The Old Man and the Sea is a story about an old fisherman who has not caught a fish for eighty four days, but gets a hook in the mouth of the greatest fish he has ever caught. This fish takes the old man on a journey that he will never forget.
At the beginning of the novel, Santiago has been fishing for eighty-four days and has not caught a fish. This symbolizes defeat in Santiago’s life. Santiago does not intend on giving up, but instead he has determination and tells himself that he will go fishing every day until he finally catches a fish. Santiago has a lot of pride in himself, and I find this to be a very rare trait, especially in today’s world. The theme of The Old Man and the Sea is to never give up in any circumstance, because you never know what might happen next. Santiago never gave up and went fishing every day until he hooked the marlin, and he stayed with that marlin until he was able to kill it. When the sharks began to attack Santiago’s boat so they could eat the marlin, Santiago knew it was hopeless and that he would lose the fish, but he still fought them off as long as he could. Even though Santiago was defeated in his fishing trip, he emerged as a hero to not only himself, but to all the people around him as well.
The Old Man and the Sea has a few characters. First, there is Santiago who is a fisherman that has not caught a fish in over eighty days but refuses to give up. Santiago is the “Old Man” in the story’s title and knows more than most people about fishing and the water. Santiago is a very humble man and he has a lot of self confidence in all of the things that he does. Manolin, who seems to be Santiago’s apprentice, is a young boy that helps Santiago with his fishing. Ever since Santiago has been having bad luck with his fishing, Manolin’s parents have decided that it would be best if he did not go fishing with Santiago anymore. Manolin refuses to leave Santiago and ignores what his parents told him to do. On Santiago’s first afternoon fishing in the story he hooks a fish. Santiago knew that this fish was not like any fish he has caught before, and at the end of the story, we learn that the fish was an eighteen foot long marlin. This marlin was in a constant battle with Santiago during the duration of the story, and in the end, Santiago won. The marlin was too big for Santiago to reel in, so he pulled Santiago and his boat out to sea for a day. Santiago treated the fish more as a friend than an enemy. Santiago talked to him as a friend and it actually seemed like they were talking by the fish’s responses to what Santiago said.
Santiago is obviously the main character in The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago is constantly dealing with new struggles throughout the story. First, Santiago has to deal with the fact that he has not caught a fish in eighty-four days. Second, Santiago is the laughing stock of his whole village, and third, he goes through all the trouble to catch the marlin, but all the sharks come and take it from him. If Santiago was anything like me, he would have given up long ago, but he has a persistent attitude and refused to give up no matter what happened. Santiago’s pride is what helped him go through all the pain and suffering of his life, and without it he would probably be a miserable old man that does not have anything at all. Santiago’s purpose in the story could have been guessed after reading the first page of the book, and that was to catch a fish. Although this purpose is correct, the reader would soon find that this task would not be easy. Another purpose of Santiago’s was to teach himself a valuable lesson, and that was to believe in yourself and don’t let the world try to influence your decisions. Santiago discovered more about himself during his fishing trip than ever. It seems as though Hemmingway wanted his readers to picture Santiago as Manolin’s father, even though he clearly stated that Manolin had parents and they didn’t like Santiago since he didn’t catch any fish. Although Santiago was the protagonist, every story has to have an antagonist to match it.
The main protagonist in The Old Man and the Sea would have to be the marlin that Santiago was fighting to catch during the duration of the book. The marlin was a very worthy opponent and Santiago considered the fishing line as a communication tool and he believed that it let them communicate. The marlin fights for his life for the longest time, but was finally killed. The marlin was not a very well-described character, but if the reader pays close attention to the way Santiago treats him, they will find out much more about the marlin. When Santiago finally harpoons the marlin, they seem to be more of friends than enemies, and that the marlin would not mind being killed for the sake of Santiago. In a way, the marlin can be identified as Jesus Christ at this point because he sort of sacrificed himself so that other people could prosper. This comparison ends when the next antagonist, the sharks, come to eat the marlin and take away Santiago’s prized possession that he just caught. Although Santiago was successfully able to defeat the marlin, the sharks pose as more of a threat to his life. Santiago fought the sharks as much as he could, but in the end, he was forced to watch them eat his marlin. After the sharks ate the marlin, Santiago felt sad, but he still did not lose his feeling of accomplishment from catching the marlin.
Even though Santiago lost the fish of his dreams, he still had proof of his catch. After showing the skeleton of his marlin after he got back to shore, all of the other fishermen congratulated him on the finest catch of his lifetime. There is no sign at the end of the book that Santiago was successful in fishing after those few days, but I am sure that he never gave up.