Santiago's Conflict in The Old Man And The Sea Essay

Santiago against the World

For as long as man has roamed the earth, he has tried to conquer nature. Whether it is massive dams withholding entire lakes, or tall steel skyscrapers defying the laws of gravity, man continues to challenge this great force. Unfortunately, through the long and tiresome process of trial and error, history shows that man will ultimately find himself at the mercy of nature. A perfect example of this is Santiago, the protagonist from Ernest Hemingways The Old Man and the Sea. The Old Man hooks a great marlin that tows him far out to sea, away from any sign of land. He battles natures forces by refusing to give in, and eventually succeeds in killing the great fish. Because of this, it appears that Santiago may have won the battle against nature, but in the end, the great marlin (tied to the side of the boat) is devoured by hungry sharks, proving once and for all that nature will always prevail. Santiagos struggle is not a battle within nature, it is a battle against it, and just as the never-ending cycle continues, the old man is defeated.

Santiagos pride blinds him from the reality that he is not better than nature. His conceit prevents him from seeing his limitations as a fisherman. While working hard to harpoon the marlin, the weary man tells himself: I am not good for many more turns. Yes you are, he thought, you are good forever (Hemingway 92). He lets himself get caught up in thinking about the victory of the catch, and does not plan ahead. Finally, when he catches the great marlin, he lets his guard down, and basks in the glow of how he has caught the fish. This becomes his greatest weakness. He does not realize that although he may have caught the fish, he still must tow it to shore. Sure enough, when the tattered fisherman attempts to bring the fish back to shore, he is unprepared for the presence of sharks in the water. The sharks maul the carcass of the fish, leaving only the bones and head of the marlin, proving that Santiago could not beat nature, for pride clouds his mind.

The old man does not consider himself a part of the natural cycle; he thinks he is smarter. Santiago is oblivious to the fact that it is impossible to outsmart the natural cycle. Upon catching the fish, Santiago thinks: Is it I who am bringing him in, or is he the one bringing me in? Let him bring me in if it pleases him, I am only better than him through trickery [] (99). The protagonist feels as though he has done the impossible and outsmarted nature. This attitude has only fuelled his immense ego. The arrival of the sharks may be natures way of setting him straight. They teach him the lesson that took so long for him to learn; it is impossible to outsmart the vast force of nature.

The old fisherman defies nature in a different way as well by opposing what is perceived as normal. Whilst other fisherman stick to normal routes and cast their lines ordinarily, the old man travels farther out than all others and casts his lines straight up and down. They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbor and each one headed for the part where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out and left the other fisherman behind quickly as he rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean (28). The old man does not fish in the same part of the Gulf as the rest of the men, thereby going against what is normal, or natural; He is battling against nature. Most other fishermenHe further distances himself from social norms; again, he is going against what is natural.

Santiagos battle against nature is lost because of his lack of intelligence, excess of pride, and defiance of normality. Santiago battles a stubborn marlin that refuses to give in, matched only by the old mans great arrogance. He also tries to fend off sharks to protect his prize, but to no avail. He is one in the same as every other man in the world; we think we can beat nature, and we never learn. Many have tried before us by building cities only to be destroyed by earthquakes, volcanoes, or storms of tremendous amplitude. We try to build boats only to have them torn to pieces by waves, or sunken by icebergs. We may have thought we have won, but the battle is not over yet. To some extent, it is our own fault. Humanity destroys nature every day through pollution, so in a sense, we have picked a fight, a fight we cannot finish.