In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago, an old, unlucky fisherman, attempts to go fishing at sea. He hasn’t had very good luck lately and had not caught a fish in 84 days. He was feeling unusually lucky on the 85 day and went out farther than he normally did, and to his surprise he caught the most incredible fish he had ever seen before. Throughout his journey Santiago comes across many obstacles that include defeating the marlin, internal struggles with himself, and the sharks eating his massive fish.
One obstacle that the old man goes through is catching the marlin. The first time the marlin jumped out of the sea, the old man knew his boat was far too small, but he was determined to defeat it. He had to hold on to the fishing line day and night, this made his body very stiff. “You did not kill the fish only to sell or keep for food, hr thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman.” (54). He realized it was his purpose, even though he respected the fish, and he thought the fish was remarkable.
Another one of Santiago’s struggles is the internal conflict with himself. While out at sea with little supplies he managed to catch the massive marlin. Doing this made the old man very tired and weak. “I’m tireder than I have ever been, he thought, and now the trade wind is rising. But that will be good to take him in with. I need that badly” (89). This shows that Santiago could use all the help he could get for his body was slowly dying.
After Santiago conquered the fish, he begins to travel back home. The marlin was far too big for the small skiff Santiago had, so he had to tie the marlin to the side and dragged it along. This left a trail for sharks to follow. Throughout the day many sharks came to try to get a piece of the marlin. The old man managed to kill a few of them, but they were so big. “And he was the biggest dentuso that I have ever seen. And God knows that I have seen big ones” (103). The sharks ended up eating the whole fish only leaving the skeleton. “ ‘They beat me, Manolin,’ he said. ‘They truly beat me’ ” (124). The old man had admitted defeat against the almighty fish.
Santiago was able to fight through weak and weary times, catching a fish he could only dream of, and fighting off vicious sharks. Santiago persevered and made it home safely, but sadly was not able to bring the whole fish back with him. At first the other fisherman just saw the old man as poor, and unlucky, but once they saw the skeleton of the marlin they respected him more. “Man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” (103). This shows that with enough perseverance anything is possible.
6 comments:
First off, that’s a creepy picture. It looks like his eyes follow you. Anyway, your thesis is clear and easy to locate in your first paragraph, and you told a little about the story, so that’s good too. A lot of people didn’t do that. Second, I liked your last paragraph the best. You quoted in it, which a lot of people, again, didn’t do. Also, it has voice and ties up the end of the essay well.
“Man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” (103). This shows that with enough perseverance anything is possible.” This is my favorite line because it has a quote that ends your essay, and concludes it, and you added in one of the themes of the story.
My advice is to not find such an eerie, creepy picture next time, although it catches people’s eyes. It scares the heebers outta me!!! (I don’t know what heebers are because I made that word up, but they aren’t good!)
RACHEL!!
Nice essay. Your thesis was clear, and I liked how you talked about the story a little. I think your first quote, “You did not kill the fish only to sell or keep for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman,” was pretty strong because it shows the honor and pride the man would receive if he caught the marlin. It think your essay was pretty well organized but if I had to change something it would be use a better word choice. Good essay though.
RaChEl
I thought that your essay about Santiago's obstacles was very well written. Everything about it fits nicely into the topic. The thesis was clear and 'concise', quotes were integrated smoothly and the detail and concluding paragraph were very nice.
My favorite quote was “Man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” (103). I not only think this to be true, but it fit perfectly into your essay. This shows how man can accomplish anything if he trys.
My favorite part of your essay was all of the detail, it made the story very enjoyable.
I have no advice.
I thought this was a clear and well written essay about the obstacles that Santiago has to deal with throughout the story. My favorite quote was: “Man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” (103). I liked it because it fit well with the story and showed Santiago's attitude towards defeat. I thought the essay was well organized and the only thing I would change is to use better vocabulary.
Rachel,
I think that you did a great job. Your thesis was crystal clear to me. It was about the obstacles that Santiago faces. I liked your introduction because of how you mentioned that he had been unlucky for 84 days and somehow he still has the heart to keep trying. “Man can be destroyed, but not defeated.” (103). I think that this is the best quote because it resembles Santiago's diligence. He proved that this quote is true. He was beaten up in the end, but he was still persistent. My favorite part of the essay was your second supporting paragraph. "Another one of Santiago’s struggles is the internal conflict with himself." I agree with you on this because he is very old and he doesn't have the strength he had when he was young. I would suggest that you check some of your spelling and grammer. Exellent Job!
OSG! RACHEL!!
That was a great essay, and I am not just saying that because you are my friend. Before I say anything else though, I do have to agree with Julia, it is a freaky picture. Whatever though, ummm...thesis was good. Could definitly tell what it was saying, and it was good that you told a little bout the story. I kind of liked that part. “You did not kill the fish only to sell or keep for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman,” is my favorite quote. It can really show that the old man goes out to fish to just fish, not to gain anything.
Lets see it was an all around great essay, but maybe could have used a couple different words here and there. That is all I can really think of. GREAT JOB!!
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