The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

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Destroyed but not Defeated
The short story, “The old man and the sea,” is regarding the quest of Santiago catching a fish. He has been longing to catch a fish for a very long time, which he has been unsuccessful, making people look down upon him as a disappointment. Hemingway’s narrative is stimulating, inspiring with lots of life teachings, and this paper explains and reckons the themes, aspects of imagery, examines Hemingway’s account of Santiago in the novel and my general personal response about the book.
Compassion and love can be seen in the bond between Santiago and Manolin. This acts as a vital part in Santiago’s triumph over the marlin. In response to Santiago’s advice and concern, Manolin offers physical care of the old man in the town, getting him food; clothing and assisting him with his small boat. The boy cried when he saw the injured hands of his friend (Hemingway 122). He also offers emotional care, inspiring Santiago through his unsuccessful streak. The old man was pleased to talk to Manolinad of speaking to himself and the sea. Santiago’s courage and self-confidence had never gone, even when he was with Manolin. Once he runs into the marlin, Santiago declines to admit defeat since he understands that his friend great Manolin would be frustrated in him.
The story portrays attractiveness of the youths through Manolin. He stands out as the only loyal person to Santiago and regardless of his devotion Manolin is not allowed to catch fish with his counselor since his parents did not want him to be Santiago’s companion (Hemingway 125).

Manolin is depicted as representing the youth and hopefulness through his contributions to the Santiago. When the old man is brought back from his search for the land, through positivity, Manolin proves to Santiago his supreme test (Hemingway 124). Manolin is respected, but as the old man, he was brave in defeat.
It is true to say that age comes with wisdom, and it is perhaps why children turn their expectations towards their parents, educators, or older siblings for advice, instead of their peers. On the contrary, adults also look up to their kids to regain their youth. In Hemingway’s short story, he uses Santiago, to signify old age and Manolin to represent the features of youth. The age difference explains this idea of the wisdom of the old age and old desiring for youth. Santiago has been fishing for a better part of his life that he understands all the techniques of becoming a good fisherman. He is experienced in what he was doing, the wise one in the relationship of him and Manolin, so he is giving the boy, his wisdom of how to fish, allowing the boy to admire him. Manolin says, “But we will fish together now, for I still have much to learn” (Hemingway 125). Even though Santigo is wise and knowledgeable when it comes to fishing, he is now weak physically, which prevents him from fishing further but again does not lose hope. He displays the understanding, humility, and endurance of a saint (Hemingway 125). Also, handles a huge mission worthy of several youths half his age, and if it were not for the sharks, he would have thrived.
Through the story, the audiences understand the power of nature. It is enticing to propose that Hemingway was depicting the struggle of man against nature because the story covers Santiago and marlin clashing. Through the old man, the story explores the link between man and nature. The old man regarded the flying fish as a colleague (Hemingway 124). The deep-sea is dangerous, with the probable unsafe weather and sharks; nevertheless, it is the source of his food. In the end, the old man never regarded the marlin as an antagonist. He appreciated it and laid down his life for it. In their struggle, he swore to get the marlin at the expense of his life and never cared about it. His declaration confirmed the extent of his gratitude for the fish and hints on the supreme law of the universe that a man must be prepared to murder or admit to be killed, and that revealed the connection between man and animal (Hemingway 124). This demonstrates the connection of man with nature and death unavoidable and accepts a new life.
Santiago’s dream of the lion symbolized his lost youth. For instance, he could think of the dreams concerning the lion when he needed strength for his long journey (Hemingway 127). Santiago gets the stamina and strength to proceed when he creates all these in his thinking. The Lions also signify pride. Santiago’s experience and powerful fishing skills made him very proud; he was clever of upholding his lines through and at different points could advance on his mission to catch a fish. Santiago knew he was an experienced fisherman. Nevertheless, he understood that pride was a bad thing that would result to arrogance. He became humble at once with being content. For instance, he could not live without the help of others for food and other requirements. Manolin brought Santiago food and clothes.
The story also demonstrates pride as the source of greatness and resolutions. Several equivalents happened between the protagonist and the final conquerors of the traditional world. Furthermore, proving great influence, bravery, and proper certainty, those vanquishers often have a miserable task. If pride is Santiago’s unalterable responsibility, then he totally recognizes it. The old man expressed guilt separately to his intended antagonist after the Sharks had ruined the marlin. He gave up on both of them, he admits, by traveling past the normal boundaries of fishers. It is certainly right that Santiago’s mission of pride is an affront to his conceit as a skilled fisherman, and trying to test his fishing abilities by searching for fish into the deeper ocean hints to misfortune. The author does not judge his protagonist for being proud. On the contrary, Santiago excels as a convincing proof that pride motivates men to greatness (Hemingway 127). As the old man acknowledges that being proud made him slay the huge marlin, then Santiago’s final power was from his pride. The clash would not have occurred without an aggressive sense of pride.
My personal response to this story is that the trials of life and the harsh nature of individuals are clearly depicted. This can be signified by the sharks. Irrespective of the hard work that individuals give for their achievement, there will constantly be sharks fighting down at them. It is fate, even though it does not show that people should surrender in their undertakings. For instance, Santiago fights back at the sharks, regardless of the certain aftermath. I like the resistance to defeat shown by Santiago. The old man who longed to catch a fish for years fought against defeat. He never surrendered to defeat. He was positive and chooses to sail across further into the deep ocean to catch fish. In succeeding in getting marlin, he fights with it irrespective of the physical injuries and extreme fatigue. He achieved in catching the marlin and goes ahead to battle the sharks; however, it was obvious that the sharks would defeat him.
This story also teaches some life aspect that parents should not stop their children from doing something great and the youths should always strive to achieve the best in what they do so long as it is a correct thing to do. There are some difficult situations in life that need them to act and also seek advice from either their parents or their elders. It is not wise for the youths to trust their ideas without before consulting. The aspect evidently shows that the old man had much experience and he had no other young people to stand with him except for Manolin. In Manolin’s generation, it is only him who will gain much of the talent in fishing. We see Manolin parents also refuses his involvement to the old man’s life yet their relationship was significant and would help the boy become a great fisherman.
Santiago is the lead character in this novel. Throughout the story, Hemingway focuses on him and his thoughts. He is old, and always compares himself to Joe DiMaggio. He pointlessly separates himself as an odd individual. Notwithstanding his individuality, he is looked up to by his uniqueness and his self-denial of unsuccessfulness differentiates him the determinate Hemingway’s hero. He is a dominant figure by overcoming death in his daring activities, and Hemingway depicts him as Christ figure, since throughout his struggles of catching the fish, he undertakes his trial by himself. Hemingway’s proposition is that the old man attained immortality, not by catching the marlin, but through fighting against unconquerable odds.
Hemingway describes Santiago as the lead character who is old and has much experience in life. He signifies the old age and wisdom. He describes Santiago as the father figure who is caring and prove to his kids or friends that hard work pays. We see Santiago as a caring person and willing to pass down his fishing techniques to the upcoming generation. Hemingway describes him as the teacher here as he introduces Manolin in the fishing techniques because he is now weak now. With his persistence, Hemingway describes him as a fighter who never gives up. Even in his weak physical state, he does not lose hope. Santiago displays the understanding, humility, and endurance of a saint (Hemingway 125). Furthermore, he engages on a huge task worthy of many men, and if it were not for the sharks, he would have thrived. The author tries to make the young generation to understand that, if the old man could do it by himself, then they can also do it even better with training because they still have the strength.
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1995. Print.