Oldman And The Sea

The Old Man and The Sea

Old Man and The Sea, a great book by Ernest Hemingway, is about a fisherman's struggle to save his career. This book is very different than any other book that I have read. It is different because this book doesn't have multiple events that happen in the story. Santiago, an old fisherman, goes out fishing and hooks a giant marlin. The book explains his struggle to kill the fish and bring it back home. The book symbolizes the struggle of the author to write a great book.

Santiago is an old man that wasn't having much luck fishing. One day he decides to go fishing and hooks a marlin. The man struggles to kill the marlin and in the process he is pulled very far out into the ocean. Santiago becomes attached to the marlin and calls it his "brother". Santiago gains strength by thinking about the things he loves and has interests in such as Manolin, a young fisherman, and the New York Yankees(baseball team). Santiago fights the marlin for three days and finally kills the fish. Santiago goes through many of obstacles to achieve his goal of catching a big fish but when he finally gets it, it's taken away from him by sharks that eat the marlin.

The young man, Manolin is the old man's best friend. Santiago, taught him how to fish. Manolin use to fish with Santiago but then Santiago ran into a streak of bad luck. Manolin started fishing on another boat. Manolin is very attached to Santiago. They get along very well. Manolin understands why Santiago had to go on the 3-day trial fishing to test his luck and admires him for it. Manolin is the person that takes care of Santiago.

The marlin is a very noble, big and beautiful fish. Whatever it symbolizes, to the reader it's something worth fighting for since Santiago risks his life battling sharks in his attempt to save the marlin. The marlin is Santiago's last shot at luck. Santiago knew that this fishing trip would be the last spark of luck he would have for the rest of his life. Although he doesn't get the whole marlin to shore, he did bring luck with him because he survived. The marlin is also a sign of the author's quest to write one good book. Like the fisherman wants to catch a great fish before he dies, Hemingway wants to write a good story.

The sharks that try to eat the marlin on the way back are symbolizing the obstacles that life has put before the old man to see if he really has the perseverance to be a hero and the pride to not give up and to finally succeed in his goal. Santiago respected the sharks but he could not give up in what he had struggled for so long. He had to kill the sharks that were trying to prevent him from reaching his goal. Although Santiago didn't bring the entire fish back home, he still gained his respect back because he dragged the carcass back with him.

The ocean symbolized the triumphs and treachery that life hands out. He knows the power and temper of the ocean and considers the creatures inside it a part of it. He thinks the sharks eating the marlin are part of the ocean's doing, but he also knows the marlin eating his bait is the oceans doing as well. The ocean can be interpreted as life because it is full of obstacles, triumphs and treacheries.

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