The book The Old Man and the Sea starts out with an old man, also known as Santiago, and his younger companion named Manolin. The old man had gone eighty four days without a single catch unfortunately leaving the kid no choice but to depart the ship after the fortieth due to his parents. The eighty four dry spill left the old man the name “Salao” meaning “the worst form of unlucky”. However, this does not deter Manolin’s faith in the old man as he insists to stay with him despite the multiple accounts of discouragement from the old man and boys parents. The boy loves him. The boy is forced to fish on a successful crew and this does prove to beneficial for the boy as he receives money for his work. Manolin later tries to help the old man by providing him with fresh bait and the old man respectively accepts the gift. It is left off with the two of them talking about “the great DiMaggio” who is a well known baseball player who later is compared to the old man himself as the story continues. Santiago has but one dream which is of prolific lions in Africa. He resorts to this dream many times in the book. This section resonates well with me as it underlines loyalty, understanding, and empathy. Manolin loves the old man as I love my grandfather. I do not quite understand him or known exactly what he has gone through but I can see in my heart he is a good man that does not stray away from his morals and would love a companion. I love him unconditionally as does Manolin. In The Giver there is a prevalent theme of no pleasure without pain, the notion that you cannot enjoy the pleasure of something unless you have experience the pain in proportion to it. In this case he has had a difficult time with the seas but this failure and pain will only lead to a pleasure when he endures.
This section starts out with the fulfilled promise of the old man as he wakes Manolin early in the morning to have coffee together before they depart to to sea. Santiago then sets sail with his fresh bait and high hopes of a lucky fishing day. As he shows off his experience with the excellent movement of the boat to prevent the bait from drifting, he begins to realize that he has sailed very far out and begins to set the hooks. Later morning a large fish of some sort begins to toy with unsuspecting old man by playing with the bait at about 100 ft below. The old man hopes and prays for the fish to connect and eventually it does taking line that is firmly held in the old man’s hands. The fish pulls the boat all day and night ultimately bringing the prolonged challenge to morning where the fish shows no signs of exhaustion. Santiago now knows he has caught a very large marlin. This relates to the book The Hatchet where the main character is challenged with this new task of surviving in this hostile environment much like Santiago is dealing with. This part brings me back to the challenge of new schools as it illuminates the difficulties and persistence of changing environment. The challenge of persisting through the isolation and discomfort accompanied by a glimmer of hope that someday this will be over.
Santiago is set in his line and determined to not let this beautiful creature beat him. The fish is pulling him very far out to sea and is when a bird flies and lands on the taught wire the magnificent fish is pulling. He takes interest in this bird as he feels he is somewhat of a companion, someone to endure this long, brutal feat with. As the bird is sitting on the line the marlin reveals himself by jetting out of the water showing his true magnificence. The marlin is bigger than the old man had anticipated, guessing the length to be about two feet longer than his skiff. The exuberant thrust of the fish nearly sent the old man over board also scaring the bird off, understandably. Santiago was sad to see the bird leave, but had no time to other than to focus on the fish he underestimated. He pulled a tuna out he had caught the other day as he knew he had to keep his strength up. Upon eating the fish he wishes he could do the same for the fish showing his respect. He compares himself to the great DiMaggio as he relates his strength to his own. Ultimately he knows his body and believes some sleep is imperative, he tries to get what he could to prevent delusional decisions. This gives the old man confidence and continues his overwhelming catch. This is familiar to Odysseus when he has to fight a copious amount of men and monsters to get back home and then once home have to fend off his house much like Santiago has fought this wide range of obstacles for one common goal. This act of perseverance is very common in sport. There is always a challenge, player, or coach that might seem overwhelming and hard to deal with, but the one who wants it more and believes in him or herself is the one who prevails.
Shortly after the old man’s needed sleep the fish jerked him right into consciousness as the marlin jumped all over the place dismantling the old man and throwing him around the skiff. He began to gain inch by inch on the fish and it proved to work as it hit the skiff with its mighty sword. The old man realized this was his chance to truly hook the fish. He readied the harpoon for one final blow to the fish he came to love. He lined the harpoon to the marlin and without mistake thrusted the long harpoon directly into the fish. The marlin had made its last leap of magnificence as it fell to its death. Santiago had finally caught his wonder fish and started to latch the marlin to the side of the skiff. The course was set to home. A couple hours went by and sure enough the profound smell of blood in the water carried throughout the sea attracting a mako shark equipped with flesh eating jaws. The old man tried to fend the shark off by spearing it in the head and was successful, but not without a cost. forty pounds of his dream fish were in the mouth of the dead mako and this troubled the old man. He could not bare the sight of the fish anymore as he did not want to taint the prolific memory of him he had of the marlin before the shark took a mouthful. A piece of Marlin lay hanging from the body and the old man could not resist but to eat it as he was starving himself. It was the best fish he had ever tasted. Two more sharks came to feast on marlin. Santiago did everything he could to fend off the fish but his efforts were mostly in vain as most of his catch was gone. He begins to apologize to the marlin as he shows his respects. He once again relates himself to DiMaggio, this gives him comfort despite his tragic loss. Successfully Enduring an overwhelming challenge like this and then having it stolen from you by a bunch of greedy beings is well too familiar. I have endured many obstacles in my life, but a lot of them have been looked over by my parents. They always claim something to be wrong and bit by bit it deteriorates me little by little, but I remember that eventually my accomplishments with one day serve a purpose and this gives me sanctuary in my life. This part reminds me of the Life of Pi. When he is trying to save the zebra from the vicious hyenas he takes pity on the zebra and acts as it is one of his own.
The old man hauls the remains of the fish into the harbor after a long journey back home and can do nothing but lay in his bed and sleep. The young boy manolin sees the old man’s boat in the morning and proceeds to run to his house to check up on him. Manolin sees the old man and like a never ending rain tears steam down his face, ones of joy, sadness, and empathy. The boy waits for the old man to wake up as he gets the two cups of coffee ready, prepared for the whole story. The young boy is the first person the old man sees upon his awakening and they talk gently. Santiago is delighted with the Manolin’s company and tells him about his great catch. In the end the old man goes back to sleep and starts to dream about lions. In my life I have come to know only one companion such as Manolin. A person who loves you unconditionally and is so empathetic toward your failures and accomplishments. I have come to know only one. I endured an epiphanic showcase reading this book and this last part, a true example of love truly does relate to my personal situations.
Perseverance and the glory in defeat is undeniable in this book. There is no success without failure. One must failure before they succeed. This is shown time and time again throughout The Old Man and the Sea. His battle within the sea is taken farther than most would dare to dream, eighty four days of nothing yet his determination and perseverance prevail over his doubt and failure leading to the most breathtaking fish he had ever laid eyes on. “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might has well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.”
