The Old Man and the Sea - set 1

Despite the soberly life-affirming tone of the novella, Hemingway was, at the end of his life, more and more prone to debilitating bouts of depression. He committed suicide in 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho.

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METAPHOR Santiago's Sail: The old man's sail was "patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat"

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Santiago

A Cuban fisherman who has had an extended run of bad luck. He hasn't been able to catch a fish in 84 days. He is humble, but has pride in his abilities. He knows a lot about the sea, the creatures, and his craft. He has faced many trials to test his strength and endurance. The marlin that he struggles with for 3 days is his greatest challenge.

Day Five Early the next morning, Manolin comes to the old man's shack, and the sight of his friend's ravaged hands brings him to tears. He goes to fetch coffee. Fishermen have gathered around Santiago's boat and measured the carcass at eighteen feet. Manolin waits for the old man to wake up, keeping his coffee warm for him so it is ready right away. When the old man wakes, he and Manolin talk warmly. Santiago says that the sharks beat him, and Manolin insists that he will work with the old man again, regardless of what his parents say.

He reveals that there had been a search for Santiago involving the coast guard and planes. Santiago is happy to have someone to talk to, and after he and Manolin make plans, the old man sleeps again. Manolin leaves to find food and the newspapers for the old man, and to tell Pedrico that the marlin's head is his. That afternoon two tourists at the terrace café mistake the great skeleton for that of a shark. Manolin continues to watch over the old man as he sleeps and dreams of the lions.

During his great struggle with the marlin, what does Santiago wish repeatedly? (A) He wishes he were younger. (B) He wishes for better equipment. (C) He wishes that the fishermen who mocked him earlier were present to witness his victory. (D) He wishes that the boy, Manolin, were with him.

He wishes that the boy, Manolin, were with him.

What happens to make Santiago curse the treachery of his own body? (A) He gets seasick. (B) He has diarrhea. (C) His hand cramps. (D) He needs to sleep.

His hand cramps

After leaving Paris, Hemingway wrote on bullfighting, published short stories and articles, covered the Spanish Civil War as a journalist, and published his best-selling novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). These pieces helped Hemingway build up the mythic breed of masculinity for which he wished to be known. His work and his life revolved around big-game hunting, fishing, boxing, and bullfighting, endeavors that he tried to master as seriously as he did writing.

In the 1930s, Hemingway lived in Key West, Florida, and later in Cuba, and his years of experience fishing the Gulf Stream and the Caribbean provided an essential background for the vivid descriptions of the fisherman's craft in The Old Man and the Sea. In 1936, he wrote a piece for Esquire about a Cuban fisherman who was dragged out to sea by a great marlin, a game fish that typically weighs hundreds of pounds. Sharks had destroyed the fisherman's catch by the time he was found half-delirious by other fishermen. This story seems an obvious seed for the tale of Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea.`

Who is Santiago's hero? (A) Harry Truman (B) Joe DiMaggio (C) Dick Sisler (D) Fidel Castro

Joe DiMaggio

SYMBOL Joe DiMaggio

Joe Dimaggio had a heel spur and had to play in pain (similar to the old man who had to endure suffering and pain to achieve the impossible

The second day of Santiago's struggle with the marlin wears on. The old man alternately questions and justifies seeking the death of such a noble opponent. As dusk approaches, Santiago's thoughts turn to baseball. The great DiMaggio, thinks the old man, plays brilliantly despite the pain of a bone spur in his heel. Santiago is not actually sure what a bone spur is, but he is sure he would not be able to bear the pain of one himself. (A bone spur is an outgrowth that projects from the bone.) He wonders if DiMaggio would stay with the marlin. To boost his confidence, the old man recalls the great all-night arm-wrestling match he won as a young man. Having beaten "the great negro from Cienfuegos [a town in Cuba]," Santiago earned the title El Campeón, or "The Champion."

Just before nightfall, a dolphin takes the second bait Santiago had dropped. The old man hauls it in with one hand and clubs it dead. He saves the meat for the following day. Although Santiago boasts to the marlin that he feels prepared for their impending fight, he is really numb with pain. The stars come out. Santiago considers the stars his friends, as he does the great marlin. He considers himself lucky that his lot in life does not involve hunting anything so great as the stars or the moon. Again, he feels sorry for the marlin, though he is as determined as ever to kill it. The fish will feed many people, Santiago decides, though they are not worthy of the creature's great dignity. By starlight, still bracing and handling the line, Santiago considers rigging the oars so that the fish will have to pull harder and eventually tire itself out. He fears this strategy would ultimately result in the loss of the fish. He decides to "rest," which really just means putting down his hands and letting the line go across his back, instead of using his own strength to resist his opponent. After "resting" for two hours, Santiago chastises himself for not sleeping, and he fears what could happen should his mind become "unclear." He butchers the dolphin he caught earlier and finds two flying fish in its belly. In the chilling night, he eats half of a fillet of dolphin meat and one of the flying fish. While the marlin is quiet, the old man decides to sleep. He has several dreams: a school of porpoises leaps from and returns to the ocean; he is back in his hut during a storm; and he again dreams of the lions on the beach in Africa.

