Old Fisherman Essay

501 Words3 Pages
Old fisherman “Fish,” he said softly, aloud, “I’ll stay with you until i am dead.” Santiago says while he catches the huge marlin. Santiago is a sagacious old man in Ernest Hemingways novella, The Old Man and the Sea. It is a christian allegory that tells how Santiago’s determination and confidence helps him overcome challenges to achieve his life’s goal. Hemingway uses symbolism, imagery, and simile to show Santiago’s faith and hope while he goes on his journey. At the very beginning of the story, Hemingway talks about fish. “he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish.” “...another boat which caught three good fish...” “...forty days without a fish...”(Hemingway 9) The fish represent Jesus. Or christianity. Even Though we never know how religious or if Santiago is religious, this does show he has faith. “He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach.” (Hemingway 18) When Santiago was younger, he would go to Africa and see the lions. The lions represent his freedom and happiness. Furthermore, the author uses imagery when he describes the old man. “The old man was thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles in his back and neck.” (Hemingway 9) This gives us a picture of how old the man really was. Also, the author says “The brown blotches of benevolent skin cancer the sun brings...” (Hemingway 9) This shows us that the old man has worked a lot out on the sea fishing. Another example is when the author says “Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.” (Hemingway 10) This gives us an image of a kind man who has hope. “They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert." The operative word here is "old". Santiago's scars are old, "The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep creased scars from handling heavy fish on the
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