Old Man in the Sea

Ernest Hemingway

Old Man and the Sea

Blog Responses by: Christine Glidden

Pages (1-26) Day 1

In the novel Old Man in the Sea, Ernest Hemingway establishes the plot line early on when he describes the old man and boy’s individualistic relationship. On page 10, Hemingway describes the Old Man  “everything about him was old except his eyes and the were the same colors the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” Hemingway’s descriptive diction defines his style of writing in the novel early on, which helps the reader to clearly interpret the main characters' both physical and intellectual characteristics. Strategically, Hemingway indirectly identifies the main characters with the text so that the reader is able to develop their own imaginative stance of the relationship between the boy and the Old Man as well as their own experiences. The boy’s patience, uniquely is complemented by the Old Man and is refreshed as he listens to the same stories about his baseball idol Joe DiMaggio.

Pages (26-51) Day 2

After the character and plot introductions, the Old Man( Santiago) wakes up the morning to wake up the young boy (Manolin). After drinking coffee out of condensed milk cans, both of the characters disperse and wish each other luck. The old man rows far away from shore. Early on, Hemingway establishes the boat adventure as an allegory. Small frail birds try to catch flying fish, and instantly the old man has sympathy for the fish, almost to the point of considering him a friend. Symbols begin to unravel in the story early on such as the bird, which represents his sympathy for hard situations in life.The old man drops baited fish on fishing lines, and the sun comes up simultaneously. As Santiago drifts away from shore, he sees dolphins and frail birds. Although he loves the sea, he thinks of the sea as a woman whose wild behavior is beyond her control. Everything the Old Man sees is not out of the ordinary, in fact Hemingway picked meticulously to find the right animals to portray the Old Man's life story through these symbolic animals. The Old Man  strives to catch a fish as the fish pulls him so far that “beyond all people in the world” to find him, which was a much longer trip than anticipated. Santiago wishes the fish will jump to make it easier to pull out, so that life would not be so hard for him.

Pages(51-76) Day 3

A small bird lands on the old man’s head and then rests on the line that links the old man to the big fish. The old man tells the bird to stay and rest up before heading toward shore. Just then the fish surges and nearly pulls Santiago overboard. To keep his strength, the old man makes himself ear the tuna he had caught the day before. Santiago is angered from the weakness of his body. From the weakness in his body, the cramp in his hand began to ease, but then Santiago thinks of himself completely alone. Suddenly, the fish leaps into the air and it is the largest fish he had ever seen. Santiago describes the fish as “great” and promises never to let the fish earn its own strength. He says the 10 Hail Marys and 10 our fathers in correspondence. Santiago’s struggle with the marlin wears on. His thoughts immediately approach the Great DiMaggio. He wonders if the Great DiMaggio would stay with the marlin. To keep confidence, Santiago refers to an old arm-wresting match “the great negro from Cienfuegos” earning the title of “The Champion.” As the night was ending, a dolphin takes the second bait Santiago had dropped. The stars come out. Santiago considers the stats his friends, as he does the great marlin. Santiago was exhausted, so he decided to rest.

Pages (76-101) Day 4

Suddenly, the Old Man is woken up by the marlin jerking the line. The fish jumps out of the water and Santiago is thrown into the dolphin meat. The line feeds out fast, and the old man brakes against it with his back and hands. The old man wipes the crushed dolphin meat off his face, fearing that he may become sick. Looking at his hurt hands, he reflects, “pain does not matter to a man.” To regain strength, he eats two second flying fish. The marlin continues to circle and slowly pull the line in. The old man believes that the fish are killing him, so he says “I do not care who kills who.” He thinks of all the money he will able to make with such a large fish. Santiago heads for land. The old man’s wounds remind him of fish. Santiago heads for land. The old man’s wounds remind him that his battle with the marlin was real and not a dream. On the way home, a mako shark arrives having smelt the blood of the fish. The shark lashes on the water, and eventually, sinks, taking the harpoon and the old man’s rope with it. The shark had taken 40 pounds of meat, so fresh blood spills in the water, inevitably drawing more sharks to attack. Soon Santiago realizes that his struggle for the marlin was for nothing. Then, he muses, “ a man can be destroyed but not defeated.” He tries to be hopeful, while thinking of the Great DiMaggio. He also reminds himself that he didn’t kill the marlin simply for food, that he killed it out of pride and love. A couple of hours later, two sharks arrive and Santiago kills them with a knife. After, he apologizes to the dead marlin for having gone out so far. Another shark arrives and Santiago kills it only to lose his knife in the process.

Pages (101-126) Day 5

Early in the morning, Manolin comes to the old man’s shack, and sees the injured Old Man, which brings him to tears, making him realize the importance of his elderly friend. Fishermen have gathered around Santiago’s boat to see a large fish. The Old Man wakes up, and Manolin insists that he must fish with him, despite what his parents say. Manolin explains that there had been a search for him with coast guards and planes. The old man goes back to sleep to dream of lions. That afternoon two tourists at the terrace café mistake the great skeleton of the fish for a shark realizing what kind of fish the old man found.

What makes this book a classic?

Often in many classics, the initial meaning is not the true meaning of the book. This is true for the novel, “Old Man in the Sea.” Although the novel explains a long fishing trip, the true meaning of the novel is that even after working so hard to get something, sometimes it can be taken away from you so quickly. This book is an allegory of the Old Man's life that allows the readers to learn life lessons indirectly, which is used through Hemingway’s fish and shark analogy. This novel has stayed undeniably popular for so long for it’s interesting dictions choices and unique underlying plotline.