters looking for large prey. He finally finds a fish after a few hours of searching. It is a Marlin slightly larger than his boat, who he struggles with four the rest of the day, into night and so on until he finally catches and kills it on the 3rd day.
The Marlin is used as a driving force for the plot, an enemy as well as an ally to Santiago. The marlin’s very first appearance shows us that it will guide the action for the rest of the novel, telling us that the marlin is not a victim of Santiago but a member in his struggle, an opponent worthy of Santiago's respect and admiration.
Santiago catches the fish because it takes his bait, but the marlin is so powerful that it pulls Santiago’s boat for a very long while. Between them, a small relationship begins to form, each recognizing their mutual need to survive. Santiago shows empathy for the marlin and comes to view their struggle as a partnership. Essentially, he feels that they are in this together, both fighting with all their strength against death. The marlin may be hooked, but Santiago also feels the pain of their struggle through his fatigue and the cuts on his hands caused by the fishing lines.
After he wins in his struggle against the marlin, he kills it, and with it on the side of his boat he begins the long journey home. But the scent of the marlin’s blood draws sharks. Santiago fights them off as well as he can, using his harpoon, a knife, even the boat's tiller. By the time he reaches the shore, all that remains of the marlin is its skeleton. His great victory has been stripped away. The sharks symbolise loss and the cruel reality of how our efforts can be undone by things beyond our control. Despite this, Santiago does not return broken in spirit. He has proven his courage, his perseverance, and his dignity.
The Old Man and the Sea is a story about our capacity to endure, to struggle with purpose, and to find meaning even in failure. Hemingway seems to suggest that true success is not in the outcome but in the effort, the struggle, and the elegance with which one faces defeat. He may return without his prize, but does not seem to be defeated. He is a symbol of perseverance, and through his story, the novel speaks to the value of resilience in the face of life’s hardships.
Santiago, on his eighty fifth day of his unlucky streak, goes into deep and far waters looking for large prey. He finally finds a fish after a few hours of searching. It is a Marlin slightly larger than his boat, who he struggles with four the rest of the day, into night and so on until he finally catches and kills it on the 3rd day.
The Marlin is used as a driving force for the plot, an enemy as well as an ally to Santiago. The marlin’s very first appearance shows us that it will guide the action for the rest of the novel, telling us that the marlin is not a victim of Santiago but a member in his struggle, an opponent worthy of Santiago's respect and admiration.
Santiago catches the fish because it takes his bait, but the marlin is so powerful that it pulls Santiago’s boat for a very long while. Between them, a small relationship begins to form, each recognizing their mutual need to survive. Santiago shows empathy for the marlin and comes to view their struggle as a partnership. Essentially, he feels that they are in this together, both fighting with all their strength against death. The marlin may be hooked, but Santiago also feels the pain of their struggle through his fatigue and the cuts on his hands caused by the fishing lines.
After he wins in his struggle against the marlin, he kills it, and with it on the side of his boat he begins the long journey home. But the scent of the marlin’s blood draws sharks. Santiago fights them off as well as he can, using his harpoon, a knife, even the boat's tiller. By the time he reaches the shore, all that remains of the marlin is its skeleton. His great victory has been stripped away. The sharks symbolise loss and the cruel reality of how our efforts can be undone by things beyond our control. Despite this, Santiago does not return broken in spirit. He has proven his courage, his perseverance, and his dignity.
The Old Man and the Sea is a story about our capacity to endure, to struggle with purpose, and to find meaning even in failure. Hemingway seems to suggest that true success is not in the outcome but in the effort, the struggle, and the elegance with which one faces defeat. He may return without his prize, but does not seem to be defeated. He is a symbol of perseverance, and through his story, the novel speaks to the value of resilience in the face of life’s hardships.