The Old Man And The Sea Analysis

Santiago was a thin old man with wrinkly skin covered in blotches. His hands were full of old scars. Except his “cheerful and undefeated” eyes, he looked rather weary. There was “no life in his face” when his eyes were closed.
Despite being unable to catch a single fish for eighty-four days, he still remained hopeful and decided to go fishing even further from the shore. The old man has a doubt for his physical strength; however, he is confident in the “tricks” that he know. He is sure that it’s just a matter of time till he catches a fish again. Perhaps, his experience as being a fisherman his entire life aids his confidence. He could read the weather – or to tell what the weather is going to be like by observing the sun as well as the shape …show more content…
While some of the younger fishermen thought the sea as masculine and their opponent or enemy, Santiago not only thought of it as feminine, but also was thankful for the sea. He “loves” and “respects” the marlin whom he has to kill. He decides that no one is worthy to eat the fish. For that reason, when the sharks hit the fish, he felt as if he himself were hit. Although he didn’t want to, the old man thought a lot about sin after he had killed the big fish. “You loved him when he was alive and loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?” Eventually, he concludes that “everything kills everything else in some way” and warns himself that he thinks too much. “‘Thinking’ too much… can lead only to the revelation that there is no sense to the world.” So, Santiago decides “everything is a sin” and makes peace with it. After all, such is …show more content…
First of all, he missed the boy more than anything. “I wish I had the boy”, “I wish the boy were here”, “If the boy were here…” He longed for the boy’s physical and emotional help. In addition to that, for a long time now, he was talking to himself, even to his hand, when he was alone. He observes “no one should be alone in their old age.” The old man warned himself not to deceive too much; however, I believe that he was cheating himself about few things. While he was being towed by the huge marlin, he was taking almost all of its weight on his back and shoulders. He did what he could to make it only “somewhat less tolerable”, but “thought of it as almost comfortable.” During all his suffering, he “automatically” said his prayers and “felt much better”, but “suffered exactly as much”|. After the first two attacks of the sharks, he looks at only the undamaged part of the marlin, which consequently brings some of his hope back. However, no matter how far his thoughts wandered away, he was always able to come back to the reality – what’s happening right that moment. He could combine his make-believes and practical solutions to deal with the never-ending problems and was always optimistic. As the old man says, it indeed is “silly not to