The Old Man and the Sea: Theme

Most of Ernest Hemingway's novels are known for having a hero and enemy conflict in which the hero dies in the end. However, it looks as if he made an exception for The Old Man and the Sea. It would have been easy to kill off Santiago before he could make it home, but with an ending like that, a whole new theme and a completely different lesson would have been created. In fact, the long journey of life and death struggles for the old man is exactly what the theme of this novel consists of. Not only because it is a larger part of the falling action, but also because it is a major focus and lesson in The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago endures an ongoing fight for life with the marlin for quite some time on his journey. "If you're not tired, fish, you must be very strange (Hemingway 67)," he said.

The theme of a novel is the action in a plot that engages readers more than any other significant event, which is exactly what this three day long journey home does. The old man withstands an awful lot of pain during this trip. Cramps in his hands, pain in his legs, and a stint of nausea/lightheadedness are all obstacles that Santiago faced. Although these medical restrains got to the old man at times, he continued to use his hero, Joe DiMaggio, as his strength to continue. "But I must have confidence and I must be worthy of the great DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel (Hemingway 68)," he thought. The old man's struggles did not end with the injuries, however. He continued to have unexplained dreams that at times reassured him, yet scared him at others.

The theme of struggling between life and death that the old man endured was a conflict in and of itself. It would be considered a Man vs. Nature conflict because it is between Santiago and his surroundings.

[Bibliography]

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.