In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, there is an old and determined character named Santiago. He can be described as a heart-filled fisherman and goes through what he can consider the most arduous fight of his life, which is to take in a giant marlin. But what makes it worse is his weakness and pain. The obstacles in the story that get in his way from easily taking in the fish form the conflict and plot of the story.
One of these obstacles includes his hand that cramped on him. “He rubbed the cramped hand against his trousers and tried to gentle the fingers” (60), is what the author states. Santiago’s left hand cramped up because of using too many lines through one night. He has lots of trouble loosening the cramp which makes him wish the boy was with him. If he were there, he wouldn’t have to hope for it to open up with the sun. This pain affects Santiago’s fishing because he’s forced to using his right hand to fish with little help from his left. Imagine that with a fish that weighs almost a ton. It also makes him worry greatly on what the fish will do seeing how he doesn’t have much control over the fish.
Also, a good example would be the sympathy he felt for the fish. “Then he was sorry for the great fish that had nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow for him” (75). I think this quote shows it’s a good example because it seems he’s having trouble implying himself to think that he should kill the fish and struggles to stay mentally strong. Despite how much of an accomplishment it was for the old man, he still says it’s bad to kill such wonderful creatures. He refers to it as a true brother and doesn’t think people should be given a chance to eat the marlin he caught.
Another obstacle that was important to the story was when the old man had to battle the sharks. “The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and the clicking chop of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail”(101). This is a quote that gives a good picture of this particular scene. Even after Santiago battled a fish for a few days, he still had to fend off multiple sharks all the way back to shore. He used a knife, two oars, a tiller, and a short club as weapons against the sharks.
An obstacle that was probably the hardest for the old man to get beyond, was his fight with the sharks for a couple of reasons. The great, big fish he caught lost a massive amount of weight due to the sharks ripping out so much meat. This doesn’t make it a great, big fish anymore like Santiago wanted. In my opinion though, he’s still happy and feels fortunate because he caught the biggest fish of his life. This I think made him realize even though he’s very old, he can still fish like he used to.
One of these obstacles includes his hand that cramped on him. “He rubbed the cramped hand against his trousers and tried to gentle the fingers” (60), is what the author states. Santiago’s left hand cramped up because of using too many lines through one night. He has lots of trouble loosening the cramp which makes him wish the boy was with him. If he were there, he wouldn’t have to hope for it to open up with the sun. This pain affects Santiago’s fishing because he’s forced to using his right hand to fish with little help from his left. Imagine that with a fish that weighs almost a ton. It also makes him worry greatly on what the fish will do seeing how he doesn’t have much control over the fish.
Also, a good example would be the sympathy he felt for the fish. “Then he was sorry for the great fish that had nothing to eat and his determination to kill him never relaxed in his sorrow for him” (75). I think this quote shows it’s a good example because it seems he’s having trouble implying himself to think that he should kill the fish and struggles to stay mentally strong. Despite how much of an accomplishment it was for the old man, he still says it’s bad to kill such wonderful creatures. He refers to it as a true brother and doesn’t think people should be given a chance to eat the marlin he caught.
Another obstacle that was important to the story was when the old man had to battle the sharks. “The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and the clicking chop of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail”(101). This is a quote that gives a good picture of this particular scene. Even after Santiago battled a fish for a few days, he still had to fend off multiple sharks all the way back to shore. He used a knife, two oars, a tiller, and a short club as weapons against the sharks.
An obstacle that was probably the hardest for the old man to get beyond, was his fight with the sharks for a couple of reasons. The great, big fish he caught lost a massive amount of weight due to the sharks ripping out so much meat. This doesn’t make it a great, big fish anymore like Santiago wanted. In my opinion though, he’s still happy and feels fortunate because he caught the biggest fish of his life. This I think made him realize even though he’s very old, he can still fish like he used to.
1 comment:
i thaught your thesis was good and to the point. it showed what you were going to write about and u didnt draw it out. i really liked your second quote because it shows how he shows compassion for the fish. i really like your ending because it restates what u said in your essay and finishes it off.
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