Martin

Like Perico, Martin, a café owner in Santiago's village, does not appear in the story. The reader learns of him through Manolin, who often goes to Martin for Santiago's supper. As the old man says, Martin is a man of frequent kindness who deserves to be repaid.

On the night before he promises Manolin to go "far out" to sea, of what does Santiago dream? (A) A great storm (B) A beautiful woman (C) Lions on the beach (D) A wrestling match

Lions on the beach

SYMBOL--The Marlin

Magnificent and glorious, the marlin symbolizes the ideal opponent. In a world in which "everything kills everything else in some way," Santiago feels genuinely lucky to find himself matched against a creature that brings out the best in him: his strength, courage, love, and respect.

They both pretend that they are going to eat together but in fact there is no food. Santiago pulls out a newspaper to read the baseball scores. Manolin leaves to get the bait fish and brings back some dinner (from Martin the cafe owner) The old man promises to repay the kindness. Manolin and Santiago talk about baseball. Santiago admires "DiMaggio" whose father was a fisherman. Manolin says that Santiago is the greatest fisherman.

Manolin leaves and the old man goes to sleep. He dreams a recurring dream of lions playing on the white beaches of Africa (he saw this from a ship when he was a young boy.)

What happens upon the old man's return to his fishing village? (A) Manolin promises to sail with him. (B) The fishermen mock Santiago for the folly of sailing out so far. (C) Tourists ask the old man to recount his adventures. (D) A statue is erected in his honor.

Manolin promises to sail with him

What kind of reception does Santiago receive at the terrace café?' (A) The fishermen regard him as a hero. (B) Most of the fishermen mock him. (C) The successful fishermen offer him a portion of their day's catch. (D) The younger fishermen pretend that the old man doesn't exist.

Most of the fishermen mock him

About Ernest Hemingway E rnest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1899, the son of a doctor and a music teacher. He began his writing career as a reporter for the Kansas City Star. At age eighteen, he volunteered to serve as a Red Cross ambulance driver in World War I and was sent to Italy, where he was badly injured by shrapnel. Hemingway later fictionalized his experience in Italy in what some consider his greatest novel, A Farewell to Arms.

In 1921, Hemingway moved to Paris, where he served as a correspondent for the Toronto Daily Star. In Paris, he fell in with a group of American and English expatriate writers that included F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, and Ford Madox Ford. In the early 1920s, Hemingway began to achieve fame as a chronicler of the disaffection felt by many American youth after World War I—a generation of youth whom Stein memorably dubbed the "Lost Generation." His novels The Sun Also Rises (1926) and A Farewell to Arms (1929) established him as a dominant literary voice of his time. His spare, charged style of writing was revolutionary at the time and would be imitated, for better or for worse, by generations of young writers to come.

Joe DiMaggio

Although DiMaggio never appears in the novel, he plays a significant role nonetheless. Santiago worships him as a model of strength and commitment, and his thoughts turn toward DiMaggio whenever he needs to reassure himself of his own strength. Despite a painful bone spur that might have crippled another player, DiMaggio went on to secure a triumphant career. He was a center fielder for the New York Yankees from 1936 to 1951, and is often considered the best all-around player ever at that position.

MOTIF Crucifixion Imagery

In order to suggest the profundity of the old man's sacrifice and the glory that derives from it, Hemingway purposefully likens Santiago to Christ, who, according to Christian theology, gave his life for the greater glory of humankind. When Santiago's palms are first cut by his fishing line, the reader cannot help but think of Christ suffering his stigmata. Later, when the sharks arrive, Hemingway portrays the old man as a crucified martyr, saying that he makes a noise similar to that of a man having nails driven through his hands. Furthermore, the image of the old man struggling up the hill with his mast across his shoulders recalls Christ's march toward Calvary. Even the position in which Santiago collapses on his bed—face down with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up—brings to mind the image of Christ suffering on the cross. Hemingway employs these images in the final pages of the novella in order to link Santiago to Christ, who exemplified transcendence by turning loss into gain, defeat into triumph, and even death into renewed life.

