SUMMARY
Santiago, an old fisherman, works alone in a small skiff in
the Gulf Stream, who is dogged by ill luck for he has gone without catching a
fish for eighty-four days. Manolin, a young boy, keeps him company through
silent helping as carrying the coiled lines, gaff, harpoon or the sail for the
old man’s boat although he is working on another and more luckier boat.
Eventually, Santiago had been called or
had become ‘salao’, the worst kind of unlucky man.
The old man is
becoming thin and gaunt, and has cancer due to constant exposure to the harsh
sun. His hands are marked by scars, testimony to his handling of heavy fish
through the years.
Manolin, his
comrade, had been taught by him with the art of fishing and in return giving
him love and respect in the process. Although they have fished for quite a
time, the boy’s parents distrusted Santiago and forbids him to go, but the boy
still insists. The old man knows that the boy has faith in him and does not
doubt his capabilities. To prove that Santiago also trust the boy, he offers to
buy Manolin a beer, as if he were a man, and asks him to turn his attention
instead, but the faithful boy wishes to serve him in any way he can. Since he
has been with Santiago from the age of five, he viewed him as his teacher,
master, and father figure. Somehow, the people in the village have differing view
on Santiago: the older fisherman pity him for his bad luck while the younger
ones ridicule him for how old he looked in his career. Additionally, Santiago
continues to be optimistic who believes that tomorrow will be better.
Manolin took
care of him and gives him domestic chores like he was his son. He informs him
of their favorite baseball team, the Yankees, and Joe DiMaggio who leads the
team. Both of them remembers how DiMaggio used to come to the Terrace Restaurant
and got timid to ask him to accompany them in fishing.
The boy reminds
Santiago that it is September in which the old man knew that it is the time
when the great fish comes. Manolin tells Santiago that he is the best fisherman
in the village. Santiago hopes that no big fish comes along to prove the boy
wrong.
Santiago dreams
of Africa as he sleeps, its sights, sounds and smells. When he wakes up, he
goes to Manolin’s house and rouse him up. Santiago prepares and faces the sea
in its early morn opening which the old man also feels the same as he
approaches the morning. As Santiago rows to sea, he goes further as to catch
many fishes. Arriving at a choice spot, he lowers his bait to different depths
ever hoping that he could catch a big fish. The old man thought and felt to be
exact rather than to be lucky, so that when luck visits, he is ready for it.
When the sun finally rises, the old man saw many other fisherman closer to shore.
Santiago spies
a man of war bird, signifying that there are fish nearby. Later, he sees a big
school of dolphins. Santiago feels encouraged by the presence of the dolphins,
for large fish often swim close to them. And the optimistic fisherman feels
certain that his big fish is getting
nearer. The old man also thinks that the bird is of great help, guiding him to
areas where the fish are gathered.
He sees the turtles, and all the other
creatures, who were feeding themselves. He gathers some of the turtles’ white
eggs to eat, since he had no food brought along. He had the belief that the
eggs will give him strength to catch the really big fish. Suddenly, a line
under Santiago’s foot goes taut. He brings up the line and sees that he has
caught an albacore. Santiago thinks that the fish will make excellent bait for
the larger fish.
Santiago keeps himself
good company and he also keeps himself on silence; it is an unwritten law of
the sea that a fisherman talks a little to the fishes being caught as to beseech
them to come near to him. Later, he realizes that he has caught a big fish and
adds some coil to his line since he felt something very heavy pulling at the
line. Instead, the fish starts swimming and pulling the boat, towards the
northwest, although tiring, he is thankful that the fish is travelling forward,
not diving down into the deep.
At first, he
thinks that the fish cannot tow the boat for much longer, but, after nightfall,
nothing has changed, and the boat is still being towed. He starts to pity with
the great fish showing such determination, he expressed his view in determining
to master the fish and sell its meat in the market at a good price. Because of
the tiresome drag that the great fish brought to him, and the added thinking
that he was inexplicably connected with the fish at the other end of the line.
Labeled as ‘the victim and the victimizer’, he finally, felt worn out draining
his optimism, but, he quickly recovers, however, and says that he was born to
be a fisherman, and it is his duty to strive to the best. He, eventually, feels
that he is united with the fish and thinks that the fish has the same kind of
suffering as the pain he is experiencing.
As the day
progresses, Santiago notices that the fish is swimming at a lesser depth, and
he hopes that it will soon surface so he can get a clear view of it. Suddenly, the slant of line
changes, rising steadily, the fish then rises out of the water in front of the
old man, seeming to pause for a while before diving under again. Santiago sees
the fish as truly gigantic, deep purple in color, with lavender sides. Its
sword is as long as a baseball bat and pointed. The old man estimates that it
is two feet longer than the boat. Having seen the fish, Santiago grows more
determined than before.
Santiago
believes that fish are more noble and able than human beings, he thanks God,
however, that they are not intelligent. Still, feeling a bond with the fish,
the old man wishes he could show the fish what type of human has caught him.
By the noon of
the second day, the fish has not showed signs of tiring even he uttered prayers
to be helped in his mission though it was done mechanically. He knows that he
is fatigued.
As sunset approaches,
he catches a dolphin, which he eats to maintain strength ,but still, the line
he holds was still tug off and the boat towed by the fish. Again showing a fierce
loyalty to the fish, he says that no one is worthy of eating it, for the fish
has great dignity, bearing the punishment of a hook, hunger, and an unknown danger.
After a fitful
sleep in spite of his efforts, he then notices that the fish is finally
swimming along with the current, indicating that it had become tired.
When the sun
rises on Santiago’s third day, the fish starts circling, initially swimming far
from the boat. Using his body as pivots to turn the boat with the fish, and the
harpoon which he carries, he drives the harpoon with all his might into the
heart of the fish. The fish rises high in the air and crashes into the water.
