When trying to succeed, one must keep trying even when times are tough; in Earnest Hemingway’s novella Old Man and the Sea, this is exactly the case. After personally reading the book, the internal message is to persevere, or to keep pushing yourself even when you are ready to give up. There were many cases in this short fable when Santiago had many reasons to throw in the towel, when there were internal and external effects fighting against him, but with noble judgment, decided against it.
When sitting on a boat for a copious amount of hours, trying to maintain a fishing rod with a heavy, unpredictable marlin on the other end, Santiago’s hand began to cramp. The marlin, unsympathetic to Santiago’s throbbing hand, pulled the boat deep into the night, and Santiago stayed truly devoted into reeling in the enormous fish. The thought of letting the fish free, never crossed Santiago’s mind, “‘Fish,’ he said softly, aloud, ‘I’ll stay with you until I am dead’” (52). The devotion and perseverance of Santiago throughout the entire novella, really proves that Santiago will do whatever he can, to reach his ultimate objective. Early on Santiago decided he was going to prove something to himself, that he could catch this fish, no matter the pain, hunger, or impatience he would encounter; Santiago stuck to his word and never gave up.
Santiago quickly became tired, “‘It is half a day and a night and now another day and you have not slept’” (77). Even though Santiago had not slept in over twenty-four hours, he was not comfortable falling asleep; he did not want to close his eyes, for he was nervous of losing his prized fish. Santiago was certain that being fully rested would be most beneficial in the long run. After a very elongated, sleep-less journey, many would have given up, but Santiago stuck to fishing and always gave one hundred percents, until his job was done.
Before nearly finishing his laborious fishing trip, sharks decided to disturb Santiago’s gleeful journey home. With the colossal marlin feebly tied to the skiff, it was a prime target for another hungry fish’s meal. When the sharks began to feast on the marlin, undoubtedly, Santiago became protective. He tried all he could to defend the fish from the lethal sharks, hitting them with anything he could, his spear, and even his hand. Even though Santiago was very fatigued after his struggle to maintain the giant marlin, he tried with all he had to keep his prize alive.
Santiago was an exceptionally persistent character. He fought through pain, fatigue, and even sharks to try to maintain his cherished Marlin. Santiago tried his best, and gave everything he had to offer, but unfortunately his best was not enough. “He took all of his pain and what was left of his strength and his long gone pride and he put it against the fish’s agony,” (93) he really tried to save the marlin, not only for himself but man and he wanted to spare some pain for the fish. Throughout Old Man and the Sea, Santiago was very persistent in everything he did. He always gave his best effort, even when the odds were not in his favor. At many points, Santiago should have given up, and accepted his defeat, but Earnest Hemingway did an excellent job of showing an old man’s struggle to push through his roughest times, giving this novella a wonderful theme.
When sitting on a boat for a copious amount of hours, trying to maintain a fishing rod with a heavy, unpredictable marlin on the other end, Santiago’s hand began to cramp. The marlin, unsympathetic to Santiago’s throbbing hand, pulled the boat deep into the night, and Santiago stayed truly devoted into reeling in the enormous fish. The thought of letting the fish free, never crossed Santiago’s mind, “‘Fish,’ he said softly, aloud, ‘I’ll stay with you until I am dead’” (52). The devotion and perseverance of Santiago throughout the entire novella, really proves that Santiago will do whatever he can, to reach his ultimate objective. Early on Santiago decided he was going to prove something to himself, that he could catch this fish, no matter the pain, hunger, or impatience he would encounter; Santiago stuck to his word and never gave up.
Santiago quickly became tired, “‘It is half a day and a night and now another day and you have not slept’” (77). Even though Santiago had not slept in over twenty-four hours, he was not comfortable falling asleep; he did not want to close his eyes, for he was nervous of losing his prized fish. Santiago was certain that being fully rested would be most beneficial in the long run. After a very elongated, sleep-less journey, many would have given up, but Santiago stuck to fishing and always gave one hundred percents, until his job was done.
Before nearly finishing his laborious fishing trip, sharks decided to disturb Santiago’s gleeful journey home. With the colossal marlin feebly tied to the skiff, it was a prime target for another hungry fish’s meal. When the sharks began to feast on the marlin, undoubtedly, Santiago became protective. He tried all he could to defend the fish from the lethal sharks, hitting them with anything he could, his spear, and even his hand. Even though Santiago was very fatigued after his struggle to maintain the giant marlin, he tried with all he had to keep his prize alive.
Santiago was an exceptionally persistent character. He fought through pain, fatigue, and even sharks to try to maintain his cherished Marlin. Santiago tried his best, and gave everything he had to offer, but unfortunately his best was not enough. “He took all of his pain and what was left of his strength and his long gone pride and he put it against the fish’s agony,” (93) he really tried to save the marlin, not only for himself but man and he wanted to spare some pain for the fish. Throughout Old Man and the Sea, Santiago was very persistent in everything he did. He always gave his best effort, even when the odds were not in his favor. At many points, Santiago should have given up, and accepted his defeat, but Earnest Hemingway did an excellent job of showing an old man’s struggle to push through his roughest times, giving this novella a wonderful theme.
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