Ernest Hemingway wrote The Old Man and the Sea to show how you can push through the hardest of times and still not be defeated. The story shows how an old fisherman overcame an unlucky slump with the support from a young boy that loved and helped Santiago named Manolin. Santiago fought through the discrimination of the other old fisherman and refused to give up. Through Santiago’s struggles when trying to catch the great marlin, he kept pursuing his goal. Through sweat and tears Santiago never gives up before accomplishing his goal. He endured the pain of slicing his hands on the fishing line many of times in return to pull up the biggest fish he had ever landed.In the end Santiago had the obstacle of beating away multiple sharks while they sunk their teeth into Santiago’s goal. This shows that Hemingway uses symbolism to convey the idea that one must overcome obstacles before accomplishing their goals.During Old Man and the Sea, Santiago not only has to put up a fight with the marlin but sharks as well. Awhile after Santiago had reeled in the marlin, sharks start to trace the blood trail it had left behind. As the sharks got closer to his boat, Santiago grabs for his harpoon. He tries to beat him away but was not successful. “The shark’s head was out of water and his back was coming out and the old man could hear the noise of skin and flesh ripping on the big fish when he rammed the harpoon down onto the shark’s head” (Hemingway 102). He easily killed the first shark and watched him sink down under the water. Santiago noticed that the shark had taken forty pounds of flesh from the marlin and ripped off most of its side. Santiago was disappointed and no longer wanted to look at the fish; “when the fish had been hit it w…
…Hemingway 103). In the story he becomes the lowest man on the totem pole because he became an unsuccessful fishermen and was underneath the other successful fishermen. Santiago endured the discrimination and name calling of other fisherman. The older fishermen looked down on him and even felt sorry for him. It didn’t make him angry or mad but made him work harder.
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In the end Santiago succeeds and is no longer unsuccessful because of his determination to give up his life for the marlin. Even though he is only left with the skeleton of the marlin all the fishermen are still impressed. The fishermen measure the carcass and is found to be eighteen feet long. Santiago rode to shore on his boat feeling happy and accomplished. Even though our battles are not with marlins or sharks we all have obstacles standing the the way of our goals at some time in our lives.
