Old Man and the Sea Essay

Another important aspect of Santiago’s personality is his optimism and resilience. Although not associated with all transcendentalists, the ability to view events in a positive light is very important for a Transcendentalist to possess. Thoreau describes this attribute as being the way in which we see the beauty all around us, by taking the bad and viewing it in a positive manner. Santiago does exactly this by always accepting the hand he is dealt. After days out at sea in a very painful position, he states, “He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and gone into a dullness that he mistrusted. But I have had worse things than that, he thought. My hand is only cut a little and the cramp is gone from the other. My legs are all right. Also now I have gained on him in the question of sustenance.” (Hemingway 74). Santiago feels that his injuries are not important, as he has experienced worse pain and what is more important to him at the time is catching the fish. Later in the book, after he finally catches the huge fish, it gets eaten by sharks on his way back to shore. Unlike a typical

“He did not truly feel good because the pain from the cord across his back had almost passed pain and into dullness that he mistrusted.”(74) Once both the fish and Santiago had reached the breaking point of conflict the story seemed to slow down in time to exemplify the adverse conditions that both characters were suffering from. The old man proves himself worthy of personal suffering with the cuts and scars on his hands and back along with all of the pulling and slipping the cords had upon his fragile body. Hemmingway shows in a big way how an out of proportioned conflict with an old fisherman and an 18 foot long marlin helps to magnify the significance of Santiago searching for his rebirth to manhood. With constant abstraction describing the fish and the sea in relation to brotherhood create interesting questions for Santiago to ponder. His rationalization for his fishing is that he was born to do it. “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” (103) Hemmingway proves that this fish represents all of Santiago’s built up tension to total the size of a gigantic marlin that is perceived as devastating but not unconquerable. The old man’s hopes and aspirations can overcome the adversity of the marlin’s size, along with the conditions of the old, hungry, and exhausted fisherman. Through outright suffering Santiago achieves a goal above his previous manhood by combating pain and

Santiago’s attitude seems to be that although he faces difficulties, he finds the strength inside of him to be able to overcome them. Once he hooked the marlin, Santiago comes to a realization that he cannot kill the fish quickly. Though he is faced with a problem, the old man is able to find the best of the situation. He begins to form a bond with the marlin, as he repeatedly

Santiago could not help but to have a nap in the middle of the sea. Not long though, a tsunami of attacking fish arrived, whose waves of destruction battered Santiago’s short stream of rest. The fish jumped out of the water, and Santiago was thrown into the bow of the skiff.

Even after successfully killing the marlin, Santiago still manages to express admiration for the slain beast as he defends the remains against the great scavengers of the sea in the form

The novel written by Ernest Hemingway tells the story of an old fisherman named Santiago (referred to as "the old man") and his quest of catching a fish. Unfortunately, the old man has been down on his luck and has been fish-less for eighty-four days. The next time the old man leaves for a fishing trip, he sets sail farther than any fisherman has ever gone before, and he refuses to go home until he has proven to himself and to society that he is more than an average old man. However the old man is forced to overcome many challenges on his quest. His old age hinders him drastically and when he is finally able to get a fish on his line, he is not strong enough and is unable to reel the fish in. On the third day of the fishing expedition as the old man continues to struggle with the fish (a large marlin), he begins to reflect on the nature of the universe and his low place in society. The old man begins to feel pity for the fish, however also feels an unflagging determination to kill

In addition, Santiago is able to endure great physical pain and displays the virtue of courage in the face of adversity. In the novella, the old man’s battle with the fish is characterized by extreme pain and suffering. On the first day, Santiago has hooked a giant marlin but instead of pulling it in, the fish begins to pull the boat. During the entire time, Santiago suffers greatly due to the depravity of food, water and rest. Also, he experiences constant pain from the fishing line: “his left hand found the line and he leaned back against the line and now it burned his back and his left hand, and his left hand was taking all the strain and cutting badly” (82).

In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago is an unlucky fisherman who has not caught anything in 84 days.  Yet he sets out alone on the 85th day to try again.  For three days he struggles with a large marlin which he finally kills; but, despite his best efforts, he loses the fish to repeated shark attacks.

Throughout the novel, Santiago’s actions and thoughts show how he is struggling with patience. Santiago knows that if he rushes the fish to the surface, he could snap the line. For example, “This will kill him, the old man thought. He can’t do this forever. But four hours later the fish was still swimming steadily out to sea, towing the skiff, and the old man was still braced solidly with the line across his back” (45). In this context, the old man has just hooked the fish and is planning out what the fish will do next. Santiago is very patient with fighting the fish, proving so by keeping him

He tries to reel it in but he can't. Instead the fish is pulling the boat! He struggles and struggles with the fish for hours. After a while fatigue takes it's toll as his hands clamp up, and his back aches from the line tied around it. The fish surfaces and Santiago realizes that it is longer than the boat he is on! An unexpected jerk leaves a gash in his hand only to add to his pain. After a very long while Santiago shortens the line to harpoon it. He latches the fish to the side of the boat and begind to tow it back to shore triumphant. Then a mako shark approaches and takes a large bite out of the marlin. Santiago kills it with a harpoon. Only later did he realize that the sharks blood would attract more sharks. As more sharks approached Santiago fought with all his might to save his fish but there was too many sharks. By the time he got to shore, he had nothing more than a skeleton. Santiago collapses from exhaustion on the shore but is found by Manolin and calls for help. The community marveled at the size of the skeleton that is still attached to the boat. Manolin takes care of the old man and vows to return to him as an apprentice. Santiago finally gets the repect from his community.

