The Struggles of Santiago by Chloe S.

Everyone struggles with powerful obstacles that affect their character, and determine what kind of a person they really are. Such is true for the old fisherman Santiago in Ernest Hemingway’s novel, The Old Man and the Sea. After 84 days of bad luck, Santiago ventured out on the ocean and was faced with loneliness, his own physical limitations, and dangerous sharks. These troubles help shape who Santiago is.

Santiago used to be married, but his wife was gone. In his small home “Once there had been a tinted photograph of his wife on the wall, but he had taken it down because it made him too lonely to see it” (16). The other fisherman in the village ignored or made fun of him. Santiago’s only friend and companion was Manolin, a young boy who he fished with. After all Santiago’s bad luck however, Manolin was forbidden to fish with him. When Santiago went out on the sea to catch the giant marlin, he had no one to help him, and no one to talk to. At various times during the story, Santiago commented on how he wished Manolin was there. But he didn’t let his loneliness bring him back to shore, which shows his bravery. Sometimes the journeys you take by yourself are the most important, because everyone needs time alone to think.

Santiago was not exactly a young man, unlike the other fisherman in his village. During his battle with the marlin however, the labor Santiago struggled with is labor intended for younger men. The marlin pulled the boat for a long time, while Santiago tightened and gripped ropes. He got cramps and rigor mortis in his hands from working so hard. He was especially frustrated by his physical limitations when “He could feel the steady hard pull of the line and his left hand was cramped. It drew up tight on the cord and he looked at it in disgust” (58). He also went long periods of time without food or sleep, and had to deal with fatigue and exhaustion. Other men would have given up, but for Santiago it seemed as if the wearier he was, the harder he tried.

When Santiago finally did hook the marlin and was taking it back, he was faced with something more dangerous. Sharks, attracted by the marlin’s blood, began to swarm his small boat. They weren’t nice either, “They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers. And when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or the rudder of a boat” (107). They began to gnaw at the dead marlin that Santiago had tried so hard to catch. Santiago exerted tremendous effort to ward them off, and he was fighting for more than just a fish. He was fighting for respect, and for a broken streak of bad luck. But the sharks came in groups, and were enormous. Pretty soon the marlin was reduced to bones. Santiago had to accept the fact that the marlin was gone.

Even though in the end, the sharks destroyed the marlin, Santiago was not defeated. He had done what he’d wanted to do from the start. He faced the deep, immense ocean with no one but himself to talk to, but wasn’t scared about being alone. Santiago didn’t think twice about old age, cramps, or fatigue. He risked his life without hesitation, and showed amazing strength. And when the sharks came, Santiago gave everything he had to prevent them from eating the marlin. When he got home he realized that it wasn’t about actually catching the marlin. It was about how he did it, with courage and determination. The obstacles affected him positively, because if there hadn’t been anything to overcome, his voyage wouldn’t have been as meaningful. The other fishermen knew that Santiago’s journey had been a success, and Santiago knew it too.