Dear Gentle Reader,
The Old Man and the Sea is a 1952 novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway. Written between December 1950 and February 1951, it was the last major fictional work Hemingway published during his lifetime. It tells the story of Santiago, an aging fisherman, and his long struggle to catch a giant marlin. The novella was highly anticipated and was released to record sales; the initial critical reception was equally positive, but attitudes have varied significantly since then.
At only 27,000 words, The Old Man and the Sea is a fairly short novel. The main character, Santiago, is a down-on-his-luck Spanish fisherman in Cuba. Everyone looks down on him because it has been so long since he has caught a fish. His only friend is his apprentice, Manolin, who believes in him even though Manolin’s family wishes he would not.
One day, after a dream about his youth, Santiago takes his boat out farther than any of the other fisherman. He hooks a marlin, but it takes him two nights and two days to battle the fish to the point of exhaustion. When the fish is finally defeated, Santiago is exhausted and wounded (the line having cut into his palms), but the hardest part of the experience is yet to come: he still has to bring the massive fish carcass back to shore.
Santiago starts sailing home, but the bleeding fish carcass, which he has roped to the side of the boat, attracts sharks. Santiago battles the sharks unsuccessfully. There are too many of them and they eat the flesh off the fish. When Santiago finally makes it back home with the skeleton, he leaves the skeleton by the boat and carries the mast of the boat back to his home. Once home, he collapses in bed and falls asleep.
Meanwhile, the villagers see the skeleton and are impressed by its length (18 feet). Manolin, relieved that Santiago is safe again, makes plans with him to go fishing together. Santiago falls back asleep and dreams the same dream that prompted him to go fishing in the first place.
Symbolism in The Old Man & the Sea
Hemingway definitely used symbolism in his books. He mentioned how each item in The Old Man and the Sea (the fish, for example) has two levels: the literal (the fish) and a deeper meaning.
The marlin is one of the biggest symbols in The Old Man and the Sea. The marlin is, of course, first and foremost, a fish. As a fish, it has an important role in the book. Santiago, a fisherman, has experienced social isolation because of his inability to perform his job and catch a single fish. Everyone else views him as bad luck. Santiago could have just caught a fish and then gone back to shore immediately. Instead, he wrestles with the fish for two days and two nights and is wounded in the process. He speaks to the fish and considers it a worthy opponent.
Even though he is determined to catch the marlin, he regrets the necessity, since he respects this particular fish so much because of how hard it struggles. By putting these associations on the fish, Santiago elevates it to the status of a symbol. It is no longer just a fish, but also symbolizes his triumph and rebirth as a respected fisherman.
Santiago has a completely different attitude toward the marlin and the sharks. While he respects the marlin as a worthwhile opponent, the sharks use their numbers and ferociousness to overcome Santiago. They are merely predators attracted by the blood in the water.
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