In the Old Man and the Sea, Santiago struggles against powerful forces and obstacles affecting the makeup of his character and capture of the giant marlin. His struggle to capture the fish shapes the story’s central conflict and plot. Santiago physically struggles with his strength. He struggles mainly with food shortage, old age, and cut hands.
Santiago struggles through fatigue while trying to catch the marlin. He knows that he needs to eat food and drink water in order to be strong enough to continue out into the sea. “He was thirsty too and he got down on his knees and, being careful not to jerk on the line, moved as far into the bow as he could get and reached the water bottle with one hand”(46), and “You’re feeling it now fish, and so god knows, am I.” (56) The first quote shows how tired he is and needed water for thirst. The second quote shows the fish suffering alongside of Santiago and himself suffering as well. The old man is in need of food and water to get enough strength to carry out with the marlin.
A second struggle Santiago faces is his trouble with his hands. He has to hold onto the fish line to get a feel for the fish’s position. “It was only a line burn that had cut his flesh. But it was in the working part of his hand.”(57) “What kind of hand is that? Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good.”(58) Santiago struggles with his hands because of the fishing line wearing them out. The old man holds tightly with all his strength to have control over the marlin. His hands have a large impact on catching the marlin, and could have changed the outcome. He needs to have strong hands to hold onto the heavy fish.
A final thing Santiago struggles with is his loss of strength because of his old age. Santiago is known as the old man in the book based on the fact that he is so aged. Even without struggling through lack of food, the old man’s body greatly hinders his attempts to catch the fish. “For an hour the old man had been seeing black spots before his eyes and the sweat salted his eyes and salted the cut over his eye and on his forehead. They were normal at the tension that he was pulling on the line.” (87) This quote shows that the old man cannot pull as hard as he probably used to and that he got tired faster because of his age. His old age has enabled him to tire faster and black out.
Santiago’s struggles with his strength affected his battle with the fish and his life. With the strength of food, physical shape, and younger age, he would have caught the marlin quickly and with much more ease. His struggles came as a disadvantage to his voyage. The old man was unable to bring the marlin to shore based on his struggles. The lack of food, cut hands, and old age changed the plot and built up conflict in the story, destroying both his life and the marlin.
Santiago struggles through fatigue while trying to catch the marlin. He knows that he needs to eat food and drink water in order to be strong enough to continue out into the sea. “He was thirsty too and he got down on his knees and, being careful not to jerk on the line, moved as far into the bow as he could get and reached the water bottle with one hand”(46), and “You’re feeling it now fish, and so god knows, am I.” (56) The first quote shows how tired he is and needed water for thirst. The second quote shows the fish suffering alongside of Santiago and himself suffering as well. The old man is in need of food and water to get enough strength to carry out with the marlin.
A second struggle Santiago faces is his trouble with his hands. He has to hold onto the fish line to get a feel for the fish’s position. “It was only a line burn that had cut his flesh. But it was in the working part of his hand.”(57) “What kind of hand is that? Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good.”(58) Santiago struggles with his hands because of the fishing line wearing them out. The old man holds tightly with all his strength to have control over the marlin. His hands have a large impact on catching the marlin, and could have changed the outcome. He needs to have strong hands to hold onto the heavy fish.
A final thing Santiago struggles with is his loss of strength because of his old age. Santiago is known as the old man in the book based on the fact that he is so aged. Even without struggling through lack of food, the old man’s body greatly hinders his attempts to catch the fish. “For an hour the old man had been seeing black spots before his eyes and the sweat salted his eyes and salted the cut over his eye and on his forehead. They were normal at the tension that he was pulling on the line.” (87) This quote shows that the old man cannot pull as hard as he probably used to and that he got tired faster because of his age. His old age has enabled him to tire faster and black out.
Santiago’s struggles with his strength affected his battle with the fish and his life. With the strength of food, physical shape, and younger age, he would have caught the marlin quickly and with much more ease. His struggles came as a disadvantage to his voyage. The old man was unable to bring the marlin to shore based on his struggles. The lack of food, cut hands, and old age changed the plot and built up conflict in the story, destroying both his life and the marlin.
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