What is the main point of The Old Man and the Sea?

What is the plot of The Old Man and the Sea?

The Old Man and the Sea, short heroic novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1952 and awarded the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It was his last major work of fiction. The story centres on an aging fisherman who engages in an epic battle to catch a giant marlin.

What is the conflict in the Old Man and the Sea?

The main conflict of The Old Man and the Sea is inner conflict of the old man, Santiago. He is in conflict between desire of getting big fishes and weakness of giving up. This conflict is the main element to develop the story. Santiago has another conflict with a marlin and sharks.

What happened to Santiago’s wife in The Old Man and the Sea?

Moreover, Santiago’s marlin being torn apart by sharks is symbolic of critics tearing apart The Old Man and the Sea, which is probably what Hemingway expected. Because of Hemingway’s loneliness, which was a result of his failed marriages and rejection by Adriana, Santiago’s wife is dead, and he is lonely and isolated.

Is Santiago a religious man?

Santiago is not religious, but he does live by a moral code and has a philosophy of life. He is a master of his craft, much more attentive to its fine details than the other fisherman in his village are. He exemplifies the manly virtues of courage and determination.

How does Santiago prepare to kill the fish?

While Santiago prepares for the sharks by attaching his knife to the end of one of his oars, he wonders if it was a sin to kill the fish. Santiago also shows his admiration for the Mako, because it is not just a scavenger like other sharks, and he wonders if he was wrong to have killed the Mako.

What is the main point of The Old Man and the Sea?

What does the old man and the sea symbolize?

The Old Man, Santiago In the novella Hemingway call Santiago as old man and it has very symbolic meaning that shows that he has lost his youth. According to Hemingway, man was most able to prove himself worthy in isolation. The sea, in the novel, represents the life and Santiago’s isolation in the universe.

What is The Old Man and the Sea based on?

Hemingway said the old man was based on nobody in particular, but it is likely he modelled the main character of the novel, Santiago, after a great friend of his, Gregorio Fuentes. Fuentes and Hemingway were fishing buddies in Cuba where Hemingway spent most of his adult life.

What happens at the end of Old Man and the Sea?

So although the fish is destroyed, by its death it has retrieved dignity and spiritual fulfillment for Santiago. Exhausted and defeated, then, Santiago ironically is victorious. He is a man “defeated, but not destroyed” and when he sleeps, he dreams as he has done as a child–he dreams of the lions.

What is the saddest thing Santiago ever saw?

As Santiago was preparing the harpoon, the male jumped to see where the female was and then dove deep and was gone. Santiago still recalls the male marlin’s beauty and how the whole incident was the saddest thing he ever saw.

What does Santiago do after killing the fish?

The old man thinks that the fish is killing him, and admires him for it, saying, “I do not care who kills who.” Eventually, he pulls the fish onto its side by the boat and plunges his harpoon into it. The fish lurches out of the water, brilliantly and beautifully alive as it dies.

Was Santiago triumphant or defeated?

Even though Santiago fought and kept on with his struggle to catch the fish, he was defeated because he lost it at the end.

Why does Santiago pity the great fish?

Why does Santiago begin to pity the fish? He respects and is sympathetic about the fish.