Great amounts of blood ooze into the sea, as the great fish dies.
Now that the
first fight is over, the old man battles himself to keep his head clear. He
repeatedly tells himself that though he is sick, tired and old, there is still
a lot of work to be accomplished.
As he ties up
the dead fish around noontime, he cannot believe he has mastered such a big
one. He tries to hurry in his tasks, for with some luck, he may reach home by late
night.
Feeling proud of
his accomplishment, Santiago imagines that DiMaggio would even congratulate him.
As he sails
towards home, he wonders whether the huge fish is a dream, but with one look at
it, he knows the reality of his whole adventure.
There is nothing
in the environment around the old man to warn him of danger, but the shark has
appeared and he was unprepared. They were attracted to the blood that came out
from the marlin. Despite of brave attempts in killing the group of sharks
through the equipments he has in his boat, and the fact that half of the group
were killed by the Mako shark through his intelligence, skills and determination,
it became a loosing battle; and the sharks eat the giant fish entirely. When
only the skeleton is left, the sharks disappeared.
When he finally
reaches the harbor of his village, Santiago notices that the lights of the
Terrace Restaurant are out and that everyone is in bed. After tying the boat,
spreading the mast, and furling the sail, he starts to climb towards home,
carrying the mast; he suddenly realizes that he is tired beyond belief. He
looks back at the huge skeleton of the fish, trying to see if his experiences
are real. He spies the bone structure of its head and body, and concluded that
the last three days are not just a nightmare.
The next morning,
Manolin looks in the door, as he has done for the last three days. This time he
finds Santiago, who is asleep even though the wind is blowing very loud and
hard. He makes sure if the old man is breathing and notices Santiago’s battered
hands and starts crying for his pain.
By this time,
many fishermen have gathered around the skiff and gape at the huge skeleton of
the fish. When they inform Manolin that the fish measures eighteen feet from
nose to tail, the boy replies with confidence that he is not surprised.
Finally, the
old man wakes up, and the boy gives him hot coffee. He then reported to the boy
the entire event how he caught the fish and how it had gotten into a skeleton that
loose even his own life. He decided to give to the boy the skeleton to be used
as spear and fish traps for fishing.
Santiago asks
the boy if he had been searched while he went missing for three days. The boy
replies affirmatively, that there was a search by the Coast Guard through boats
and planes.
Manolin asks
Santiago that the two of them would fish again in order to learn all the tricks
of their trade and told him that he would take care of himself.
That afternoon,
tourists came to the Terrace Restaurant and notices the skeleton of the fish. They
perceived that it was the skeleton of a shark, but the waiter disagrees and
explained that it was the skeleton of a huge fish.
Up the road,
the old man is still sleeping, and the boy is sitting by his side, watching
him.
DESCRIPTION OF THE
SETTING
As the title suggests, the story is mainly set on the sea,
Gulf Stream, over a period of three days. The sea has deep dark and clear blue
water, in which fishes swim and can be seen through its transparency. According
to the calculation of the old man, September is the time when the great fish
will come which he aims most to catch for the purpose of least fame and lack of
plenty for he is poor. Above it were clouds building in which it tells if there
would be bad weather or not since bad weather distracts the situation of the fishermen
at sea. Behind it was the land in which it was connected to the clouds and
foretells of fair weather……The land must make a difference too, in the shape of
the clouds (p.33)……He looked at the sky and saw the white cumulus built like
friendly piles of ice cream and high above were the thin feathers of the cirrus
against the high September sky (p.33).
The sea was the
source of living of the people in the village including the old man through the
resources it gave as the fishes that were their provisions and source of
income.
The sub-setting
which is the village is described as having two streets down the road, a
restaurant named The Terrace, and neighboring Havana. This is where the old
man, the protagonist, his friend Manolin and the people lived. It is near the
sea which provides the people in continuing through their lives.
The illusory
setting was Africa in which it gave a beautiful picture and was the dreams of
the old man. It has beaches and some lions. It describes a scene where the old
man would be free from his miseries and be relaxed as well. This was actually
existing when the old man was in his boyhood but at the turn of his time it
became his point for imagination.
BACKGROUND OF THE NOVEL
Hemingway was
an expert at deep-sea fishing and had won several prizes in various
competitions, sometimes catching giant marlin. When he lived in Cuba, he acquired
a house, nine miles outside Havana, and often fished in the Gulf Stream, much
like Santiago. The background on the novel is derived from real-life Cuban
fishing villages near the Gulf Stream. The subject of the luckless Old Man who
caught a giant fish also came from personal experiences.
It was more then twenty years before
Hemingway turned the story into a book called The Old Man and the Sea; and it was to be Hemingway’s final novel.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
SETTING
The main set
of the story, Gulf Stream, gives a picture of vastness wherein becomes a second
dwelling to the villagers including the old man because this is where they spend
most of their time and be provided in their source of living, of wealth because
it benefits everything which they needed in their provision, and of relaxation
because its beauty could refresh the inner state of men. Its depth suggest that
a man could be successful because it gives a clue that there is a lot more to
be found that convinced the old man to search for a better and unique fish
which would lead to his success.
A part of the
sea are the fishes which in the same way provides the provision and income of
the villagers. It is attractive that makes the old man describes to every piece
of it and even treated it as companion for its beauty suggests that they are not
suited to be destroyed. Another, it is the best company to be treated as ever since
the old man had not had any company sometimes in his solitude that it motivated
him to talk to it.
The sea
represents nature itself and the totality of the universe in which one is
foreseen to lose its directions because of its vastness and one has to take
chances for a better option because of its complication.
Rebecca Rodriguez
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