Facts of the novel

Title: The old man and the sea

Author: Ernest Hemingway

Date of publication: 1952

Genre: Novella

3 significant Moments/Scenes

• The sharks ate the Marlin that took Santiago so long to hook: this is the development of the old man and his ascending to a symbolic figure. enduring such an exhausting adventure is part of the true victory and puts an emphasis on the importance of the battle over the result. “a man is destroyed but not defeated” reaffirms the idea of perseverance and determination, what defines a man’s worth is the struggle against the inevitable and the more difficult the battle, the more rewarding and powerful the man can prove himself.

• Santiago has not caught a fish in 84 days: This is a powerful scene because it allows the reader to get an insight into the character and his qualities beyond a fisherman. It establishes the conflict that motivates his actions and perseverance throughout the book, the author emphasizes his confidence and determination even though he is struggling. The opine scene builds the setting to understand better the climax and consequences of his decisions, for his initial characterization, it is granted that no matter whether he hooks the marlin or dies in the process, we will emerge victorious.

• He faces a 3-day battle with the Marlin: This scene tests the pride and the previous conceptions he had about himself. Even though the fish has already changed his definition of success and what life is all about, he has his moment of realization about the true value of a fisherman and the skills that are not measured by the number of fish that are caught. The marlin proves to be his most imposing and important opponent that changes the course of his life in significant ways.

Major Characters X3 (Significance/Importance)

• Santiago: He admires Joe Dimaggio, considered to be born as a fisherman, he is characterized as strong, determined, proud, and optimistic, wanting to go further to achieve something better. His admiration for Joe came from the representation of what the old man wants to be, in times of pain he reminds us how strong Joe is. He struggles with self-reliance and confidence to carry the job he was to be excellent at, he preserves during his pain, only to lose the Marlin to the sharks. He symbolizes strength, purposefulness, and pride in times of adversity, representing the past and future.

• Manolin: He is a caring person that helps and supports Santiago, he highlights Santigo’s value. The character takes care of the old man throughout the plot without asking for something. He symbolizes hope, and the future, he’s young and works with a successful crew, being part of the life cycle as life will follow from death. His dedication to Santiago ensures that the old man will live on, being a companion who feels nothing but love and devotion.

• Marlin: The fish is the perfect opponent, representing honor, nobility, and proof of man's worth. In a world in which “everything kills everything else in some way,” Santiago feels genuinely lucky to find himself matched against a creature that brings out the best in him: his strength, courage, love, and respect.

Symbols X2  w/ Meaning

• Lions: symbolize youth and wanting to go back to the character’s happiest moments of life. Their important figures also give a glimpse into Santiago’s desired qualities such as strength, pride, and fear.

• Sharks: Represent struggle and hardship, violent nature and evilness, they tore up the Marlin, attacking the protagonist's center of pain and admiration.

Theme X2  w/ Evidence

• Pride as the source of greatness and determination: the evidence is Santiago going back to his home with the skeleton of the Marlin, although he lost what he has been annihilating, he finds comfort in his strength during the fight and how he endured the pain. The main reward is not the fish but the thought of being victorious against nature's power that dominates others.

• The struggle over the result is the principal quality of a man’s value: the evidence is the scene where the sharks eat the Marlin despite Santiago’s effort to attack and protect it. He proves his endurance and perseverance, defeating the sharks from another perspective. the real conflict of Santiago lies in the quest for his worth as a person not just as a fisherman and proving that he keeps these despite feeling disappointed makes him the actual winner of the battle.

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