Santiago's Loneliness

The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemington is an interesting tale in which Santiago, an old fisherman, has been out of luck while trying to catch fish. This story is interesting because I feel as if many of the points made in this story can relate back to the world we live in today. The Old Man and the Sea also has an interesting theme; I feel as if the theme could be respect. There could also be a deeper theme, such as loneliness. The old man, Santiago, could be searching for respect. He hasn’t caught any fish in forty-eight days. His young previous partner was told to not fish with him anymore because of how unsuccessful he had been. Therefore, Santiago could be searching for a new sense of respect from society. Given this theme, I feel as if a lot of people from …show more content…
He had many struggles in the beginning as well as throughout the story. He couldn’t catch any fish in the beginning. He finally catches a massive marlin. He ends up apologizing and feeling somewhat guilty for what he had done. Sharks then come and rip up the marlin. The shark ripping up the marlin could possibly be symbolism for what was going on in Santiago’s life at the time, or could simply be a shark that had followed a blood trail and ate a fish. Santiago’s character definitely had a deeper root than what the novella itself labeled him as. Overall, The Old Man and the Sea had great word choice and imagery throughout the entire novella. It also had good themes; you had to read the story a few times to catch the deeper roots of the story. The main character and the marlin had an interesting man vs. nature vibe to it, which I found interesting. The way that Santiago battles with loneliness and loss of respect relates back well with the society today. There is a good lesson to this story too that I think everyone should learn; patience and humility will take a person a long way and will bring great