Lost the Battle, Won the War In Ernest Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea, the main character, Santiago, said that “a man can be destroyed but not defeated” (103) after a marlin, which he had been with for three days, was attacked by a mako shark. Being destroyed means only losing something small, such as losing a battle. Being defeated, however, means losing something large, such as losing a war. In the context of the novel, Santiago is destroyed because he loses the first fish that he caught after eighty-four days. However, Santiago did not lose the war, because he did not die after being alone at sea for three days without sufficient supplies and medical care. He survived the multiple shark attacks, and arrived back home. Santiago also came
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Now that he is in pain, the struggle will be much more difficult. Santiago knows that he cannot move and handle the fish the way he once could, but he is convinced that he cannot be defeated, and says “I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this” (87). Santiago had to suffer through a great deal of pain throughout his life. After eighty-four days without any success, he was able grab hold of a marlin. After being with the Marlin for three days, and suffering to keep hold of the marlin, Santiago lost part of the fish to the mako sharks. Santiago was destroyed after the death of the fish, because he lost the fish and lots of supplies he needed in order to continue fishing. He also lost the connection he had gained with the fish, because he was a man who was close to the sea and its creatures, so loosing this marlin, who he has spent all this time with, was like losing a brother, whom he had known his whole life. Even though during his quest Santiago was alone and in pain, he pushed these negative feelings to the side. Just like a turtle’s heart, Santiago kept going till the end. Santiago was successfully able to get back home, and was able to see Manolin again. Even though Santiago had suffered in many ways that destroyed him, he kept fighting till the end, which made him not
Now that he is in pain, the struggle will be much more difficult. Santiago knows that he cannot move and handle the fish the way he once could, but he is convinced that he cannot be defeated, and says “I could not fail myself and die on a fish like this” (87). Santiago had to suffer through a great deal of pain throughout his life. After eighty-four days without any success, he was able grab hold of a marlin. After being with the Marlin for three days, and suffering to keep hold of the marlin, Santiago lost part of the fish to the mako sharks. Santiago was destroyed after the death of the fish, because he lost the fish and lots of supplies he needed in order to continue fishing. He also lost the connection he had gained with the fish, because he was a man who was close to the sea and its creatures, so loosing this marlin, who he has spent all this time with, was like losing a brother, whom he had known his whole life. Even though during his quest Santiago was alone and in pain, he pushed these negative feelings to the side. Just like a turtle’s heart, Santiago kept going till the end. Santiago was successfully able to get back home, and was able to see Manolin again. Even though Santiago had suffered in many ways that destroyed him, he kept fighting till the end, which made him not