THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA by Ernest Hemingway

GENERAL INFORMATION

“The Old Man and the Sea” is a short novel written by Ernest Miller Hemingway in 1951. It was released for the first time in 1952 by Charles Scribner’s Sons. In 1953, “The Old Man and the Sea” was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction , and it was cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to their awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Hemingway in 1954.

SUMMARY OF THE PLOT

“The Old Man and the Sea” is a story taking place in Havana, where an old fisherman, Santiago, is battling against his continuous bad luck. In the beginning of the novel we are informed that Santiago has not been able to catch a fish for 84 days in a row. As a consequence, his young apprentice, Manolin, with whom he has created a very strong bond, is being forced by his parents to leave Santiago’s boat and sail with another, more successful and lucky fisherman. Santiago then decides to sail alone, much further away than he has ever sailed before, in order to put an end to his bad luck and find a big fish. Indeed, on the first day of his trip he manages to trap and wound a very large marlin and the battle in order to kill it, put it on his boat and take it back to his hometown begins…

ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS

Santiago

Santiago is an old and experienced fisherman living in a small shack in Havana. He is a thin man with deep wrinkles, especially in the back of his neck. He is covered with marks all over his body and face, as a cause of skin cancer and his exposure to the sun. Even though he generally looks exhausted, his eyes still retain their vivid blue color, which makes them look “cheerful and undefeated”.

Santiago is a man with patience and persistence, two virtues he has managed to develop and balance throughout his long journey as a fisherman. More specifically, in the book we are able to recognize these two characteristics of his personality, as he does not give up on the large marlin he has trapped and at the same time he is willing to stay in the ocean as long as it takes in order to kill it. 

Furthermore, pride is very important to him. He is determined to battle against his bad luck and win. He never gives up and it’s his pride that helps him put up with all the physical and mental struggles he is facing. Santiago has always been in love with the sea and thinks of her as a beautiful woman with her ups and downs. Finally, he is very fond of his young apprentice, Manolin, one of the few people he truly loves, as his wife has died, and he has no children. Manolin is his company and his guardian angel, too.

Manolin

Manolin is a young boy who met Santiago for the first time when he was five years old and has been his apprentice and loyal friend from then on. Unfortunately, because of the old fisherman’s bad luck his parents made him join another fisherman’s boat. However, that did not stop him from loving Santiago unconditionally and constantly helping him improve his standard of living. When they are together, he is the happiest man. He respects him and sees him as a great mentor. He always wants to learn new things from Santiago and discuss baseball news and past experiences.

ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN THEMES

Bravery and Determination

Throughout the story Santiago has demonstrated to the readers the power of bravery and determination. His passion and stubbornness never left his side during his long journey in search of a big fish. He had to put up with loneliness, physical pain, cold weather and even sharks, but he never gave up. In fact, he kept fighting until the very end, setting a great example for each and every one of us. 

Pride

Santiago is a man of pride. He does not accept him being called a “salao”, which is the worst kind of unluckiness. He knows that despite his age, he is a capable fisherman and he is willing to do whatever it takes in order to catch a big fish. He is not doing it for the others; he just wants to prove to himself that he has not lost his talent.

The battle between man and time

Santiago is an old fisherman whose physical strength has started to fade in. He is very vulnerable to the weather conditions, even though he is constantly trying to avoid them. He battles in order to bring the large marlin back to Havana, but at the end he is so exhausted he cannot fight back the sharks which are attacking his boat.

SYMBOLISMS

Hemingway said about symbolism in “The Old Man and the Sea”: “There isn’t any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is the old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The sharks are sharks, no better, no worse.”  But one can always find their own symbolisms in a story. So, here are mine:

Manolin

Manolin is a symbol of unconditional love, support and compassion. His relationship with Santiago is pure, like a father-son relationship.

Marlin

The marlin represents the perfect opponent, who is fully respected by his rival. Santiago looks up to the Marlin and he is, honestly, very happy it came into his life, as it brought out the best of him and helped him develop as a fisherman.

INSPIRING QUOTES FROM THE BOOK

“Fish,” he said softly, aloud, “I’ll stay with you until I am dead.”

“There are two more hours before the sun sets and maybe he will come up before that. If he doesn’t, maybe he will come up with the moon. If he does not do that, maybe he will come up with the sunrise.”

PERSONAL OPINION

The book talks about the struggling life of a penniless fisherman and his battle in order to retain his pride. The author tends to use a lot of symbolisms that push the readers to think things through and search deeper for the meaning of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it!

Αντιγόνη Μαραγκάκη (Β3), Πρότυπο ΓΕΛ Ευαγγελικής Σχολής Σμύρνης