The old man pulls the skiff up alongside the fish and fastens the fish to the side of the boat. He thinks about how much money he will be able to make from such a big fish, and he imagines that DiMaggio would be proud of him. Santiago's hands are so cut up that they resemble raw meat. With the mast up and the sail drawn, man, fish, and boat head for land. In his light-headed state, the old man finds himself wondering for a moment if he is bringing the fish in or vice versa. He shakes some shrimp from a patch of gulf weed and eats them raw. He watches the marlin carefully as the ship sails on. The old man's wounds remind him that his battle with the marlin was real and not a dream.

An hour later, a mako shark arrives, having smelled the marlin's blood. Except for its jaws full of talonlike teeth, the shark is a beautiful fish. When the shark hits the marlin, the old man sinks his harpoon into the shark's head. The shark lashes on the water and, eventually, sinks, taking the harpoon and the old man's rope with it. The mako has taken nearly forty pounds of meat, so fresh blood from the marlin spills into the water, inevitably drawing more sharks to attack. Santiago realizes that his struggle with the marlin was for nothing; all will soon be lost. But, he muses, "a man can be destroyed but not defeated."

To give himself confidence, Santiago remembers his contest with "the great negro of Cienfuegos." At what sport did the old man beat this challenger? (A) Fencing (B) Tennis (C) Arm wrestling (D) Boxing

Arm wrestling

Discuss religious symbolism in The Old Man and the Sea. To what effect does Hemingway employ such images?

Christian symbolism, especially images that refer to the crucifixion of Christ, is present throughout The Old Man and the Sea. During the old man's battle with the marlin, his palms are cut by his fishing cable. Given Santiago's suffering and willingness to sacrifice his life, the wounds are suggestive of Christ's stigmata, and Hemingway goes on to portray the old man as a Christ-like martyr. As soon as the sharks arrive, Santiago makes a noise one would make "feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood." And the old man's struggle up the hill to his village with his mast across his shoulders is evocative of Christ's march toward Calvary. Even the position in which Santiago collapses on his bed—he lies face down with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up—brings to mind the image of Christ on the cross. Hemingway employs these images in order to link Santiago to Christ, who exemplified transcendence by turning loss into gain, defeat into triumph, and even death into life.

MOTIF Life from Death

Death is the unavoidable force , the one fact that no living creature can escape. But death, is never an end in itself: in death there is always the possibility of the most vigorous life. The reader notes that as Santiago slays the marlin, not only is the old man reinvigorated by the battle, but the fish also comes alive "with his death in him." Life, the possibility of renewal, necessarily follows on the heels of death. Whereas the marlin's death hints at a type of physical reanimation, death leads to life in less literal ways at other points in the novella. The book's crucifixion imagery emphasizes the cyclical connection between life and death, as does Santiago's battle with the marlin. His success at bringing the marlin in earns him the awed respect of the fishermen who once mocked him, and secures him the companionship of Manolin, the apprentice who will carry on Santiago's teachings long after the old man has died.

Why does Santiago not let his lines drift like the other fishermen? (A) He is a stubborn man who prefers the old-fashioned way of fishing. (B) He believes it is imprecise, and he strives always to be exact. (C) It is dangerous, as he might become tangled with another boat. (D) He is no longer young or strong enough to control a drifting line.

He believes it is imprecise, and he strives always to be exact

As his first full day of fighting with the fish wears on, what does Santiago begin to think about his adversary? (A) He praises the fish because it promises to bring a wonderful price at market. (B) He considers that he and the marlin are brothers, joined by the fact that they both ventured far out beyond all people and dangers in the water. (C) He detests the fish for its vigor and vitality. (D) He believes that the fish is a test of his worth, sent to him by God.

He considers that he and the marlin are brothers, joined by the fact that they both ventured far out beyond all people and dangers in the water.

In order to help himself catch the fish, what does Santiago do? (A) He promises to pay more attention to Manolin upon his return. (B) He decides to recite ten Hail Marys and ten Our Fathers. (C) He lightens the boat by throwing all unnecessary weight overboard. (D) He ties the skiff to a buoy so that the fish cannot pull it farther out to sea.

He decides to recite ten Hail Mary's and ten Our Father's

MOTIF--The Lions on the Beach

Santiago dreams his pleasant dream of the lions at play on the beaches of Africa three times. The first time is the night before he departs on his three-day fishing expedition, the second occurs when he sleeps on the boat for a few hours in the middle of his struggle with the marlin, and the third takes place at the very end of the book. The sober promise of the triumph and regeneration with which the novella closes is supported by the final image of the lions. Because Santiago associates the lions with his youth, the dream suggests the circular nature of life. Additionally, because Santiago imagines the lions, fierce predators, playing, his dream suggests a harmony between the opposing forces—life and death, love and hate, destruction and regeneration—of nature.

