Old Man Essay, Research Paper

In The Old Man And The Sea, Santiago exemplified Hemingway s philosophy of grace under

pressure in many ways. Santiago lived an extremely simple life, he was able to do without the new conveniences others had, and the old man never asked for help; he did fine without the others.

-On the boat while he is battling the mighty fish, he was able to deal with limited food and drink.

-Other fishermen had radios to pass the time while all Santiago had were his thoughts and sometimes the boy. Santiago learned how to make due with the supplies that he had.

-Although sometimes he wished for some of the convieneces that the other fisherman had, he was able to do without them.

-He realizes he may be out at sea for a long time, so he rationalizes his supplies.

-The sail on his boat is torn and tattered, consisting of countless rags stitched together. Mueller 2Although a nicer sail would have been nice he knew that he could get by with the one he has. Santiago displayed a great deal of grace while under the pressure of catching his great adversary. While battling the marlin he always keeps his eye on the goal, and figures out new ways to get through the tight spots. Even when it seem that all hope is lost, he continues to persevere, so he may achieve his goal. When he is out at sea his hand s cramp, and it looks as if he has to give up the fish, but he decides to stick with it in a hope that he may strive through the area of difficulty. His hands finally free up and he continues on his mission, just glad that he did not give up. Sharks attack the marlin on his voyage back to his small town, he works his hardest to keep them away. Santiago finds unique ways to keep them away. He makes a spear out of his knife, a paddle, and some cloth. When that breaks, he then uses the other paddle as a club to beat the sharks away. When food is low, the old man figures out ways to get more without losing his marlin. He sets up another rig while still concentrating on the task at hand. Santiago’s relationships with others never go into deep personal information, they always stay friendly and never get intimate. His relationship with the boy is one of great importance in The Old Man And The Sea. Their relationship is a great friendship which has grown over years. The old man was the first person to ever go fishing with the boy. He was a teacher to Manolin, and showed him everything he knew. The boy would occasionally bring the old man food when he returned if he had not caught anything that day. Santiago read to the boy about baseball. Manolin enjoyed this immensely. He enjoyed being in the old man’s company for he cared for this man because he was always kind to him. The boy prepared the old man’s bait some of the time. They both offered each other the best of company. While out at sea Santiago is constantlywishing the boy was there to talk to or to help with the mighty fish. Santiago does not have relationships with any of the other fishermen, Mueller 3outside of polite conversation. His perseverence to catch his prey implicates the importance of his relationship with it. Santiago’s humility in The Old Man And The Sea should be an example for all to follow. He fishes to be a fisherman. His goal was not to catch a huge fish. It was to fish and try to catch a fish of any size. He did not pride himself on catching the fish. He did not go running to tell the other fishermen of the town about it, he just went home and fell asleep. Landing the fish did not matter to the old man only to get it as far as the side of the boat. The Old Man And The Sea portrays Hemingway Code Heros to their fullest potential. As Heros they try their hardest to persevere under pressure and achieve the goal in front of them. They show the characteristics of a stoic, working hard in the hardest of situations. Hemingway Code Heros are very rare in real life, but in fiction they survive, setting good examples for all.