’’There isn’t any symbolism. The sea is the sea. The old man is an old man. The boy is a boy and the fish is a fish. The sharks are all sharks no better and no worse. All the symbolism that people say is shit. What goes beyond is what you see beyond when you know.’’
Ernest Hemingway, 1952
The Old Man and the Sea has been interpreted from various angles. It has been seen as a Christian allegory, a Nietzschean parable of overcoming, a Freudian dream of Oedipal wish-fulfillment, and a Humanistic saga of triumph in the face of absurdity.
However in my humble opinion it could be read as :
ONE MAN.
ONE FISH.
A THREE-DAY BATTLE.
WHO WILL WIN?
Following is a short summary of the novel. It is the story of a struggle of epic proportions between Santiago and a giant Marlin in the Gulf Stream. Santiago, despite being an old, seasoned fisherman has returned empty ended for 84 days from the sea. He has no friends with the exception of a young boy named Manolin, who has been forced to leave the old man in order to fish in a more prosperous boat by his parents. The boy though continues to care for the old man upon his return each night. He helps the old man in every possible way and tries his best to bolster his spirits. The old man inspired by the pep talk of his young friend sets out one morning alone, determined that he would change his luck for good and prove to the fishermen community that he is not finished. What follows is quite extraordinary and the old man meets his greatest challenge he has ever faced - a three and a half-day battle with the marlin, sharks, the sea, and with himself.
He meets the Marlin, a giant and Santiago is amazed by its size. He looks up into the sky, thanks his stars and the struggle begins. The fish is strong and Santiago hopes he had brought his young friend with him. He gathers all his skills and tries to capture the Marlin. The Marlin, though is really strong and pushes the old man to his limits. It pulls the boat all through the day, through the night, through another day, and through another night. Santiago throughout the time suffers constantly. His hands are badly cut by the cord and his body aches in pain. All the while though, Santiago keeps praising the fish for its remarkable power, grit and the efforts to gain freedom. He identifies the fish as a comrade, a brother in suffering, strength, and resolve.
On the third day, Santiago, who could hardly sit manages somehow to gather his strength and manages to pull the marlin close enough to kill it with a harpoon. He then sets sail for home. He is both happy and sad. He is excited thinking about the price that the Marlin would fetch him but he cannot feel overjoyed when he thinks that people who are unworthy of its greatness would consume the fighter Marlin.
But troubles start immediately. Attracted by the smell of blood he is attacked by a great Mako shark. Santiago manages to kill it but loses his harpoon in the process. But more and more sharks appear and the old man loses his knife. It appears to Santiago after a point of time that his struggle against these scavengers is useless. The sharks manage to devour the marlin’s precious meat, leaving only skeleton, head, and tail. Santiago, frustrated returns somehow to his shack and throws himself on his bed and goes to sleep. His young friend comes for his routine check and after a while the old man wakes. The two friends agree that they would fish as partners again. The old man feels happy and goes back to his sleep and dreams his usual dream of lions at play in Africa.
This small novel is written in a lucid style and captivates the reader’s attention from page one. Whether you want to attempt in finding subtle themes, motifs or not is entirely up to you. But you can be rest assured that this book will fascinate you with the writer’s story telling powers and chances are that you would feel sympathized with Santiago, who for all this trials and tribulations, remains the same unsuccessful but undefeated soul as before.
A couple of quotes from the novel:
On life at sea: ’’Why did they make birds so delicate and fine as those sea swallows when the ocean can be so cruel? She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel and it comes so suddenly and such birds that fly, dipping and hunting, with their small sad voices are made too delicately for the sea’’
On his great marlin: ’’Fish, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends’’
On the hunter and the hunted: ’’ ’’If I were him I would put in everything now and go until something broke. But, thank God, they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; although they are more noble and more able.’’
Happy reading.