The Marlin

Santiago hooks the marlin, which we learn at the end of the novella measures eighteen feet, on the first afternoon of his fishing expedition. Because of the marlin's great size, Santiago is unable to pull the fish in, and the two become engaged in a kind of tug-of-war that often seems more like an alliance than a struggle. The fishing line serves as a symbol of the fraternal connection Santiago feels with the fish. When the captured marlin is later destroyed by sharks, Santiago feels destroyed as well. Like Santiago, the marlin is implicitly compared to Christ.

Manolin

Santiago's apprentice and devoted attendant. The old man first took him out on a boat when he was merely five years old. Due to Santiago's recent bad luck, Manolin's parents have forced the boy to go out on a different fishing boat. Manolin, however, still cares deeply for the old man, to whom he continues to look as a mentor. His love for Santiago is unmistakable as the two discuss baseball and as the young boy recruits help from villagers to improve the old man's impoverished conditions.

QUOTE Do you believe the great DiMaggio would stay with a fish as long as I will stay with this one? he thought. I am sure he would and more since he is young and strong. Also his father was a fisherman. But would the bone spur hurt him too much? "I do not know," he said aloud. "I never had a bone spur." (book 3 para 87-88)

The old man compares his own endurance to DiMaggio's, just as he compares himself to the fish. Both are idols he looks up to.

QUOTE "It's steady," the old man told him. "It's too steady. You shouldn't be that tired after a windless night. What are birds coming to?" (Day 3 para 14)

The old man implicitly compares himself to the birds, believing that feeling tired is something to be ashamed of.

QUOTE He had pushed his straw hat hard down on his head before he hooked the fish and it was cutting his forehead. He was thirsty too and he got down on his knees and, being careful not to jerk on the line, moved as far into the bow as he could get and reached the water bottle with one hand. He opened it and drank a little. Then he rested against the bow. He rested sitting on the un-stepped mast and sail and tried not to think but only to endure. (Day 2 Para 82)

The old man is best able to endure when he can distract himself from thinking about his plight or pain

QUOTE "When I was your age I was before the mast on a square rigged ship that ran to Africa and I have seen lions on the beaches in the evening." "I know. You told me." (Book 1 para 125-126)

The old man is caught up in the past and the memory of his youth.

QUOTE "I don't think I can eat an entire one," he said and drew his knife across one of the strips. He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his left hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the heavy cord and he looked at it in disgust. "What kind of a hand is that," he said. "Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good." (Day 3 para 31 and 32)

The old man is mentally determined, but disappointed in the lack of endurance he sees in his body.

QUOTE "Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead." He'll stay with me too, I suppose, the old man thought and he waited for it to be light. (Day 2 Para 105, 106)

The old man recognizes that the fish possesses an endurance to match his own

QUOTE I told the boy I was a strange old man," he said. "Now is when I must prove it." The thousand times that he had proved it meant nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it. I wish he'd sleep and I could sleep and dream about the lions, he thought. Why are the lions the main thing that is left? (Day 3 para 76-78)

The old man sees his own determination to prove himself reflected in the lions.

DAY ONE Santiago, an old fisherman has gone 84 days without catching a fish. Manolin (his apprentice)--his parents have forced him to leave Santiago in order to work for a prosperous boat. Manolin has some money from his new boat and offers to come back to Santiago's boat--they reminisce about their 87 days of bad luck but then catching a big fish every day for 3 weeks. Manolin talks about having to switch boats and that his parents lack faith. He helps haul in the fishing gear.

They stop for a beer--other fishermen make fun of Santiago. They continue to reminisce about the many years they fished together. The boy begs him to take his fresh bait and the old man accepts with humility. Santiago tells Manolin that he will go "far out" in the sea the next day. They take the gear to the old man's shack. It is sparse. 2 pictures: Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Virgin of Cobre (patroness of Cuba) He has taken down his late wive's picture as he feels too lonely

falling action · Santiago sails back to shore with the marlin tied to his boat. Sharks follow the marlin's trail of blood and destroy it. Santiago arrives home toting only the fish's skeletal carcass. The village fishermen respect their formerly ridiculed peer, and Manolin pledges to return to fishing with Santiago. Santiago falls into a deep sleep and dreams of lions.

foreshadowing · Santiago's insistence that he will sail out farther than ever before foreshadows his destruction; because the marlin is linked to Santiago, the marlin's death foreshadows Santiago's own destruction by the sharks.

