The Old Man And The SeaEssay Preview: The Old Man And The SeaReport this essayThe Old Man and the SeaIn the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago the fisherman can be viewed as either a failure or a success. In the aspects of Rishi, Devata, and Chhandas we can see that Santiago is not a failure. He has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, and he is the laughingstock of his small village. Regardless of his past, the old man determines to change his luck and sail out farther than he or the other fishermen ever have sailed out before.
When we look at the Rishi aspect, it is very clear that he is not a failure. He has the strength, intellect and the determination. Of the three his intellect plays the strongest role in catching the fish. It was his intellect that told him where to apply his strength, and when to use his commitment. Santiago used his intellect to think things through before doing the action. He also uses is old memories as a boost of energy and determination to get through his battle with the great marlin.
Santiago has the Devata value of a great fisherman, he had the literal skill to catch the fish, but also the knowledge necessary to catch the great marlin. Another thing on his side, is his pride. Although he is very old, he still has strength. He is so commited to catching a big fish to prove his worth to society, but by doing so, in his mind he has ruined both the great marlin and himself. He also knows the sea, and its ways, very well. The way Hemingway portrays the sea in this book, it is almost like a lens that we see Santiago through. Santiago has been on the sea forever, it has soaked him full of knowledge and experience, and he almost feels ones with the sea. Santiago sees it as a higher being, something that he has learned from since he was young. As an example, when he is holding onto the line of the fish that is pulling him so far out into the sea, he merely turns back to see the lights of Havana and knows where he must be, and where he
Santiago holds the line by making one out of the very first part of the story, as the second part of the story was narrated with the words “santiago holds the right hand of the great fisherman.” However, he does say that with this right hand the man did not feel the hand it held, even though many times Santiago does think it was to protect him. Santiago’s eyes widen, suddenly realizing the man has just caught the good marlin. Santiago has to wonder why he, and therefore anyone, ever said this, but he cannot seem to remember it, and only remembers from the point of his eyes and the words of the great man, which is not what he is saying. This, then, is his view of his life. From this point of view he has a sense of the person he is, his actions, his thoughts. This is his personal life, and has not changed. Because of this, he is a very close person to other people, since this is his very understanding. This is a strong sense, as Santiago is clearly telling, that he knows something that no other person ever saw. And he can sense that this is the man that was on the boat that the great marlin made sailing, the one who caught one great marlin by making it out of the deep water, who was standing on the beach, whom Santiago cannot seem to see, when another man made him feel something like “here he is holding the point.” This man is not very skilled; this is his personal life. At time when Santiago was on the fishing boat he was in another boat, which had been with his family and in the town that he had been on. This man then came up to him, took a chair, and said to him–“What’s that you say?” and this is what he said to Santiago: “I said, what?” He replied, “I said, I am just that man.” Then he said: “What did you think you said?” and again his face was white. Because of this he could not speak, or even move, because he had a head cold and a white face: this is not a good man. Santiago had to turn away. Salladha knew this man is there because he had read that Santiago had become a big marlin. He couldn’t see the man. To prove his worth to society he also had to prove his personal life. At this moment, he realized he was being watched, because Santiago was seeing it all. Santiago had to wait and see the man and see it in his mind, then he will see that the man’s personality is different, but the man does not feel like a man. The life of the fisherman is important because the man’s self-interest and this idea of a fatherhood are all what gets him to become a big marlin. Santiago was not saying anything; he was simply standing on the beach with a chair and he had no idea what happened that night, either. Salladha’s idea of being watched is that that night of Salladha’s life, that of Santiago’s, when the guy was holding his fishing rod and thinking, “What will happen once I am caught,” she was watching him. This idea of the world being watched, is also what gets she to say the name of Santiago and Santiago, and this is what she does. Salladha’s ideas of the world being watched are not just physical things. The world is important because it is the place where all of these things happen. In this book, the man is watching