Classic English Literature Notes

Q: Give a brief account of Santiago’s struggle with the big fish. How did he succeed in overpowering it?

OR

Describe briefly the most interesting incident of the novel “The Old Man and the Sea”?

               The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway is an adventure novel. It is the story of the epic struggle of an old and experienced fisherman against a big fish hooked in the open sea. His name was Santiago and he belonged to Cuba. He was a professional angler who knew many tricks and had a life-long experience at his back. A young boy named Manolin worked with him as an apprentice. He was deeply devoted to the old man and respected him as a great fisherman. He loved to obey and serve the old man as his father. But the fishermen of that locality regarded Santiago a “Salao” or unlucky fisherman. For the past three months he had failed to catch any fish in the Gulf stream. This led the parents of Manolin to dissociate their son from the old man. All this did not break the heart of Santiago. Although he was a man of thin and lean body yet he had a heroic soul and unshakable determination. He often assured himself, “My big fish must be somewhere.”  

              After going without a fish for eighty four days continuously Santiago decided to go for fishing into the open sea. He got up early in the morning when it was still dark. He took coffee with his boy friend, Manolin who bade him good-bye. He took with him some sardines and baits. When he entered the deep sea he set four baits in the sea at different depths. When the sun rose he saw birds flying in the air to catch some fish. He also succeeded in catching a tuna fish weighing about ten pounds. He felt much encouraged and hoped that he would not return empty-handed. It was at noon that he noticed some movement with the bait that was at the depth of a hundred fathoms. It indicated to him that some big fish was eating the bait. He prayed to God that the fish might not turn away indifferently. Suddenly there was a hard pull on the line. He guessed that the bait had fully struck into the mouth of the fish. He pulled the line with full might but could not lift the heavy fish even an inch higher to the surface.

          The mighty fish began to swim to the north with the bait in its mouth, towing the boat and fisherman after it. Santiago wished that his helper Manolin would have been with him to lend him a helping hand. As he could not match the fish in strength, he decided to defeat it with tact and skill. He decided to keep the line tightly pulled, lest the bait should not get out of the mouth of the fish. He put a pad at his back and passed the line over it and his shoulders. Then he held it tightly with both the hands, letting the fish go, wherever it wanted. He thought the fish was not in a position to eat anything and would soon feel exhausted. It would come to the surface of water and he would then kill it by drawing it closer to his boat. But the giant fish proved to be no less brave than Santiago and continued struggling in the sea for two days and nights. Poor old man felt dead tired, keeping his body in constant straining condition without getting time for rest or sleep. He had nothing to eat except raw fish. It was the only nourishment that he could get to fight against the monstrous sea-creature. Whenever he wanted to drink water he could spare only one hand to open the cork of his bottle and put it to his mouth. Once or twice the fish took such a  violent  twist as threw the old man down on his face in the boat. He got a painful bruise below his left eye, with the blood oozing from the injury. His hands were badly bruised and swollen and he had to dip them in saltish water of the sea from time to time. At night another fish got hooked with one of the other lines hanging in the sea. But the old man cut away the line and let this fish escape because he wanted to devote his all energy and attention to meet the challenge of the big marlin.

               The contest between Santiago and Marlin assume a dramatic form. The courage and determination shown by the old man is matched by the gallantry of the heroic fish who refuses to yield to her entrapper. Both the adversaries are determined to defeat each other. The old man exclaims confidently: “Fish, I ‘ll stay with you until am dead.” This balance of power between him and the fish reminds Santiago of his hard contest with negro from Cienfuego whom he had defeated in the famous hand-game which lasted twenty four hours continuously. He develops a love and respect for the hooked fish and calls it “brother” and “friend.” Sometimes he says boastfully, “I will show him what a man can do and what a man endures.” It is this desire for victory which sustains the fatigued and famished fisherman to continue his struggle against heavy odds. He left hand gets cramped and he provides it relief by shifting the weight of theline to the right arm. At times Santiago is so completely exhausted and spent up that he feels dizzy and sees black spots before his eyes. He fears that it is the fish that is killing him gradually, but he is determined to fight till his complete collapse. He tries to forget his pain by thinking what a pain the fish may be experiencing.

              At last on the morning of the third day Santiago felt the force on the line changing and its angle also lessening. The fish, that was a spent up force, had abandoned its resistance and was coming to the surface. It was splendid sight to see the majestic fish exposing itself out of water. The fish began to circle round the boat gently, while the old man continued drawing it closer to the baot. When it came within an easy reach of the old man, he lifted the harpoon as high as he could and drove it right into the heart of the fish with all the might at his disposal. The marlin jumped out of water for a moment and then fell down dead with a crash. It began to float with its white belly turned up. The heroic fight thus came to an end. The old man did not know whether he was infinitely happy or sad at taking the life of a majestic creature whom he called his brother.