The Old Man and The Sea is one of Hemingway’s most renowned pieces. The story focuses on an old Cuban fisherman, who has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish due to poor catch conditions. The novel details the one day that the old man finally manages to land a large marlin after fighting it for two days straight. The book is praised for its clear, simple language which allows the reader to focus more on the simplicity of this man’s struggle against nature. The idea of man vs nature (in this context) is developed throughout The Old Man and The Sea.
The novel begins with an introduction of Santiago, an old Cuban fisherman who has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish due to poor catch conditions. The story progresses with Santiago finally managing to land a large marlin after fighting it for two solid days straight. The old man travels for hours with the giant fish before he begins his journey back home, but unfortunately gets caught in an incredibly strong current which takes him out even farther from his boat.
The novel details how Santiago, who is now fatigued beyond belief, manages to live through the night -spending most of it on top of the marlin- until he wakes up early in the morning with sharks surrounding him and eating away at his prized trophy. The book ends with an exhausted Santiago taking one final harpoon shot at one of the sharks before falling over dead. The final line of The Old Man and The Sea reads, “The sharks took him then.
The story is praised for its clear, simple language which allows the reader to focus more on the simplicity of this man’s struggle against nature. The idea of man vs nature (in this context) is developed throughout The Old Man and The Sea. Ernest Hemingway was an American author who first rose to prominence during The Great Depression with his novel The Sun Also Rises. This book brought him international fame as a writer.
His most famous work is The Old Man And The Sea, which also earned him a Pulitzer Prize in 1953. Although he published seven novels before his death in 1961, Heming had discussed writing an eighth one with an editor, but had only started working on it two weeks before his death. The unfinished novel was later published as The Garden of Eden and still remains incomplete today. Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea is a piece that shows off the power of human determination and endurance against nature’s force.
The book tells the story of an old fisherman, Santiago, who goes out to sea in search of fish for 80 days without any luck. The only item he catches on this trip is a bird that returns to his boat at night. The next morning, The Old Man set out again but was very wary because he had not eaten anything for so long. He caught nothing that day either except for another bird, which appeared when the sun started to set. On his way back home he fought with a big fish which made him lose his harpoon and left him exhausted; however, The Old Man managed to stay alive.
When The Old Man returned home after being gone for so long, his young apprentice thought The Old Man had died because he was so thin. The Old Man slept for thirty hours. When The Old Man awoke The Boy made him a big meal of fish and plantains which The Old Man ate all in one go. The people in The Old Man’s town heard about his big catch and were amazed by The Old Man’s strength. This book is Hemingway’s most famous work and has been read by many over the years.
The story of the old man and the sea symbolizes what it means to be human through its protagonist Santiago, an elderly Cuban fisherman who suffers multiple physical and psychological defeats on his quest to land a great Marlin, but still he maintains his dignity and spirit. The struggle of The Old man can be compared to the struggles in life that all people share, for example, The Old Man’s struggle is symbolic of how no matter how many times one fails, they must continue to try again.
The fight that The old man has with the Marlin shows The Old Man’s strength but also his loss. The story represents what The Men stand for using only three things: a small skiff, a boy who once loved him, and an old harpoon. The skiff represents humility because it is very small which makes The Old Man realize his weakness against nature. The young boy represents hope because he believes in The Old Man when everyone else does not believe in him anymore.
Finally, The Old Man’s old harpoon represents The Spirit of The Old Man because The Boy chose The Old Man’s old harpoon over the new ones. By using three very small but powerful symbols, The story makes it easy for people to relate to The Old man. The story is set in Cuba which has very hot weather most of the time and there are not many trees there. That was important because The Marlin that The Old Man caught is a fish that normally lives in Tropical Water where it is warm and there are lots of plants.
The fight is shown in such a way that Santiago, old and tired, fights an essence of nature. The fish pulls the skiff where his legs are tied down to the bottom of it for three days and nights. The sea becomes wilder by the day but still he holds on fishing line wound around his hands and arms, which bleed because of sharp barnacles sticking up from the bottom of the boat. The marlin fights with all its power and soon reveals itself as a symbol for life. The battle between man and nature turns into a battle between man versus life or death because if he loses then he looses everything including life itself.
It is not until death when man loses against something like this. The result is inevitable; however, this man does not see it as inevitable. The outcome of the battle is not shown but there are hints that he has won or at least a draw because if he had lost then he would have gone crazy and died from hunger, so we could assume a tie at worst. The theme throughout this part of The Old Man and The Sea includes strength, endurance, loneliness and fear. Hemingway uses mental imagery to show this battle between Santiago against nature by describing poor condition of his boat.
His small skiff is described as being “so narrow” (20). This shows how small Santiago feels when he can’t move around much in the little boat. The sentences used to describe the sea were vivid and realistic “ The sea made sickening noises against the side of the skiff. The old man could now feel how strong the current was” (21). The way Hemingway describes how rough and slippery the water is gives us an image in our head of seeing how it feels to be in that boat. The reader can easily imagine the very uncomfortable condition Santiago has to endure for days at a time.
The emotions, feelings and actions all seem realistic because even though nothing like this has ever happened to Hemingway; he puts himself into Santiago’s shoes during each moment, allowing him to see what would happen next. The Old Man And The Sea is full of detailed descriptions so you are able to visualize everything as if you were there yourself with no trouble at all. The sea, the sky and everything else is described as if you were right there witnessing it yourself with Santiago.
The mental imagery in The Old Man And The Sea allows the reader to feel what is going on throughout the entire story. The old man fights nature through solitude and loneliness which causes him to think inwardly about his life and what he has left behind and where he will go after this journey. This often causes him to think of his parents whom died years before, but it also helps him keep sane because if he didn’t have these thoughts then he would definitely lose hope and go crazy out at sea.
