The Old Man and the Sea is a novel written by Ernest Hemingway. It depicts a struggle between Santiago and fishing. The underlying story in the novel is the battle by Santiago to get a catch of fish that he has gone eighty-four days without getting any catch. The story opens with an extract where Santiago goes fishing for eighty-four days without catching any fish and view the occurrence as the worst form of unluckiness. The Old Man and the Sea tackle themes that occupy Santiago’s life. The central theme in the short novel is perseverance. Besides, Hemingway has used several characters to portray his messages. The outstanding characters in the novel are Santiago and the Merlin. Santiago is the main character in the novel, the old fisherman. Merlin is the fish Santiago spends most of his life searching. The novel has used several natures to represent different meanings. Some of the symbols include the sea, lions, sharks, and Merlin.
The theme of perseverance has been illustrated in different ways in the novel. The first incidence of perseverance is observed from Santiago, the old man. He has been fishing for eighty-four days without catching any fish, yet he does not give up. Santiago does not “bemoan his fate against his distractors and obstructions to have his catch. Despite having bad luck for several days, the old man does not stop but keeps going out to fish” (Burhans, 450). He goes farther to the open sea than anyone else has gone fishing and is determined. He eventually catches Merlin, the fish. Like the old man himself, Merlin also shows its case of perseverance. He does not surrender easily to the old man after having been caught. It uses its size and strength to pull Santiago’s skiff farther outside the sea and makes a formidable adversary. The Merlin comes up from deep down in the water, and swims fast and hard on the course of the skiff; sometimes losing the scent and picking it up again (Bloom, 26) Consequently, Santiago does not give up on bringing the fish to the shore. He struggles with the mighty fish and endures exhaustion, thirst, and pain. Ironically, after all these perseverance, he loses the fish to the shark. It is through perseverance that enables Santiago to catch Merlin. If it were that he was not persistent, he could have lost the track without catching the fish.
Ernest Hemingway has used several characters in his novel such as Santiago and the Merlin. Santiago stands out as the protagonist in the novel. He is the main character, who is the old fisherman. “Everything about him was old except his eyes, and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated” (Hemingway, 1)”. Santiago catches the fish but loses it to the shark as he finds his way back to the land. Even though he is defeated by not catching the fish, at the end of the novel, his spirit is undefeated. The Marlin is the character whom Santiago spends his majority time searching. Santiago gets Merlin but is loses it to the shark. The fish is represented as large as and more spirited than any other fish Santiago has ever seen.
Hemingway has used several symbols in his novel, showing the usage of naturalism in literature. The sea represents the universe and Santiago’s isolation in the world. Santiago isolated himself in the sea for several days to have a catch of his life. It is full of challenges, but Santiago persevered until he met Merlin. Besides, Santiago dreams of three lions on the beach of Africa. The lions are used to represent the masculinity and the youth. Also, the lion represents the hopes of eternal life.
Work cited
Bloom, Harold, ed. Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Infobase Publishing, 2008
Hemingway, Ernest. “The Old Man and the Sea. 1952.” New York: Scribner (1995).
Burhans, Clinton S. “The Old Man and the Sea: Hemingway’s Tragic Vision of Man.” American Literature 31.4 (1960): 446-455.
Brenner, Gerry. “The Old Man and the Sea: Story of a Common Man.” (1991)