Perseverance In Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea

Ernest Hemingway once said, “The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.” This quote is a fine demonstration of Hemingway’s respect for nature and the environment, which perfectly links to a lasting theme in his book, The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago’s journey on the sea is one of misfortune and survival, but in the end it’s the environment around him that helps him reach his home once again. While some may say that The Old Man and the Sea is more of a cautionary tale of how nature can have negative impacts on a person’s life, it is imperative to recognize that the story is more about residing within and accepting the changes in the environment rather than being punished by it. The theme of understanding and respecting the environment in The Old Man and The Sea is supported by factors such as Santiago’s interactions with the marlin, his respect for the sea, and his survival throughout the book.

Sometimes people have to do sacrifices, which appears in the rising action of the book. “‘Fish,’ he said, ‘I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before the day ends’” (Hemingway 54). Why did he have to kill it? Why couldn’t he hold on a little longer? Santiago sacrifices the fish for his self interest. In spite of the fact that he respects the fish, the old man’s determination reflects his belief that his purpose in life is to be a fisherman, and that comes first. As well, Santiago advises himself that he doesn't have Manolin, his beloved companion, with him and must battle against the fish by himself. It has been four struggling days of being pulled by the huge marlin, Santiago decided that that was enough. Even though

Another conflict exists between Santiago and the other, younger fisherman. They suppose that Santiago is salao because he has not caught a fish in eighty four days. They are doing no respect him as a result of he is old and unlucky. They do not acknowledge or fear his ability. In fact, they ridicule him. This affects Santiago’s confidence and isolates him more. Santiago doesn't have any friends apart from the boy because no one respects him. Once Santiago comes back from his trip with the large marlin carcass with shark bites in it, they understand that Santiago has nice ability and determination for his age and that they begin to respect him. When the old man tells the story, he reveals that being honored is very important to him. His pride

Perseverance is a recurring trait in Santiago’s character and some of his prestige derives from his role model, Joe DiMaggio. According to the fisherman, “DiMaggio does all things perfectly even with the bone spur in his heel.” This helps the man realize that whatever troubles lurk within the depths of the dark sea, it is possible to triumph in the end. Santiago proves himself king of the sea when he constantly refers to himself as a “lion on the beaches of Africa.” If nothing else, he has pride; especially when his fellow fishermen ridicule him and he “is not angry.” The man’s strength is too prevalent to let these people tear down his dignity. The shark is similar to the fishermen in that he desires to break the man’s perseverance. Nevertheless, the courageous Santiago exudes his powerful might against his foe, the shark and kills it with “resolution and complete

However, the old man still doesn’t want to fish with the boy. “‘No. I am not lucky. I am not lucky anymore.’” Even after all Santiago went through those four days out at sea, the old man is still concerned about the boy, because perseverance raised Santiago’s self character. Undoubtedly, the old man shows astronomical growth in his self esteem and in his self character throughout the book, and that it doesn’t always lead to

Santiago struggles against powerful forces, starting with the sea. When the sea does not allow the old man to have fish for 84 days, he is labeled as salao. Santiago is ridiculed by the fisherman of his small fishing village. He goes out to sea to prove himself to them and Manolin, a young boy who cares for Santiago, that he still has the skill to catch a fish. The old man wants them to know that he is still a great fisherman.

He often dreams about when he was in Africa and “saw lions on the beaches,” a symbol of his personal pride and strength. Actually seeing lions seems frightening to some, but Santiago refers to them as “young cats playing in the evening,” and goes on to say that he “[loves] them as he [loves] the boy.” His ability to be independent is what helps him to stay focused on his goals rather than relying on the elusive kindness of others. The boy, although on a successful boat with his parents, offers to go with Santiago to help him fish. The aged man declines the offer by kindly explaining, “You’re in a lucky boat. Stay with them.” He is absent food, but when the boy asks him what he has for dinner, he jokingly responds, “a pot of yellow rice with fish.” Santiago’s independence is one of his sources of pride and what makes him such a grand and strong-willed man. He exudes courage and determination by choosing isolation during his fishing trips. The narrator describes Santiago as, “An old man who fished alone in a skiff,” since he usually never socialized with people except the boy. Being alone is how he prefers to fish for he “[talks] to himself” and “[sings] when he is alone.” As a man in tune with nature, this prideful independence is a great trait to have while claiming friendship with such a brutal

In Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago was a Code Hero” who exemplified the admirable quality of Perseverance through his actions. Santiago was an example of perseverance when he has the battle with the fish. His battle with the fish was not a battle of strength, but battle of determination. Despite the old man’s age he was willing to go through hunger, physical pain, and isolation from the rest. Patience became a way we connected the old man and the fish he fights, as they share a determination that, in its greatness, separates them from other people and creatures of the world. This demonstrates Santiago's perseverance because even though he had cuts on his hand and face also his own pain and tiredness. He works out discipline and

