The author purposely made Santiago's fatal end a females fault, specifically his mother's. Previously, Cristo Bedoya was the one being Santiago's knight in shining armor, searching for Santiago high and low in order to save him. However, Plácida just as easily could have been Santiago's savor by slamming the door on the twins after her son had run in. Even though what Plácido did was not pleasant, she drastically altered the fate
Santiago’s willpower and understanding grows once he leaves with the Alchemist. The Abyss and Rebirth are the points in the Hero Cycle when it is the darkest hour and the hero pushes through it, becoming a new person in whole. In The Alchemist, Santiago’s darkest moment is when he has to turn himself into gold, and he regenerates into this person who is one with God. He “saw that the Soul of God was his own. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles.” (152) The lessons he had already knew had become clear to him now.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway takes place on the seas of Cuba and conveys the story of an old man who struggles with catching fish for 85 days. Santiago, an old fisherman, participates in literal battles throughout the span of the novella. Over the course of the story, Santiago goes up against a giant marlin that proves to be a feisty competitor, a group of vicious sharks vying for the marlin, and he is also challenged by the difficulty of transporting the mast of his skiff to his shack once he returns from his trip on the sea. With the usage of characterization and symbolism, Hemingway demonstrates Santiago’s tenacious persistence, in order to show that hard work doesn’t always result in a positive outcome. On his 85th day out to sea, Santiago encounters a marlin who resists his attempts at catching him leading to a two-day feud.
He consoles Santiago after the marlin is eaten and he also supplies bait and food for Santiago. The Marlin- He is like a mirror image of Santiago, it has all the same traits as him. Whenever Santiago increases his perseverance the Marlin does the same. The marlin has become a controlling force in Santiago’s life and once the Marlin is eaten the life of Santiago seems to be eaten up too. The Sharks- They ruin what Santiago has been working at for three full days.
He stakes his life on fighting with sea. Hemingway describes Santiago’s body in detail so that the readers are able to
The marlin continues to lurch forward. But is hooked by Santiago. The Marlin continues to swim throughout the nightfall. Santiago has the advantage over the fish, due to lots of line left. Santiago acknowledges the marlin strength and power .
The author wants people to know that sometimes fear is a bigger obstacle than the obstacle itself. During parts of Santiago’s journey he was scared to move forward, his journey could have been much easier without the fears of traveling to the unknown and losing Fatima. Santiago’s journey not only fulfilled his personal legend, but it literally let him follow his dreams. The boy dreamt about his treasure and with the journey he made his dreams become a reality. The book tells its readers to never give up and to ignore the voice of fear as it pertains to an individual’s
Santiago’s description of the turtles’ elegance and speed is symbolic of his optimism and strength. Santiago is strong and ready to keep fishing until he catches something even though he 's gone 84 days without catching anything. At the beginning of this journey, Santiago is sable; he has no physical ailments. He also has nothing but optimism and will to keep trying in his mind. Furthermore, at the beginning of his journey, Santiago considers nature to be a friend of his.
Santiago enjoys keeping up with baseball, which is usually associated with younger people (“Themes”). The following is an example of when Santiago’s mind wandered to baseball: "He...tried to think of other things. He thought of the Big Leagues, to him they were the Gran Ligas, and he knew that the Yankees of New York were playing the Tigres of Detroit (Hemingway, 67-68)”. Here, to give him something to think about while out at sea, his thinks of baseball. These thoughts keep him young because baseball is played by young, athletic people and is usually followed and watched by young people.
Santiago and Elie both face devastating events in the two similar novels. In Old Man and the Sea, Santiago struggles to change his luck when he has gone 84 days without catching a fish, leading him to take a risk and go further out from shore than the other fishermen. He hooks a fish and begins a multi-day struggle to bring the fish into the boat. Throughout these few days, Santiago loses his strength fighting the fish and physically injures his hands and back, while also losing the fish. On top of these two destructive injuries, Santiago loses his sanity and begins to talk to himself, as if another person were in the boat with him.