The Old Man and the Sea

SPOILER

I recently finished The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemmingway. It is a short story about an old man who struggles to catch a large fish at sea. The old man’s name is mentioned once in the whole story, it is Santiago. The story is slow moving but very enjoyable. In the beginning of the story, it introduces a young boy who Santiago loves. In the beginning and middle of the book, the old man wants the boy to be with him at sea to help him. The difference between the middle and the end is that in the end, he needs the boy. The relationship between the old man and the boy in the middle of the book and the end of the book changes from wants to needs.

In the beginning of the book, the old man is in his shack, and wants the boy to do things for him. He appreciates the things that the boy does for him. Santiago likes the boy to help him into bed, and get woken up, and enjoys when he retrieves his coffee. A reader could make the inference that he could live without the boy attending to his every need. The man is old, and needs a little assistance, but he describes how his experience has made him stronger, and that he can survive on his own. This is what I thought at the beginning of the book. I thought that the boy is very helpful to Santiago, but I would never have guessed how much the old man would need the boy. The fish that Santiago just had to catch made him and the reader and the boy realize that they need each other. 

Throughout the whole fishing trip, the old man wishes that he had the boy with him. But he manages to survive without him for the trip and catch the fish and fight off of most of the sharks. The middle of the book shows that the old man is starting to realize that he needs the boy and that he will not be able to save the fish. He knows in advance that more sharks will arrive to try to take the fish after the first shark attack. He knows that he will not be able to save much of the fish. 

The end of the book has the boy helping and healing the man’s wounds from trying to catch the fish. Santiago is so tired and exhausted from the fishing excursion and is depending on the boy to help him to recover and get better. The reader can also tell that the boy needs Santiago because he cry’s about him not getting the fish. He would rather be with the old man than fish in a boat that gets more fish. This is really sweet and shows that they love each other and will be with each other no matter the circumstances. 

In The Old Man and the Sea, there are intertwining relationships that change throughout the book. It releases a theme that can teach the reader about how you never think the same thing about a person or thing for long. Patience also is a main theme that comes from this relationship. The old man has to be patient in order to catch the fish, it takes many days. He also had to be patient to be with the boy at the end of the trip.  Patience helps Santiago get the fish and get back to his shack, and it helps build the boy and his relationship.