By Olivia N.

Everyone, throughout their entire lives will go through obstacles, large and small, that they have to overcome. Santiago had many obstacles to face while he was out fishing and when he wasn’t. Someone once told me to think of my obstacles as a wall. Some walls are pretty short, and you can just step right over them, others require a running start and a leap of faith, some are so big, you’ll need someone to help you get over, and sometimes the only way to get past them is to just break them down.

One obstacle that almost killed Santiago was that he wasn’t adequately supplied for the fishing trip. All that he’d brought with him was the water. It wasn’t much water either, about one day’s worth, and he was out there for four. What he really needed was lots of food and water, enough to last him for at least a week, as well as protection from the sun and few more knives for self defense. “‘I wish I had some salt’”(59). If he’d brought some salt with him then he could’ve preserved the fish and had more to eat. If he’d brought more knives or spears or something he might’ve been able to hold the sharks off longer.

After holding on to the line the marlin was pulling for hours, it took an effect on him. “He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his hand was cramped.” (51). He had pain in his back and he needed to rest. He had to sleep for a few hours and he cut up the albacore and ate it because he needed the strength to continue. Then his hands got all sliced up from the lines and his left hand cramped. By the time he arrived back at the dock he could hardly stand up and passed out as soon as he reached his shack, only waking up when the boy came.

Another big obstacle in Santiago’s life was the sharks “The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and clicking chop of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail.”(101). Santiago spent 4 days out on the ocean catching the marlin, and after all his hard work, when he finally caught the marlin that was bigger than his boat, the marlin that didn’t give up for 4 days, the marlin that would make him rich and famous, the marlin that almost killed him, the sharks closed in for the kill. Of course Santiago tried to fight them off, he killed one with the harpoon, with the knife and with an oar, and soon all he had left to get rid of the sharks were his hands. And the sharks just kept coming and coming, and eating more and more of the marlin each time, and eventually the sharks got the best of him. He was so weary and worn out he could barely move, 4 days of fighting the marlin, and then the sharks had gotten the best of the old man. By the time he had reached the shore he didn’t care any more.

There were many obstacles keeping Santiago from achieving his goal. Obstacles that he had to overcome to show people that he wasn’t just some unlucky old man and that he was in fact a skilled fisherman. His entire journey was a struggle, there were many things that might’ve caused others not as determined as Santiago to just quit.