Old man :: essays research papers

Plot OverviewThe Old Man and the Sea is the story of an expansive struggle between an quondam(a), seasoned tiper human being and the greatest catch of his life. For lxxxiv days, capital of Chile, an aged Cuban seekerman, has set out to sea and returned empty-handed. So conspicuously unlucky is he that the parents of his young devoted apprentice and friend, Manolin, have labored the boy to leave the white-haired man in order to fish in a more prosperous boat. Nevertheless, the boy continues to care for the old man upon his return each night. He helps the old man push his gear to his ramshackle hut, secures food for him, and discusses the latest developments in American baseball, especially the trials of the old mans hero, Joe DiMaggio. Santiago is confident that his unproductive measure will soon come to an end, and he resolves to sail out far than usual the following day.On the eighty-fifth day of his unlucky streak, Santiago does as promised, sailing his skiff far beyond the islands shallow coastal waters and venturing into the Gulf Stream. He prepares his lines and drops them. At noon, a big fish, which he knows is a marlin, takes the bait that Santiago has placed one hundred fathoms involved in the waters. The old man expertly hooks the fish, but he cannot pull it in. Instead, the fish begins to pull the boat.Unable to tie the line immobile to the boat for fear the fish would snap a taut line, the old man bears the strain of the line with his shoulders, back, and hands, ready to give slack should the marlin unclutter a run. The fish pulls the boat all by dint of the day, through the night, through another day, and through another night. It swims steadily northwest until at at last it tires and swims east with the current. The entire time, Santiago endures constant pain from the fishing line. Whenever the fish lunges, leaps, or makes a dash for freedom, the cord cuts him badly. Although wounded and weary, the old man feels a deep empathy and admiration for the marlin, his brother in suffering, strength, and resolve.On the ternion day the fish tires, and Santiago, sleep-deprived, aching, and nearly delirious, manages to pull the marlin in close adequacy to kill it with a harpoon thrust. Dead beside the skiff, the marlin is the largest Santiago has ever seen.