Old Man & the Sea

Caleb Cogan
August 14, 2011
English 3

“The Old Man and the Sea”

In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway shows Santiago, a Cuban fisherman, as a strong and heroic man. The man’s epic battle between the marlin represents his strength and symbolizes endurance. Santiago has set a journey to the sea for 84 days and is beat when he returns home with nothing. His friend Manolin has been forced by his parents to leave the old man to fish. Ernest Hemingway has created a character that has made a brave man who personifies courage, honor, and faith.

As The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a story which studies and shows the themes of an old man’s bravery and endurance, he demonstrates strength in the biggest catch of his career. Santiago, the old man, finds a big marlin on his hook. This will be his biggest catch of his life. There is emotional damage and tension between the battle with the marlin and the old man. Defending & catching the fish takes a lot of strength and courage. He deals with suffering and pain by protecting it. When he says he is not defeated, he says “a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” (Spark Notes Editors, 2002)

Santiago enjoys the boy very much but Santiago is an outsider. Santiago is certain that his blocked streak will shortly come to an end, and he resolves to cruise out beyond any standard the following day. Because the boy shows his devotion to honesty of Santiago, he becomes his apprentice. Manolin recognizes Santiago’s true strength and wisdom while other fisherman laugh at Santiago. (Spark Notes Editors. “Spark Note on the Old Man and the Sea.”) Hemingway introduces some images that will return throughout the book. The first is the question of Santiago’s endurance.

The section also talks about two important themes: Santiago’s imaginary dream of Joe DiMaggio & lions playing on the beach of Africa. Lions on a beach are a more puzzling symbol than that of Joe DiMaggio. The lions are Santiago’s only dream. The image of lions in his dream reminds him of his connection between birth and his death. The lions playing show that his dream is broken from nature. Santiago’s dream of Joe DiMaggio is an inspiration to him. To him, the baseball player helps him survive. DiMaggio returned to playing baseball to see the eyes of his fans after recovering from a bone projection.

Santiago catches some small tuna and thinks it would give him some strength. Soon, he feels a tight pull on his line. The marlin, a great fish, nibbles then final bites. Santiago holds on tight giving everything he’s got until his hands start to cramp up. He is determined to catch the fish as his opponent. When the marlin finally surfaces it is longer than Santiago’s boat. The struggle continues and he finally eats the tuna, wraps the line to his hand and goes to sleep. The next day Santiago harpoons the marlin and wins, but sharks come and eat the flesh of the marlin. So Santiago is not defeated and is not victorious.