Discussion Question 3- The Old Man and the Sea

One of the main universal themes in this book is struggle and defeat. In the very beginning of the book, you can tell the man feels really defeated. The old man has gone eighty-seven days without catching a fish (Hemingway 10), while other fisherman are coming in with multiple fish everyday (Hemingway 11). People are loosing hope in him, and he is loosing hope in himself. He wants to prove to people that he is still a good fisherman and can still catch fish. Throughout the story, the reader follows the old man as he tries to overcome his defeat and his struggles. When the big fish first starts to bite, the old man figured he would be an easier kill, until he figured out the size of the fish. The reason the old man stuck with the fish is because he was overcoming his defeat. He had not caught a fish in awhile, and he decided this fish was his opportunity to prove himself to the people who doubted him. Each struggled he faced at sea made him grow stronger. In the end, if he did not struggle with the fish, he would not have overcome his defeat. It would have been so easy for him to give up and let the fish go, but he knew the size and used all of his strength to stick with it. Another universal theme is pride, which the old man gained through his determination and success. Pride was very important to the old man. Even though he was down on his luck at the sea in the beginning, he was still very proud of himself. He still knew he was a smart and great fisherman. He realized that his luck would be coming soon and he would have a streak of success. Each time he dealt with a shark at sea (Hemingway 107), the old man gained more pride because he had the knowledge to defeat the sharks, even when he was in pain. The old man knew that he had sailed out to far, yet he was not worried because he had a sense of pride. He knew his way around the sea and recognized weather patterns. He had no worries because he knew that in time everything would be okay. Each theme is very strong, and the book does a great job at portraying both.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. Cuba. Scribner’s Publishing. 1952