The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway After reading this novel, "The Old Man and the Sea," by Ernest Hemingway, I was confused about something the old man kept repeating. During the course of the book, the old man, Santiago, refers to having gone out to far to catch the fish. To me, this sounds as though he is making excuses for himself as to why he could not bring the fish in. On the other hand, he may have realized that he should not have gone out so far because it was not worth it for everything he puts himself and the fish through. I reread over these parts and came to a conclusion about this problem.

The setting that Hemingway uses gives the reader a feeling of the pain and alienation of the old man. At the same time it shows us that if Santiago had never been through this pain and isolation he would have never decided to go on the journey through the sea ... ... middle of paper ... ...d man. Preventing the boy from fishing with him. Being alone in his boat, and talking with himself and the fish are incidents that create a mood of isolation and alienation. These events pushed him to go through this journey in the sea to discover his ability on one hand, and to let other people believe in his abilities on the other hand.

Various arguments were established. Some argued that the novel’s theme was Santiago’s struggle, the friendship with the fish and other characters; Santiago’s perseverance and that he really ended up as a triumphant man. But to argue that those were also the main themes of the book is also a difficult thing to do. Even though Santiago fought and kept on with his struggle to catch the fish, he was defeated because he lost it at the end. Defeat, according to the Larousse Chambers English Dictionary, is when you are overthrown in a battle, you lose a game and therefore you don’t win: you don’t gain or reach your goal.

Santiago is a fairly poor man and often goes hungry, yet he never complains or protests. Santiago shows his humility many other times in the novel like when he was batting the marlin and he gashed his hand and received other severe wounds. Finally he never said a word of anger when he battled the sharks to save his fish but failed. Humility is a good attribute that many of us don't have.

Although sometimes he wished for some of the modern conveniences others had, he was able to do without them. Other fishermen had radios to pass the time while all Santiago had were his thoughts and sometimes the boy. The old man asked for the help of no one, for he did fine without the others. Santiago learned how to make due with the supplies that he had. On the boat while he is battling the mighty fish, he is able to deal with limited food and drink.

Many other fishermen in the novella told the Santiago that he could not do catch a fish at his age without the proper gear. But Santiago told them that he could catch a fish and he is confident that he will. He says, “Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought. But that was the thing that I was born for” ( Hemingway 50). This quote denies what the other fishermen are saying about the old man before he goes out to sea.

Throughout Hemingway’s novella he uses dialogues ti creates a powerful, poignant relationship between the old man and the young boy. In the start of the novel, the entire town has turned against Santiago, because he is “salao,” truly unlucky, Manolin still cares and believes in Santiago. Since he is the only boy who refers to the older man by name. This suggests that the boy knows him in a way that few do. Manolin is an apprentice fisherman in a fishing

I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars.”’ (75). A little past the middle of the novel, Santiago is fighting so hard to catch the marlin. He is losing strength, he is in pain from cutting his hand, and he is tired but that has not stopped him from fighting to catch that marlin. Santiago is even worried that he may die before the fish does, ‘“I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this,” he said. “Now that I have him coming so beautiful, God help me endure.

The author’s intention is to reveal to the audience how the other fish were not friends with Rainbow Fish due to his egocentric behavior. Rainbow fish was self-centered and believed to be better than all the other fish. He valued beauty, something that was of little value over his happiness. He then suffered consequences of those beliefs by being lonely. Rainbow Fish then seeks wisdom from an octopus.

He honors the marlin for its dignity and tries to protect it against the sharks who would ravage it. To Santiago, it takes little courage to strike the sharks with his harpoon, with his oar, with his knife. He wishes only that he had brought a stone so he could keep fighting. For one brief moment, Santiago accepts defeat, saying, "I never knew how easy it is when you're beaten." But, of course, Santiago is not beaten.