How does Santiago finally kill the marlin? (A) He harpoons it through the heart. (B) He stabs it between the eyes. (C) He lashes it to the inside of the boat. (D) He bashes its head with his club.

he harpoons it through the heart

How does the old man know immediately the size of the great marlin he has caught? (A) Soon after taking the bait, the fish jumps into the air, showing itself to the old man. (B) Santiago has encountered this fish before as a younger man. (C) He pulls and pulls on the line and nothing happens. (D) He doesn't know the size of the fish until after the sharks have attacked it.

he pulls and pulls on the line and nothing happens

bodego

little store

Protagonist--SANTIAGO

major conflict · For three days, Santiago struggles against the greatest fish of his long career.

How long does it take for the sharks to arrive and attack the marlin? (A) Ten minutes (B) One hour (C) Six hours (D) A full day`

one hour

furled

rolled or folded up neatly

Tone of the book Despite the narrator's journalistic, matter-of-fact tone, his reverence for Santiago and his struggle is apparent. The text affirms its hero to a degree unusual even for Hemingway.

setting (place) · A small fishing village near Havana, Cuba; the waters of the Gulf of Mexico

Why does the thought of selling the fish's meat disappoint the old man? (A) He knows people will cook the marlin, but it is best eaten raw. (B) Market prices are low, and Santiago will get only a fraction of what the fish is worth. (C) Because marlin has an unpleasant taste, Santiago wishes he caught something that made for better eating, like a shark. (D) The people who will eat the meat are unworthy.

the people who will eat the meat are unworthy

What does the weary warbler that lands on Santiago's fishing line make the old man think of? (A) The probability that he, like the bird, will never make it back to land (B) The predatory hawks that await the bird's arrival near land (C) The hidden strength of the weak (D) The beauty of the natural world

the predatory hawks that await the bird's arrival near land

guanao

the tough bud shields of the royal palm

How does Hemingway describe Santiago's eyes? (A) They are full of pain. (B) They are blank with defeat. (C) They betray the weariness of his soul. (D) They are the color of the sea.

they are the color of the sea

salao

unlucky

Perico

Perico, the reader assumes, owns the bodega in Santiago's village. He never appears in the novel, but he serves an important role in the fisherman's life by providing him with newspapers that report the baseball scores. This act establishes him as a kind man who helps the aging Santiago.

What hangs on the wall of the old man's shack? (A) A photograph of his wife (B) The latest baseball scores (C) A mounted fish (D) Pictures`

Pictures

In what year was The Old Man and the Sea published? (A) 1950 (B) 1951 (C) 1952 (D) 1953

1952

When the novella opens, how long has it been since Santiago last caught a fish? (A) 40 days (B) 84 days (C) 87 days (D) 120 days

84 days

Still hopeful that the whole ordeal had been a dream, Santiago cannot bear to look at the mutilated marlin. Another shovel-nosed shark arrives. The old man kills it, but he loses his knife in the process. Just before nightfall, two more sharks approach. The old man's arsenal has been reduced to the club he uses to kill bait fish. He manages to club the sharks into retreat, but not before they repeatedly maul the marlin. Stiff, sore, and weary, he hopes he does not have to fight anymore. He even dares to imagine making it home with the half-fish that remains. Again, he apologizes to the marlin carcass and attempts to console it by reminding the fish how many sharks he has killed. He wonders how many sharks the marlin killed when it was alive, and he pledges to fight the sharks until he dies. Although he hopes to be lucky, Santiago believes that he "violated [his] luck" when he sailed too far out.

Around midnight, a pack of sharks arrives. Near-blind in the darkness, Santiago strikes out at the sounds of jaws and fins. Something snatches his club. He breaks off the boat's tiller and makes a futile attempt to use it as a weapon. When the last shark tries to tear at the tough head of the marlin, the old man clubs the shark until the tiller splinters. He plunges the sharp edge into the shark's flesh and the beast lets go. No meat is left on the marlin. The old man spits blood into the water, which frightens him for a moment. He settles in to steer the boat, numb and past all feeling. He asks himself what it was that defeated him and concludes, "Nothing . . . I went out too far." When he reaches the harbor, all lights are out and no one is near. He notices the skeleton of the fish still tied to the skiff. He takes down the mast and begins to shoulder it up the hill to his shack. It is terrifically heavy, and he is forced to sit down five times before he reaches his home. Once there, the old man sleeps.

