The Old Man and the Sea - Critical Evaluation

‘The Old Man and The Sea’ by Ernest Hemingway
CEL

Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and The Sea’ is set in Cuba during the 1950’s. The main characters that are portrayed in this novel are Santiago, the old man and the main character of the story, Manolin, the young boy who looks up to the old man for guidance and also helps Santiago in any way he can and the fish, a marlin. The sharks also play a significant part of this tale. There are many themes that run throughout this novel including determination, heroism, courage, pride and perseverance. In this essay I plan to discuss how Hemingway uses Santiago’s character to convey certain themes that are constantly present throughout the novel. I found this book to be a very inspiring and touching tale about never giving up and believing in yourself. The novel opens with a sentence which explains that the old man has gone 84 days without catching a single fish. We then go on to see how his determination gets the better of him as he travels into very deep water and goes further out than anyone else. After a huge struggle with nature Santiago eventually catches the fish and he feels like his luck is returning. Unfortunately this feeling of triumph is short lived as a number of sharks appear and attack the marlin, eating the fish and leaving only the skeleton behind. The old man feeling tired and defeated, makes his way back home crushed with fatigue. Our first impressions of Santiago are that he is old, weak and alone. Hemingway illustrates this through the opening sentence of the novel: “He was an old man who fished alone in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a single fish.”
This suggests that the old man is an extremely unfortunate fisherman. In this sort of novel we would expect to be introduced to some sort of heroic figure but Santiago seems to be the complete opposite of this. In the opening paragraph Hemingway also uses the simile ‘it looked like the flag of permanent defeat’ to suggest that he is not as good a fisherman as he used to be. Although Santiago seems to be very unlucky the young boy, Manolin, still holds a lot of love and respect for him. For the first forty days of the old man’s trip without catching a single fish Manolin had been there with Santiago. After forty days had passed without Santiago catching a single fish Manolin’s mother and father told him to go with another boat as they believed Santiago was ‘salao’ which is the worst king of unlucky obtainable. Santiago and the boy had fished together ever since Manolin could remember. They have an extraordinary relationship and the loyalty between Santiago and Manolin cannot be doubted. “I would like to go. If I cannot fish with you, I would like to serve you in some ways”
This shows that although Manolin does not have permission to fish with the old man, the bond they share is unbreakable. The boy will always try to help Santiago in any way he can. Manolin has a great amount of faith in Santiago and this is justified when Santiago finally catches the enormous fish. Santiago persevered greatly whilst trying to catch the fish over the day and night that he spent out at sea. His determination and lack of hesitation throughout his journey proves the amount of willpower Santiago has within himself. His skills are vast and he knows how to handle any situation thrown at whilst at sea perfectly. “I am a tired old man. But I have killed this fish which is my brother and now I must do the slave work.”
Santiago’s sheer determination has seen him through; he has finally killed the fish. Now that his fight with the fish is over he must tie it to the skiff and begin the journey home. The man that we assumed was old and weak has proved himself to be courageous, skilful and brave. Another twist is added to the story when the sharks attack. Santiago is driven with determination and refuses to give up without a fight. The sharks are quick and both crave the marlin but Santiago puts up an honourable fight. He kills five of the sharks, two makos which he describes as smooth and beautiful and three galanos which he describes as evil and bad smelling. The mako sharks approached the skiff first followed by the galanos. For Santiago to stand against these sharks alone whilst putting up a worthy fight took huge amounts of courage and bravery. “The old man drove the knife on the oar into the juncture, withdrew it, and drove it in again into the sharks yellow cat-like eyes”
This accentuates the theme of heroism which is associated with this story. The old man shows no sign of fear and he does what he must do to keep his fish safe. His determination and courage are phenomenal. By the end of the novel we see Santiago return home with nothing but a massive fish carcass to show for his travels. Santiago is mentally and physically drained. Despite the fact that he did not come home with a huge fish Manolin still idolises Santiago. Manolin will always look up to Santiago no matter what and he will always regard him as his hero. “‘The hell with luck,’ the boy said, ‘I’ll bring the luck with me’ ‘What will your family say?’ ‘I do not care. I caught two yesterday. But we will fish together now for I have much to learn.’
This shows the boy’s loyalty to Santiago. Manolin believes and always will believe that Santiago is the best fisherman alive and also, he is his friend. Manolin loves Santiago, he looks up to him and his hero despite Santiago’s defeat at sea.
This novel is not just a simple story about a man trying to catch a fish; this novel is about the ongoing struggle between man and nature. The struggle of life and the determination to get through what may seem extremely hard to overcome. This story takes it’s reader on a journey. We watch Santiago transform from the weak, defenceless old man we see at the start of the story turn into a very courageous and strong man by the end. The message I have gained from this is to never give up hope, Santiago’s courage and determination has inspired me to keep going and not to give in when the going gets tough.