The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemmingway is about a man named Santiago who struggles to make the biggest catch in his life. The story was set around the 1940s near Havana, Cuba and the surrounding waters.

The main characters are Santiago, Manolin, and the Marlin. Santiago is the protagonist who tries to capture the Marlin. Santiago does not own much, and his life is dedicated to fishing. He has been on a streak of loss where he returns home empty handed each time. All the other fishermen believe that he wastes his time each day. His house is pretty empty, with only the necessary things in it. Santiago is also pretty firm and stubborn. Manolin is a young boy ho used to go on fishing trips with Santiago. Although he is only mentioned at the beginning and the each of the book, he is the support of Santiago. Manolin watches over Santiago, helps get him food, and meets him on shore whenever he comes back. The Marlin is not an actual character, but more of a symbol than anything. It represents the great struggle that Santiago had to face. It also represents victory and patience from a three day struggle between Santiago and the Marlin. The narrator is never mentioned, but he/she narrates from third person.

The story really picks up when Santiago takes his boat into the Gulf of Mexico and goes along with his plan to sail into deep water. While out there, he catches a whopping ten-pound tuna. He decides that it is not what he has been hoping for and uses it as bait. He hooks something and, it turns out to be the Marlin. The old man and the Marlin play an everlasting game of tug-of-war. The only thing about the tug-of-war is that the Marlin seems to be winning the whole time. But even though the Marlin has the upper hand, Santiago will not let go. Even when the old man gets tired, he will not let go. It seems that the reason he keeps up the fight is because, he admires Joe DiMaggio, a great baseball player of his time. Joe DiMaggio never gives up, and Santiago figures that if his role model would not give up, why should he? His thoughts work out and the game begins to change sides. Slowly but surely, Santiago reels the giant fish in and harpoons it. He ties the Marlin to the side of the boat and starts his journey back to the mainland. But his dream is crushed by the heard of sharks that go after the Marlin. He makes attempts at fending off the sharks, and he succeeds to a point. But by the time he reaches back home, all