Santiago is considered by many readers to be a tragic hero, in that his greatest strength—his pride—leads to his eventual downfall. Discuss the role of pride in Santiago's plight.

At first, Santiago's plight seems rather hopeless. He has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, and he is the laughingstock of his small village. Regardless of his past, the old man determines to change his luck and sail out farther than he or the other fishermen ever have before. His commitment to sailing out to where the big fish are testifies to the depth of his pride. Later, after the sharks have destroyed his prize marlin, Santiago chastises himself for his hubris, claiming that it has ruined both the marlin and himself. Yet, Santiago's pride also enables him to achieve what he otherwise would not. Not until he meets and battles the marlin are his skills as a fisherman truly put to the test. In other words, the pride that leads to the destruction of his quarry also helps him earn the deeper respect of the village fishermen and secures him the prized companionship of the boy.

THEME Honor in Struggle, Defeat, Death

But the old man refuses defeat at every turn: he resolves to sail out beyond the other fishermen to where the biggest fish promise to be. He lands the marlin, tying his record of eighty-seven days after a brutal three-day fight, and he continues to ward off sharks from stealing his prey, even though he knows the battle is useless.

After the shark attack, Santiago reflects that destruction is inevitable. How does he articulate this philosophy? (A) The world is such an inhospitable place that no death should be mourned. (B) Out, out, brief candle! (C) Even the worthiest opponents must fall. (D) Everything in the world kills everything else in some way.

Everything in the world kills everything else in some way.

The old man remembers that once, when he killed a female marlin, the male marlin (A) Bit the tail off the female (B) Returned with a posse of marlins seeking revenge (C) Made a sound like there were nails being driven through his fins (D) Swam alongside the boat as though in mourning

Swam alongside the boat as though in mourning.

The Old Man and the Sea Written by Ernest Hemingway in CUBA in 1951 Published in 1952

The book is a novella. The novella is narrated by an anonymous narrator.

QUOTE Nothing happened. The fish just moved away slowly and the old man could not raise him an inch. His line was strong and made for heavy fish and he held it against his hack until it was so taut that beads of water were jumping from it. Then it began to make a slow hissing sound in the water and he still held it, bracing himself against the thwart and leaning back against the pull. The boat began to move slowly off toward the north-west. (Day 2 para 75)

The fish possesses a determination equal in magnitude to Santiago's

QUOTE This will kill him, the old man thought. He can't do this forever. But four hours later the fish was still swimming steadily out to sea, towing the skiff, and the old man was still braced solidly with the line across his back. (Day 2 Para 80)

The fish possesses a determination equal in magnitude to Santiago's

A great fan of baseball, Hemingway liked to talk in the sport's lingo, and by 1952, he badly "needed a win." His novel Across the River and Into the Trees, published in 1950, was a disaster. It was his first novel in ten years, and he had claimed to friends that it was his best yet. Critics, however, disagreed and called the work the worst thing Hemingway had ever written. Many readers claimed it read like a parody of Hemingway. The control and precision of his earlier prose seemed to be lost beyond recovery.

The huge success of The Old Man and the Sea, published in 1952, was a much-needed vindication. The novella won the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it likely cinched the Nobel Prize for Hemingway in 1954, as it was cited for particular recognition by the Nobel Academy. It was the last novel published in his lifetime.

What does the old man remove and eat from the belly of a dolphin? (A) Shrimp (B) Flying fish (C) Seaweed (D) Piranha

flying fish

DAY FOUR The marlin wakes Santiago by jerking the line. The fish jumps out of the water again and again, and Santiago is thrown into the bow of the skiff, facedown in his dolphin meat. The line feeds out fast, and the old man brakes against it with his back and hands. His left hand, especially, is badly cut. Santiago wishes that the boy were with him to wet the coils of the line, which would lessen the friction.

The old man wipes the crushed dolphin meat off his face, fearing that it will make him nauseated and he will lose his strength. Looking at his damaged hand, he reflects that "pain does not matter to a man." He eats the second flying fish in hopes of building up his strength. As the sun rises, the marlin begins to circle. For hours the old man fights the circling fish for every inch of line, slowly pulling it in. He feels faint and dizzy and sees black spots before his eyes. The fish riots against the line, battering the boat with its spear. When it passes under the boat, Santiago cannot believe its size. As the marlin continues to circle, Santiago adds enough pressure to the line to bring the fish closer and closer to the skiff. 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 his heart. The fish lurches out of the water, brilliantly and beautifully alive as it dies. When it falls back into the water, its blood stains the waves.

