Ernest Hemingway on Life
Ernest Hemingway on LifeErnest Hemingway on Life
“The Old Man and the Sea” is a heroic tale of mans strength confronted with forces he cannot control. It is a story about an old Cuban fisherman and his three-day battle with a giant marlin. “The Old Man and the Sea” stresses three important life lessons to the reader through the use of three prominent themes; friendship, bravery, and Christianity;
The relationship between the old man and the boy is introduced early in the story. They are unlikely companions; one is old and the other is young but they share an unmeasurable amount of respect and loyalty for each other. Santiago does not treat Manolin as a young boy, but instead as an equal. Age is not a factor in their relationship. Manolin does not even act as a young boy; he is mature and sensitive to Santiago’s feelings. He even offers to go against his parents wishes and accompany Santiago on his fishing trips. Santiago is viewed as an outcast in his village because he has not caught any fish in the past eighty-four days and is therefore “unlucky”. But Manolin looks beyond this and is loyal to Santiago even when his parents forbid him, and wants to help his close friend.
Their conversations are comfortable, like two friends who have known each other their whole lives. When they speak it is usually about baseball or fishing, the two things that they have the most in common. Their favorite team is the Yankees and Santiago never loses faith in them even when the star player, Joe DiMaggio is injured with a heel spur. In this way Santiago not only teaches Manolin about fishing, but also about important characteristics such as faith. In the story Santiago’s bravery is the best trait, but it is not until he hooks the “great fish” that we truly see his heroism and perseverance. Through Santiago’s actions Hemingway teaches the reader bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. He demonstrates that even when all is lost and seems hopeless a willful heart and faith will overcome anything. Santiago had lost his “luckiness” and therefore the respect of his village. Through the description of his cabin we also discover that Santiago is a widower. Although Santiago has had many troubles he perseveres. He has faith in Manolin, in the Yankees, in Joe DiMaggio, and most importantly in himself. This is his greatest quality, because without it he would never have had the strength to persevere and defeat the giant marlin.
Faith is not the only thing that drives his perseverance, Santiago also looks back on past victories for strength. After he hooked the Marlin he frequently recalled his battle with a native, which he calls “The Hand Game.” It was not just an arm wrestling victory for him, it...
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