Preview

What Is The Relationship Between Santiago's Loss In The Old Man And The Sea

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
432 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is The Relationship Between Santiago's Loss In The Old Man And The Sea
“Man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” This quote refers to how a single man can be extremely mentally or physically damaged, but not beaten. In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, the character, Santiago displays many traits of determination, perseverance, and optimism. He battled an eighteen foot marlin for three days. Within the three days he was crushed with psychological and physical damage that he would eventually surmount. During Santiago’s time fighting with the 1,500 pound monstrous fish, he experienced brutal pain and agony. “Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too?” He looked upon this creature as though it was his brother, however he had to catch, and kill it in order to make a living. The aged, gaunt man …show more content…
This included surviving with little water on a boat for days, and griping a rope with, “blood mushed hands.” Santiago would never give up, despite having dizzy spells and lightheadedness. “Twice, though, he had felt faint and dizzy and that had worried him.” When he firmly hooked the marlin he repudiated defeat. “I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this.” The old man said. “Now that I have him coming so beautifully, God help me endure. I’ll say a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys. But I can not say them now.” Even when the old man is finished with his protracted fight with the fish, he faces ongoing encounters with famished sharks. With his skiff measuring less then the marlin, he was unable to land it. “An hour later, a mako shark arrives, having smelled the marlin’s blood.” The old man was drained and exhausted from fighting numerous sharks. ”The mako has taken nearly forty pounds of meat, so fresh blood from the marlin spills into the water, inevitably drawing more sharks to attack. Santiago realizes that his struggle with the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Major Works Data Sheet

    • 1216 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Marlin - This is the fish Santiago catches. He sees the fish as his brother, but says that “I will kill you before the day ends.” The fish ultimately ends up getting devoured by sharks, and Santiago feels as though a part of him is destroyed as well.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ernest Hermingway’s novella, The Old Man and The Sea characterizes Santiago as an old man who is going it alone from struggling against defeat. In the opening paragraph, Santiago has been without fish for 84 days, and will soon pass his own record of 87 days. Almost as a reminder of Santiago’s struggle, the sail of his skiff resembles “the flag of permanent defeat”.…

    • 1061 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    He fished for a living, to keep his wife happy, but he was never truly a fisherman. He did not enjoy fishing like the rest of his wife’s family did. His skin was not tough enough as “the salt water irritated his skin as it had for sixty years…and his arms, especially the left, broke out into the oozing saltwater boils”. (paragraph 60) The sun and wind took a toll on his body that the others did not experience. To him, the boat held emotions such as pain, despair and struggle. He would rather be inside, reading and learning, but was instead forced to…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Santiago is an outsider due to his age and his streak of bad luck. While some pity him for this, others mock his repeated and failed attempts to catch fish each day.…

    • 2637 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Old Man and the Sea

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When Santiago goes on his little adventure, he has to have perseverance to continue with his goal. During the day, the Old Man offered to himself that he “could drift, he thought, and sleep and put a bight of line around my toe to wake me. But today is eighty-five days and I should fish the day well’ (54). Even though Santiago knows that he could just relax for the day, he chooses to have a good day of fishing well. He would rather have a chance of catching a fish with hard work than to be at ease for the day. Santiago thinks to himself “What will I do if he decides to go down, I don’t know. What I’ll do if he sounds and dies I don’t know. But I’ll do something. There are plenty of things I can do” (78). Santiago is…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “No one should be alone in their old age, he thought. But it is unavoidable. I must remember to eat the tuna before he spoils in order to keep strong. Remember, no matter how little you want to, that you must eat him in the morning. Remember, he said to himself.” Yet again, Santiago pairs one of his burdens with the optimism that to acutely characterizes him. He freely admits to being a lonely, old man, and yet it is this common theme of determination that presents itself here, yet again, to help the old man overcome his obstacles. He has the mindset that he is going to preserver until the end of time, which literally for him could mean his death. On page 52, he actually confirms this notion, saying “Fish…I’ll stay with you until I am dead.” His pure strength of mind is so unbelievable fortified here that he has no trouble in bluntly admitting to his own likely demise. There is a significant difference between admitting to something, and succumbing to it, however. Santiago In this case, however willing to admit to his flaws and handicaps, is in no way yielding to his own demise. He is ready to give all he’s got in the name of this war of fish versus man. He confirms this fact on page 54 when he says “Fish…I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day…

    • 824 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Man in the Water was victorious over nature because his goal was to save the others, not himself. He placed himself in competition against a relentless, impersonal enemy; he…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Santiago's Unlucky

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Santiago is an old, experienced fisherman but he has not brought in a catch for months. All the other fisherman…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Santiago's Struggles