Santiago decides to head out to sea on a 3 day journey, on his journey santiago hooks a fish and is persistent on catching the fish. He refuses to give up and will catch the fish. In the old man and the sea, Ernest Hemingway presents the idea that resistance

In this moment, Santiago is experiencing true oneness with nature. He is understanding how he acts in the context of nature and is stopping to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings, much like Thoreau did at Walden Pond. Santiago also embodies Thoreau’s ideologies when facing the fish. Though most people see the fish as prizes or less than human, Santiago recognizes the fish as an intelligent creature, even as his brother and equal, which shows his respect for and connection with

“Man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated,” Ernest Hemingway. In the novel The Old Man and the Sea written by the spokesman of this quote, it is truly demonstrated that a man can be destroyed but not defeated through the main character, Santiago. He is an older man who loves to fish and devotes most of his time to fishing. Unfortunately, he had not brought back a fish in over eighty days. This occurrence lead to his pupil Manolin’s parents not allowing their son to fish with Santiago and also some other fishermen who thought he was a joke. Like Manolin’s parents and also the other fisherman, many disbelievers think that the old man is unlucky, therefore it is not his fate to catch a worthy fish. They believe that it takes luck and fate to catch a fish. On the contrary, both Santiago and Manolin disagree as they believe that pride and ambition will help Santiago finally catch his dream fish. The theme of pride of ambition beating out their counterparts fate and luck is thoroughly expressed in all facets of this novel. Three main occurrences where the theme is present is when he still goes out even with his “bad luck”, when he continues to hang on to the fish he has hooked, and finally when he returns home and his pride and ambition is recognized by others.

The will to keep on going even though there is a good chance of dying just to have a chance at getting something that might not be worth it. That is shown in the novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. When the Old man who is known as Santiago decides to go fishing alone without the help of his friend who is a boy, and Santiago is greeted by a massive fish. That he then tries to kill since he has the massive fish hooked. The battle against Santiago ,and the fish lasted for days, which made Santiago’s body start to cramp. But even that didn’t make him stop fighting the fish, and he made it clear that he wasn’t going to give up. In the novella by Ernest Hemingway, he presents the idea that not giving up even though defeat is

Santiago had gone so long without a single success that when he came close to catching a fish, his willpower would not let him give up. His course that day was different from usual considering that he set off very early and went extremely far out. It was effective however since he hooked something early on, a something that was much more difficult than a usual catch, especially for an old man by himself. His strength was enough but not enough to pull the fish up on his own so he had to wait until it would come up for him. “It was noon when i hooked him,’ he said. ‘And I have never seen him.’” (pg. 46) By nighttime it had been hours since he had gotten the fish but he had still not seen him. Most people then would give up and head in but not the old man. “‘Fish,’ he said softly, aloud, ‘I’ll stay with you until I am dead.’” (pg. 52). Because of his old age, this was almost true simply because he did not give up. Towards the end of the battle, the book quotes “He felt faint again now but he held on the great fish all the strain that he could.” (pg. 91). Even in a moment of weakness, Santiago gave this fish his all. Despite the old man’s age and the size of the marlin. Santiago had too much pride in himself to let fate take it’s course.

Santiago says, “Now they have beaten me, he thought. I am too old to club sharks to death. But I will try it as long as I have the oars and the short club and the tiller (74)”, to show his acceptance of defeat. Although, even when he admits his own defeat, Santiago still promises himself that he will continue to try.Not only will he try, but he will struggle, and he will continue to struggle for a long time. This is because he believe he does not have a point of defeat, but once he has finished struggling, he will return a better, stronger, and a more faithful man because of it. Santiago also shows his selflessness and his pride in defeat by saying, "I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this," he said. "Now that I have him coming so beautifully, God help me endure. I’ll say a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys. But I cannot say them now.” (47). This quotation shows his pride. Not the pride he has in himself, but his pride in his life. Even though he knows he gets defeated, he still wants strength from his God to to endure to save the

Santiago accepts his responsibility for his life and fishing actions whether it’s at home or on the voyage. Santiago goes 84 days without catching a fish and after the first 40 days Manolin’s parents will no longer let him fish with him, mainly because he is considered the biggest form of unlucky. On page 10 “I could go with you again. We’ve made some more money.” The old man had taught the boy to fish and the boy had loved him. “No” the old man said. “You are with a lucky boat. Stay with them.” This shows that Santiago takes ownership for not catching fish. This is relevant because not only is he claiming the responsibility It shows that he wants the best for Manolin and respects Manolin’s parents’ wishes. Additionally Santiago says “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” (103) This proves that he accepts that bad things happen and that they destroy him, but at the end he is not