QUOTE What I will do if he decides to go down, I don't know. What I'll do if he sounds and dies I don't know. But I'll do something. There are plenty of things I can do. (Day 2 para 78)

The old man's determination is enabled by the variety of skills he possesses.

QUOTE I could just drift, he thought, and sleep and put a bight of line around my toe to wake me. But today is eighty-five days and I should fish the day well. Just then, watching his lines, he saw one of the projecting green sticks dip sharply. (Day 2, Para 54,55)

The old man's determination is immediately rewarded. Hemingway portrays a cause and effect here.

QUOTE It was cold now in the time before daylight and he pushed against the wood to be warm. I can do it as long as he can, he thought. And in the first light the line extended out and down into the water. The boat moved steadily and when the first edge of the sun rose it was on the old man's right shoulder. (Day 3 para 1)

The old man's own determination is driven by what he sees in the fish

What is the role of the sea in The Old Man and the Sea?

The rich waters of the Gulf Stream provide a revolving cast of bit players—birds and beasts—that the old man observes and greets. Through Santiago's interactions with these figures, his character emerges. In fact, Santiago is so connected to these waters, which he thinks of good-humoredly as a sometimes fickle lover, that the sea acts almost like a lens through which the reader views his character. Santiago's interaction with the weary warbler, for instance, shows not only his kindness but also, as he thinks about the hawks that will inevitably hunt the tiny bird, a philosophy that dominates and structures his life. His strength, resolve, and pride are measured in terms of how far out into the gulf he sails. The sea also provides glimpses of the depth of Santiago's knowledge: in his comments about the wind, the current, and the friction of the water reside an entire lifetime of experience, skill, and dedication. When, at the end of the novella, Manolin states that he still has much to learn from the old man, it seems an expression of the obvious.

SYMBOL The Shovel-Nosed Sharks

The shovel-nosed sharks are little more than moving appetites that thoughtlessly and gracelessly attack the marlin. As opponents of the old man, they stand in bold contrast to the marlin, which is worthy of Santiago's effort and strength. They symbolize and embody the destructive laws of the universe and attest to the fact that those laws can be transcended only when equals fight to the death. Because they are base predators, Santiago wins no glory from battling them.

DAY TWO The next morning, before sunrise, the old man goes to Manolin's house to wake the boy. The two head back to Santiago's shack, carry the old man's gear to his boat, and drink coffee from condensed milk cans. Santiago has slept well and is confident about the day's prospects. He and Manolin part on the beach, wishing each other good luck. The old man rows steadily away from shore, toward the deep waters of the Gulf Stream. He hears the leaps and whirs of the flying fish, which he considers to be his friends, and thinks with sympathy of the small, frail birds that try to catch them. He loves the sea, though at times it can be cruel. He thinks of the sea as a woman whose wild behavior is beyond her control. The old man drops his baited fishing lines to various measured depths and rows expertly to keep them from drifting with the current. Above all else, he is precise.

The sun comes up. Santiago continues to move away from shore, observing his world as he drifts along. He sees flying fish pursued by dolphins; a diving, circling seabird; Sargasso weed, a type of seaweed found in the Gulf Stream; the distasteful purple Portuguese man-of-war; and the small fish that swim among the jellyfish-like creatures' filaments. Rowing farther and farther out, Santiago follows the seabird that is hunting for fish, using it as a guide. Soon, one of the old man's lines goes taut. He pulls up a ten-pound tuna, which, he says out loud, will make a lovely piece of bait. He wonders when he developed the habit of talking to himself but does not remember. He thinks that if the other fishermen heard him talking, they would think him crazy, although he knows he isn't. Eventually, the old man realizes that he has sailed so far out that he can no longer see the green of the shore. When the projecting stick that marks the top of the hundred-fathom line dips sharply, Santiago is sure that the fish tugging on the line is of a considerable size, and he prays that it will take the bait. The marlin plays with the bait for a while, and when it does finally take the bait, it starts to move with it, pulling the boat. The old man gives a mighty pull, then another, but he gains nothing. The fish drags the skiff farther into the sea. No land at all is visible to Santiago now.

All day the fish pulls the boat as the old man braces the line with his back and holds it taut in his hands, ready to give more line if necessary. The struggle goes on all night, as the fish continues to pull the boat. The glow given off by the lights of Havana gradually fades, signifying that the boat is the farthest from shore it has been so far. Over and over, the old man wishes he had the boy with him. When he sees two porpoises playing in the water, Santiago begins to pity his quarry and consider it a brother. He thinks back to the time that he caught one of a pair of marlin: the male fish let the female take the bait, then he stayed by the boat, as though in mourning. Although the memory makes him sad, Santiago's determination is unchecked: as the marlin swims out, the old man goes "beyond all people in the world" to find him.

