A Struggle for Life by Martha H.

In The Old Man and the Sea, the main character, Santiago, encounters many different obstacles that he must conquer or be faced with dire consequences. Santiago’s disputes begin when he manages to snag a marlin that is to amble and durable to reel in. Instead of giving up and letting the marlin go, Santiago stays with the massive fish and is carried further and further out to sea. With a short supply of food, loss of body movement, and the struggle with the loneliness of the sea, the walls begin to close in on Santiago. As the problems continue to pile up, Santiago’s strength begins to weaken.

A little while after the fish is caught, the first struggle inaugurates. Santiago begins to feel weaker and he gets a cramp that creeps into his hand. Santiago goes to great lengths to take care of his hands and does whatever it takes to ensure they stay healthy and strong for him. The relation between the old man and his hands is shown in the quote, "‘How do you feel hand, I’ll eat some more for you’" (58, 59) Santiago explains how he’ll eat unpleasant fish such as dolphins to gain strength in his body and hands to maintain a good hold on the marlin.

Soon after, Santiago discovers that the small amount he ate wasn’t enough to corroborate his body. With the extremely unlucky streak the old man encountered, he was unprepared for a voluminous catch such as the marlin. Without another source of food, Santiago knew he would soon die of starvation. As a result, Santiago looks to catch more diminutive fish to eat. Although his body is weakening, his mind stays sharp but he knew that wouldn’t last much longer. An example of his determination and clear headed thoughts was when Santiago looked down into the dark water at the slant of the line and thought, "Eat now and it will strengthen the hand. It is not your hand’s fault and you have been many hours with the fish. But you can stay with him forever. Eat the bonito now." (58)

With nothing but the ocean surrounding him, Santiago quickly begins to feel the emptiness of being alone. While he usually has the boy as company, Santiago deals with the struggle of surviving without him. The boy who was his son, his friend, his brother, his partner, was now an extensive distance away and had no way of helping Santiago. The hollowness and loneliness Santiago feels is suggested by his thoughts continually drifting towards him thinking, "I wish I had the boy to help me and see this." (48) This quote shows the dependency he has on the boy. Without him, he was enabled time to sleep, Santiago’s strength warred away more easily, and he had to maneuver through every obstacle by himself without any back up.

Throughout his many grapples, Santiago’s decision to stay with the abundant marlin affected him physically and mentally. Throughout each brawl, such as the short supply of food, loss of body movement, and dwelling with loneliness, Santiago had to overcome all in order to maintain survival. One simple day of fishing in the sea turned out to be an adventure that made Santiago struggle for his life.