Old man on the sea essay

The Old Man and the Sea essay assignment


When there is defeat, a yearn to try harder is born with it. After losing a game, the team has a motive to practice harder than ever, because they now have a goal to reach. After getting a bad grade on a test, one has the drive to study longer, and harder. In the novella, Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago has not caught a fish in 84, and has been defeated by the sea. Throughout the book, there is a theme of determination. Santiago’s determination was fueled by his previous defeat, and it makes him try harder to reach his goal.

In the beginning of the book, on page 10, we learn in the first paragraph that Santiago is “definitely and finally Salao, which is the worst form of unlucky.” Although it is true that Santiago was unlucky or that you could argue he was unlucky, this doesn’t defeat him, and he continues with the activity that he loves. Also, Santiago accepts his "unluckyness" and believes that he will be lucky again, when the time has come. Instead of being defeated by this, he turns it around to make himself more determined to defy what others are saying about him. Although in the book it is emphasized that this is what he loves doing, he is pushed further by this defeat.


It is not only Santiago, but the Marlin and shark that are determined to survive, and refuse to be killed, whether that is not being caught (the marlin) or claiming food (the shark). "If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke. But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able." This quote explains the intellectual difference between hunter and hunted, and that the hunted are usually not as intelligent as humans, but still as noble. I have noticed, and think that it is almost entirely true that animals never immediately give in to a threat, and will keep their pride throughout the struggle for life.

Fish, you are going to have to die anyway. Do you have to kill me too?" Santiago says on page 111. As well as knowing his death will come, he knows that other species are certainly not immortal. In this quote he fights for his "survival" (really meaning financially in this quote. or being knocked into the sea) and pushes the fishes life aside. this quote explains how we can often rank a species importance by how long it lives, as well as their asset to the world. But what asset are humans to the lives of fish? I answer this by saying that our superiority makes this question not matter.

In a famous quote by Hemingway, he says "the fish is a fish, the old man is an old man, and the shark is a shark. The symbolism you hear is [crap]" And i agree that there really is no allegory whatsoever in the story. The struggle for life in this story may be shadowed by the plot, but when it does come up throughout the book, it is not a metaphor for something else. A fish is a fish, and survival is survival for any living animal. Being one of the most prominent themes in the story, we learn how even with the fullest knowledge of knowing our downfall, we still use every ounce of courage we have to stay alive. Fascinating, isn't it?