The sun rises and the fish has not tired, though it is now swimming in shallower waters. The old man cannot increase the tension on the line, because if it is too taut it will break and the fish will get away. Also, if the hook makes too big a cut in the fish, the fish may get away from it. Santiago hopes that the fish will jump, because its air sacs would fill and prevent the fish from going too deep into the water, which would make it easier to pull out. A yellow weed attaches to the line, helping to slow the fish. Santiago can do nothing but hold on. He pledges his love and respect to the fish, but he nevertheless promises that he will kill his opponent before the day ends.

Manolin's parents refuse to let the boy fish with the old man because they believe Santiago is salao. How does Hemingway translate this word? (A) "Crazy" (B) "Selfish" (C) "Washed up" (D) "The worst form of unlucky"

The worst form of unlucky

Santiago tries to cheer himself by thinking that DiMaggio would be pleased by his performance, and he wonders again if his hands equal DiMaggio's bone spurs as a handicap. He tries to be hopeful, thinking that it is silly, if not sinful, to stop hoping. He reminds himself that he didn't kill the marlin simply for food, that he killed it out of pride and love. He wonders if it is a sin to kill something you love. The shark, on the other hand, he does not feel guilty about killing, because he did it in self-defense. He decides that "everything kills everything else in some way."

Two hours later, a pair of shovel-nosed sharks arrives, and Santiago makes a noise likened to the sound a man might make as nails are driven through his hands. The sharks attack, and Santiago fights them with a knife that he had lashed to an oar as a makeshift weapon. He enjoyed killing the mako because it was a worthy opponent, a mighty and fearless predator, but he has nothing but disdain for the scavenging shovel-nosed sharks. The old man kills them both, but not before they take a good quarter of the marlin, including the best meat. Again, Santiago wishes that he hadn't killed the marlin. He apologizes to the dead marlin for having gone out so far, saying it did neither of them any good.

DAY THREE A small, tired warbler (a type of bird) lands on the stern of the skiff, flutters around Santiago's head, then perches on the taut fishing line that links the old man to the big fish. The old man suspects that it is the warbler's first trip, and that it knows nothing of the hawks that will meet the warbler as it nears land. Knowing that the warbler cannot understand him, the old man tells the bird to stay and rest up before heading toward shore. Just then the marlin surges, nearly pulling Santiago overboard, and the bird departs. Santiago notices that his hand is bleeding from where the line has cut it. Aware that he will need to keep his strength, the old man makes himself eat the tuna he caught the day before, which he had expected to use as bait. While he cuts and eats the fish with his right hand, his already cut left hand cramps and tightens into a claw under the strain of taking all the fish's resistance. Santiago is angered and frustrated by the weakness of his own body, but the tuna, he hopes, will reinvigorate the hand. As he eats, he feels a brotherly desire to feed the marlin too.

While waiting for the cramp in his hand to ease, Santiago looks across the vast waters and thinks himself to be completely alone. A flight of ducks passes overhead, and he realizes that it is impossible for a man to be alone on the sea. The slant of the fishing line changes, indicating to the old fisherman that the fish is approaching the surface. Suddenly, the fish leaps magnificently into the air, and Santiago sees that it is bigger than any he has ever witnessed; it is two feet longer than the skiff itself. Santiago declares it "great" and promises never to let the fish learn its own strength. The line races out until the fish slows to its earlier pace. By noon, the old man's hand is uncramped, and though he claims he is not religious, he says ten Hail Marys and ten Our Fathers and promises that, if he catches the fish, he will make a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Cobre. In case his struggle with the marlin should continue for another night, Santiago baits another line in hopes of catching another meal.

What kind of fish does Santiago first catch? (A) A tuna (B) A marlin (C) A shrimp (D) A Portuguese man-of-war

a Tuna

The great Joe DiMaggio suffers from what affliction? (A) A bone spur (B) Alcoholism (C) A ruined knee (D) Failing eyesight

a bone spur

rising action · After eighty-four successive days without catching a fish, Santiago promises his former assistant, Manolin, that he will go "far out" into the ocean. The marlin takes the bait, but Santiago is unable to reel him in, which leads to a three-day struggle between the fisherman and the fish.

climax · The marlin circles the skiff while Santiago slowly reels him in. Santiago nearly passes out from exhaustion but gathers enough strength to harpoon the marlin through the heart, causing him to lurch in vitality before dying.