The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway tells the story of an old fisherman named Santiago. He was one of the unluckiest fishermen in his village, having had no catch for the past 84 days. Santiago felt down, especially after his apprentice, Manolin, was forced to leave him because his parents wanted him to work with someone more successful. Santiago decided to try and catch the legendary 1000-pound marlin residing in the Gulf of Mexico. At first, he treated the marlin like his enemy. When he did find the marlin, they engaged in a three-day long struggle. Santiago eventually thought of the giant fish as a worthy creature and at last defeated him. However, the aquatic monster was too big to fit in his boat, so he had to drag it along. Soon, the smell of blood attracts sharks, which ate the fish, leaving Santiago with nothing more than a skeleton and a head by the time he returns. Manolin tried to help Santiago, while another fisherman measured the length of the skeleton at 18 feet long. Many tourists, though amazed, still treated it as a failure.
Society often only looks at results and not the journey that one went on to get there. Many people judge others based on the outcomes of their efforts and ignore the actual process of achieving that outcome. Santiago put in his best and had to fight an enormous fish for three days in a row to catch it. He had to fight off sharks first by using his harpoon, and then attaching a knife to his oar to use as a spear. Unfortunately, the knife blade broke and when he came back to the fishing village, he was empty-handed except for the skeleton of the fish that was too large to fit into his boat. Although tourists marveled at the 18-foot long skeleton, they still deemed it as a failure since it was devoid of any meat on it. The villagers at Santiago’s hometown treated his catch like a failure since he came back empty-handed without any results for his efforts whatsoever, ignoring the effort he put in to catch the beast. Many people judge based on the outcome and not the process.
We should always know our limits and respect our opponents. Courage doesn’t mean just recklessly trying to defy the odds and assume that our opponents can’t beat us. Santiago initially treated the fish like an enemy. However, by the second day of his struggle, he was developing respect for the giant fish and treated it with compassion. In fact, when he was hauling the corpse back to land, he apologized to the fish when a shark took a 40-pound bite out of it even though it was dead. He felt sorry for the fish being mutilated not because he was losing money but because he thought the fish to be worthy of a graceful or at least peaceful death. Compare this to Moby-Dick where captain Ahab is recklessly pursuing revenge and doesn’t care for his target at all. Our dignity defines whether we are truly a winner or not. Santiago treated the fish with compassion even though it was his adversary, and that made him a true hero. We should treat our rivals with respect even if they are standing in the way of our goals.
True friends are inseparable despite societal and familial pressure. Friends stay together and face challenges side by side. Manolin and Santiago had developed a genuine bond,even though the latter was very unsuccessful as a fisherman. Manolin’s family once forced him to work with someone else that was better at his job. The young apprentice had to comply but he secretly snuck food to Santiago and helped him with his needs, since he was broke due to not having a catch at all for nearly three months in a row. Santiago was even treated as an outcast since the village considered bad luck to be contagious and called him “salao” or unlucky. Despite this, Manolin still did his best to help his old master. When Santiago returns with a marlin skeleton, Manolin insists on accompanying him on his future voyages so that he could provide a helping hand. Santiago and Manolin were truly inseparable, even though the latter was pressured by his family and the former was treated as an outcast by his hometown. Friends stand up to challenges and hardships together.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway centers on an old fisherman named Santiago. He had not caught so much as a guppy-sized fish for the past 84 days. His apprentice, Manolin, was forced to abandon him for a luckier boat by his parents. That was when he had the idea of catching the legendary 1000-pound marlin in the Gulf of Mexico. When he hooked the massive fish, he had a three day struggle with it and treated it with compassion when he finally won the fight. Unfortunately, the fish was too big to put in his boat. As a result, Santiago had to fight off sharks which came and devoured the entire body except for the skeleton. When the old man returned with an 18-foot skeleton, it was deemed a failure despite his efforts. This teaches us three themes. First, the process is just as, if not more important than the results. Second, we should respect our adversaries and accept our victory or defeat with dignity. Third and finally, friends stay together even in hard times.
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