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages

    William J. Handy quotes the narrater "To be defeated in fishing is not a defeated man," (208). In the novella, the old man believes that he is defeated, but as soon as he talks to the boy, he realizes that he was not defeated and will go fishing again. The boy helps him recover from his experience. When Santiago left, everybody made fun of him and laughed at him for being the worst form of unlucky and going 84 days at sea without catching a fish, but when he gets back, it seems that everybody cares. People started to ask the boy how the man was doing and seeming to care. A search team was even sent out at sea to find the man. This demonstrated that although he was beat up by the fish and came back with many cuts and bruises, he came back to people who loved him from this experience (Hemingway 125). Mario Vargas Llosa says that "He rises above his condition and 'rubs shoulders with mythological heroes and gods...,'" (5). The old man shows the fish what man can withstand (Baker 4). The old man achieved a greater "moral greatness" from fighting with the fish (William J. Handy). Carlos Baker believes that "...through great hardship and effort - keeps him from dying of hunger," (4). The old man says "But man is not made for defeat... A man can be destroyed, but never defeated," (Hemingway 103). Although Santiago came back to his home all bloodied and beat up, he never gave up on fishing or the…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite knowing that he hasn 't caught any fish in 84 days, he continues to go out in his boat every morning, never with a negative attitude. His persistent actions show his ability to go on every day even when the odds were against him. After catching the marlin and being out so far for almost two days, Santiago is extremely tired, but he won 't give up to the fish, or go to sleep. "He felt very tired now and he knew the night would come soon" (Hemingway 67). Even though he could have slept, he mostly stayed awake with the fish, and kept all of his courage so that he would be able to get home with the great marlin. His courage showed when he had to stay in the ocean alone for three days with little protection, and his small food supply. He could have turned back to shore safely at any time, but he didn 't. Santiago faced possible death at any moment, but his courage allowed him to continue on his journey. When the sharks attack the carcass, he does everything in his power to fight them off when it 's obviously a battle lost from the start, but he gives it his all. After loosing his harpoon when fighting with the sharks, he still continues to go on and make a new weapon (out of the few materials on his boat, for example an oar and his knife) and uses all of the energy he has left in him to protect the…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Old Man and the Sea

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Throughout the entire story, Santiago is facing all the elements within the ocean. These include the Marlin, sharks, finding food, and more. For the majority of the story the Marlin is the main struggle and obstacle the Old Man must overcome. Even though Santiago is very anxious to bring the Marlin home, he doesn't rush the hunt and remains patient. Catching this fish would mean he would break his bad luck streak that had been going on for over eighty days, and he would gain more respect as a fisherman, not only from other people, but himself.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Santiago Hemingway Hero

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages

    "Santiago, throughout his hardships of his three-day fight with the marlin, displays courage by keeping at the task, no matter how tired he gets, and 'going the distance, ' (Dwiggins). This "going the distance" she speaks of is not only the fact that he went the distance by holding onto the marlin, and not letting it go, but also going out farther than the rest of the fisherman normally would. Not only did he go further than the fisherman in that factor, but also in the factor of vowing for a fight with the Marlin to the death. He was not going to let go, no matter the cost. "Just as Santiago goes 'far out ' beyond the lesser ambitions of the other fishermen, he finds the great fish not simply because he was the better fisherman, but because, in a symbolic sense, he deserves it," (Davis 6). Why does Santiago…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Colomber Analysis

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the story The Colomber by Lawrence Venuti, Stefano Roi, an aspiring seafarer, is haunted by a large colomber shark. Stefano’s life proves to be a long journey of fear, obsession, misunderstanding, and regret. After his father warns him of the colomber’s curse, Stefano returns to dry land, where he begins to establish himself as a hardworking adult. Despite his busy life, “the thought of the colomber nonetheless [torments] him like a mirage that [is] fatal and fascinating at the same time; and as the days [pass], rather than disappear, it [seems] to become more insistent” (Venuti 3). Stefano has the chance to have a relaxing and normal life, but instead he lives in constant fear and obsession of the distant fish. He believes that he is destined to be slain by the colomber. At twenty-two years of age, Stefano returns to the sea and “[sails] and [sails], and in the wake of his ship, day and night, in good weather and in storms, the colomber [trudges] along. [Stefano knows] that this [is] his curse and his penalty, and precisely for this reason, perhaps, he [does] not find the strength to sever himself from it” (Venuti 4). Still, the thought of the colomber troubles Stefano and because he does not have the courage to face his fear of the shark, that fear persists. By not taking any risks or dealing with his fears, Stefano only makes his problems worsen. Years later, Stefano grows very old and unhappy and decides to meet the colomber in a small boat to attempt to defeat it with a harpoon. Surprisingly, the colomber speaks and tells him, “‘How much you made me swim. And you kept on fleeing. You never understood at all... I have not pursued you around the world to devour you, as you thought. I was charged by the King of the Sea to deliver [the phosphorescent Perla del Mare].’” (Venuti 5). Ironically, the Perla del Mare would have given Stefano luck, power, love, and peace of mind, but Stefano was old and could not use…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The old man is a person who will not give up easily. Even though he was old and tired he never gave up on catching the Marlin. He is humble, yet exhibits a justified pride in his abilities. Throughout his life, Santiago has been presented with contests…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although Santiago’s weakness of old age provides him with self-doubt, his internal determination prevails and guides him to persevere through his journey in accomplishing his goals. Santiago does not let his old age hinder him from achieving his ambitions, and uses the memories of youth and strength to reassure himself of his ability to succeed in times of struggle. By constantly reminding himself to “have confidence” and to “be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel,” Santiago does not let his physical limitations, prevent him from capturing the marlin (Hemingway 68). Santiago’s previous encounters and the “many tricks” that add to his experience helps gain the extra encouragement he needs to succeed in his objectives (Hemingway 14). With this knowledge of how to react to past interferences and hardships, Santiago continues to hold on to the line that connects him with his challenger, even though his hands started to bleed.…

    • 1404 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays