Reflection On The Old Man And The Sea

The Old Man and The Sea As Santiago says, “ A man can be destroyed but not defeated” while he is on his boat foreshadows himself later in the book. Santiago is physically destroyed, but mentally he is not defeated. His body has aged, making it harder on him to get around, and to do things he normally would have seen as an easy task. Whereas his mind is youthful and full of great ideas. Santiago's pride keeps him going at all times throughout the novel. When it seemed like he was not going to catch the fish he never gave up. He wanted to bring back the biggest fish to prove to everyone he was still a great fisherman. Santiago's hands were cramping and bleeding, but he never once felt pity for himself as he told his left hand, “ what kind of

The Old Man's best friend Manolin has went fishing with him since he was merely five years old, but after his parents found out The Old Man was not catching any fish they told the boy he could no longer fish with The Old Man anymore because he was bad luck. Manolin not being allowed to fish with The Old Man made him very sad, and he wanted to fish with him anyways, but Santiago told the boy he must obey his parents. I believe this provoked The Old Man to go out and catch the biggest fish. After Santiago hooked the marlin he did not exactly know how big the fish actually was. Later in the novel, while The Old Man is at sea the big fish jumps out of the water, and he saw just how huge this marlin was, Santiago did not know what he had got himself into. After this, The Old Man knew he had to catch this fish as he said, “ I do not care who kills who”, this shows that Santiago was willing to die to catch this fish. The Old Man filling very faint and dizzy and seeing black spots knows if he is going to catch this fish he must do it now. Santiago kills the marlin and pulls him next to the boat, but can’t put the fish on the boat because it is too large. The fish is bleeding from Santiago having to kill it, and the blood from the fish attracts sharks, which infuriates Santiago. The Old Man kills around four sharks trying to protect his prized fish, but even after giving it his all he still had no fish left to sale when

Santiago's hands are cut and bruised. His clothes are ripped and his body is frail. The Old Man could not physically be destroyed any more than he already is. He may be physically destroyed but mentally he is not defeated. The Old Man is very prideful and pushes himself to his limit. Santiago may have lost his fish to the sharks, but he still brought back the skeleton and head of a huge marlin. That in itself is an accomplishment. Therefore the old man is not defeated, he brought back the biggest fish, gaining all the respect of the other