Blog 2

The main conflict of the book is the old man, Santiago for three days trying to catch this huge fish, the marlin(Hemingway 4). He struggles for three days to catch this eighteen foot fish and this is after he went 84 days without catching a fish prior(Hemingway 1). The old man does not bring the young kid that was fishing with him the 84 days and basically acting as an assistant to Santiago because he feels the young man has made him lose his luck. So alone Santiago takes a long trip out into the Gulf of Mexico.

When Santiago finally catches the Marlin the meat is eaten by the sharks(Hemingway 5). Santiago has not benifited from his catch only the shark have. However Santiago is not mad because he has lost his fish and could not show it to others but is upset because of how the marlin's life has ended. Santiago and the Marlin had become companions in a sort of way because they were both in the same fight. They both were alone out in the Gulf of Mexico with nobody to rely on because the Marlin had nobody and Santiago had left the young man at home. They both were in the same prediciment but against each other. The marlin was fighting off the old man for all three days and the old man was in a fight with his own body trying to capture the marlin all alone. Both Santiago and the marlin display great qualities including bravery, pride, and honor. They both accepted that they must either kill or be killed. The whole conflict they were in the same place but against each other.

The old man has gained something from the experience but the marlin could not gain anything. The old man had gained knowledge of both that he can still do great and catch fish, especially a very large one(Hemingway 4). He also learns that he has enough control of his old self to survive out all alone.

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