Jose Oseguera

Honors English 11
Miss Chan
Period 1

Man’s Triumph Over Nature

A man’s perception of society and himself is greatly influenced by the

effects of the journey he faces in hopes of exemplifying inner-strength within

his character, by prevailing over any misfortunes or destruction he may face.

For Santiago, the protagonist in Ernest Hemingway’s novella, The Old Man

and the Sea, Santiago faces an agonizing three-day struggle out at sea in

order to catch the beautiful, seldom marlin “in a skiff in the Gulf Stream”

(Hemingway 9). Through Santiago’s adventure out into the kind and angelic,

yet cruel sea to catch the marlin, he faces a journey in the mist of being

challenged by nature’s destruction and society’s appraisal, which Santiago’s

character triumphs over by catching the marlin.

For Santiago to end his continuous form of salao of not catching a fish

for “eighty-four days” (9) straight, he must go far out into the sea in which

he will be summoned to nature’s fate and destruction, thus evoking

Santiago’s inner and outer strength. Although Santiago “may not be as

strong as [he] thinks” (23), he sails out to sea without Manolin and only with

the knowledge he carries with him. Even though Santiago is physically weak,

he is skillful, due to his experiences as a fisherman. Many fishermen envision

the sea as “kind and beautiful, but cruel [at times]” (29), which can be
compared to a nurturing and caring woman, whom the fishermen respect.

The sea ties into Hemingway’s theme of man versus nature because “el

mar” is unpredictable and too powerful for man to fight, but man, as a being,

cannot be destroyed by nature. Therefore, the sea is referred to as the ideal

“enemy” because she is dominant over the fate of man and creatures alike.

Furthermore, the marlin is Santiago’s enemy even though he “loves and

respects [the fish] very much” (Hemingway 54) because he is willing to do

anything to kill it before it kills him. The marlin is symbolic of Santiago’s

inner and outer strength considering the fish causes much pain and struggle

for the old man and brings out his compassion toward nature since the old

man presumes he had the luck of being the “chosen” one to catch the fish.

As Santiago is being pushed to his limits physically and mentally, with lack of

sleep in the climax of the novella, he encounters “a very big Mako shark built

to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about [the Mako]

was beautiful except [its] jaws” (100), which nearly destroy everything the

Santiago has worked for because the marlin is seen as his pride and an

emblem of his perseverance. These sharks Santiago comes across are

symbolic of the destruction of nature due to Santiago not being able to

control the sea and nature, consequently feeling hopeless while fighting the

sharks away. In order for Santiago to prevail, he must endure the harshness

of society’s criticism and expectations as both a fisherman and old man at

sea.
 Although Santiago is greatly admired and respected as a teacher and

father figure by Manolin, the other fishermen in his village and citizens look

down upon him because his character does not meet society’s expectations.

As an elderly man, Santiago found himself sitting on the terrace along side

some of his fisherman colleagues, he began to be “made fun of [for being

an] old man” because he is incomparable to the other citizens in his Cuban

community (11). Santiago’s character does not like to live up to society’s

expectations because he prefers living a simple lifestyle that is not

materialistic whatsoever. Similar to society today, there is a lack of respect

for elders in a community, as seen in the younger and inexperienced

fishermen castigating Santiago. However, found himself not fighting back

because he knew his true character and fighting is not a part of it, even

though he is capable of defending himself, he chooses not to prove himself

to others because it would be pointless and the only person he needs to

prove himself to is himself. Moreover, society’s critical opinions about the old

man can also be seen when Manolin’s parents demand that he fish on their

boat and not on the old man’s skiff because he has salao, the worst form of

unluckiness, thus causing Santiago to be lonely out at sea without the

presence of Manolin (Hemingway 10). Despite society’s indifferent views,

Santiago maintains “his hope and his confidence [which] had never gone”

therefore, depicting Santiago’s faith within himself to catch the marlin,

regardless of what others may think (13). Ultimately, Santiago’s character

prevails by repressing society’s critique and by enduring all the pain to

finally catch the marlin

In the end, Santiago triumphs over the epic battle between man and

nature when he surpasses all the suffering and pain to catch the marlin and

to prosper as an internally strong character. Once Santiago arrived back

home, he “slept face down on the newspapers with his arms straight out and

the palms of his hands up” (122) which indicate he is physically exhausted

after having experienced all that suffering to return with the skeletal remains

of the marlin. After Santiago returns from his three day venture out in the

sea, Manolin is fervent about going “fishing [with the old man] for [he] still

has much to learn” (125). Since Santiago is like a father figure for Manolin

and teaches him everything the old man knows, the boy will defy his parents

commands by going fishing with the old man again, even though Santiago

suffers from salao or unluckiness. Furthermore, Santiago’s triumph is

symbolically continued through Manolin because he will carry on everything

he learned from Santiago. The old man’s desire for Manolin to carry on what

he learned from him creates a sense of hope because the boy is symbolic of

internal and external youth. Santiago illustrates Hemingway’s ideal belief

that “man can be destroyed but not defeated” by defeating nature and

prevailing over any adversities that came in the way of him catching the

marlin.

Throughout The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway emphasizes
that the human spirit will prevail in spite of nature’s indifference throughout

his novella. Santiago, the protagonist and old fisherman living in a Cuban

village, overcomes the demolition of nature and society’s critique in order to

prevail as a strong character, which will continue on with Manolin as he

prolongs the knowledge he obtained from the old man.