The Old Man and the Sea #3

One universal theme that the book address' is a man's pride. The old man chases the marlin far out into the ocean because catching this fish would mean that the other fishermen would like and respect him again, and if he would have caught a fish that huge, that far out in the ocean, it would solidify his skills as a great fisherman. The old man has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. This can heavily wound a fisherman's pride. When the old man goes to sea and sees this opportunity to gain back all of his respect as a fisherman he takes a chance and follows the marlin very far into the ocean. After a few days of sailing, the old man realizes that his pride will be the end of the marlin and possibly himself. Since he went out so far, sharks attacked his fish after he had caught the marlin. The marlin bled out into the ocean attracting more sharks and eventually the marlin was only a skeleton. The old man acknowledges that his pride was his and the fishes undoing, "I shouldn't have gone out so far, fish," he said. "Neither for you nor for me. I'm sorry, fish." (Hemingway 110).

Another universal theme the book address is the relationship between mentor and apprentice. The old man was teaching the boy about fishing before he hit his dry spell and the boy was not allowed to fish with him anymore. After the old man returns from his adventure, the boy realizes that he wants to spend more time with the old man before he is gone. The old man will teach the boy everything he knows from his many years of fishing and the mistakes he made on this past trip. The boy will learn to not make the same mistakes as the old man has made in his life. The boy will carry on the old man's legacy through his fishing.


Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.