For instance, Santiago feels remorseful as, “He was sorry for the great fish that had nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow for him”(75). Although Santiago has a primary role in the food chain, he is regretful to kill the marlin as he secures the fish’s fate. He believes that it is innocent and faultless as he had attacked his, “true brother” while the fish swam, hoping to be unnoticed. Similarly, nearing the end of the novella, Santiago woefully discloses his feelings, stating that, “I shouldn’t have gone out so far, fish,” he said. “Neither for you nor for me. I’m sorry, fish...I wish it were a dream and that I had never hooked him. I’m sorry about it, fish. It makes everything wrong”(110). Regardless of Santiago’s defeat to the sharks feasting on the marlin’s meant, he asks for forgiveness to the fish rather than being furious with the Dentusos and Galanos sharks. His empathetic feelings are visible when he apologizes for the battle they had lost, together. Rather than leaving the remaining flesh of the marlin, Santiago's immense respect drives him to bring the remains back to the island. He treats it as his equal rather than an enemy, which truly portrays his sympathetic and humanly

Over and over again he is remarked to be a strange old man, and he himself is the one to glorify that. He seems to struggle with the fact that he must prove himself to the other fisherman who mock him and believe him to be a fallen hero. He sets off to sea in his boat one day, but what he does not know that it will be the three most tiring days of his life. He first catches a smaller fish and instead of turning back, he decides to go farther out into the ocean to see what he can catch with that fish. He soon is dragged all over and back by a shiny purple marlin, that is two feet longer than his skiff. The response to Santiago’s poor decision or lack of creativity to harpoon the marlin instead of try to kill it another was as to not attract mako sharks was confusing. He is shown to be a man of intelligence and greatness, yet his decision to kill the marlin in this manner knowing what could happen proves that he had a distinct motive for harpooning the fish. By the words of Gery Brenner, “that motive is self validation-the need to prove himself”(Brenner 55). In the end, after the three day struggle, when Santiago returns to the dock, he is told by Manolin later that he was said to be lost at sea, and everyone was completely taken away by the length of the mangled carcass that he brought in. The take many get from Hemingway’s novel is

Many of Ernest Hemingway’s stories are either literally or figuratively based on his life experiences. The Old Man and the Sea is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Bimini, Bahamas, and published in 1952. It was the last major work by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. Its writing was influenced by his life around him. This is shown through the way the novella is written and key events and parts within it. The Old Man and the Sea can be interpreted as an allegory of Hemingway’s life and career at the time he wrote it.

“Santiago’s ordeal, first in his struggle with the big fish, and then in fighting against the sharks, is associated by Hemingway with Christ’s agony and triumph,” (Bloom 2). When Santiago sees the second and third sharks coming, he shouts “Ay,” and Hemingway notes: “There is no

Santiago is doing anything to distract himself from the pain and keep his mind clear and prepared to react to the fish. Santiago’s back pains are only a small amount of the pain Santiago would experience near the end of his journey. Santiago is pushed to the brink of death when he reels in the great fish. The old man has been in a constant battle with the fish for three straight days before the fish finally decides to give in. Santiago then proceeds to start the physically exhausting task of pulling in the fish as it circles his skiff. He feels faint the first pull on the fish’s line. The second time, Santiago is concerned for his health, but pushes through and reels the fish in closer. The old man knows he can not last much longer and thinks, “I’ll try it again, the old man promised, although his hands were mushy now and he could only see well in flashes. He tried it again and it was the same. So he felt himself going before he even started; I will try it once again”(93).The third try pushes Santiago to the brink of death. Santiago does not care who kills whom at this point in his journey, he just wishes the battle will end. When Santiago tries the next pull, he is successful; pulling the fish on its side. The old man then spears the fish through the heart and kills it. Santiago sustains numerous injuries while trying to capture the fish. Along with the cramp, he has numerous gouges on his hands from the line slipping through them. The old man is almost killed in his battle with the fish. The fight with the fish leaves Santiago exhausted and in pain. With many injuries and a near death experience, Santiago suffers greatly on his journey out to sea with the great marlin. These effects could have been avoided or lessened if Manolin had been there to lend his assistance and company. The boy would have been able to take the strain off of the old man by switching roles, controlling the fish