So What?

In my last post, I focused on the AP worthiness of The Old Man and the Sea. In doing so, I didn’t include my weekly plot summary. This week, I didn’t go on any big trips like maybe some people did, but I did take a week-long break from looking at this blog. Not until recently have I responded to anyone's comments on my last post. That being said, I noticed that Meg commented: “what meaning do you think Hemingway was trying to convey with the whole part about the shark eating the fish?”

Well, thanks, Meg. This leads into the only topic I have yet to cover as the main focus of a post: the meaning of the work as a whole.

I talked a little bit two posts ago about the role of religion in The Old Man and the Sea. In the Bible, there are many stories involving fishing including when Jesus helps Peter to catch a fish after he hasn’t been able to for a while. The boy is kind of like Jesus’s disciples if the old man is Jesus.

Those are just some basic similarities between the Bible and Hemingway’s novel. Personally, I  think Hemingway puts into question the importance of religion. How important is religion really to Santiago and his capture of the fish? He quotes God and the Bible all the time when he’s out at sea but he also says he doesn’t really believe in God. Was the reason his fish was completely eaten by all of the sharks because he didn’t have enough faith in God?

Clearly, there’s a lot of ambiguity of how the role of religion in this story can be interpreted. Since Santiago is ultimately not able to bring the fish back to shore intact, this raises the topic of the power of nature. The Old Man and the Sea is a very much man vs. nature conflict. Is the power of nature more powerful than that of God? Often Santiago talks at great lengths about the ocean, almost fantasizing about it. Maybe he has more of a respect for the ocean than he does for God.

So, how important is religion in general? The book seems to suggest its importance varies. Santiago claims “I am not religious, but I will say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Mary’s that I should catch this fish.” He does turn to religion in times of desperation but maybe since these prayers are said artificially, they are more just to pass the time and distract himself from the deep cuts in his hands from the line. Maybe God punishes his artificiality with prayer by having his entire catch eaten. If so, maybe Hemingway suggests God controls nature. If the sharks ate the fish without any influence from a higher power, he suggests that faith only goes so far.

How powerful is nature? Well, today, we are at the mercy of nature more than ever (largely due to our own actions). I do think though that the book portrays nature is an all-powerful being. Through his whole trip, Santiago is at the mercy of the ocean. The tradewinds push him far out to sea and allow him to return to shore after he has made his catch. He says at one point before catching the fish, “no man was ever alone on the sea,” almost glorifying its complex nature and power. While his marlin in ravaged but sharks or galanos, he describes them as “hateful bad-smelling scavengers as well as killers.” This is the first part I can think of in the book where he talks down upon elements of nature. This I think demonstrates that Santiago realizes the wickedness of nature. For this reason, I think Hemingway is pointing out that nature is something to be respected.

Well, whoever read my blog, thanks for leaving me comments I may or may not have responded to. I probably should’ve responded to more of them promptly. I’m sure my grade will accurately reflect my level of commitment to commenting and responding on time.

Now, I’m not going to go dream about lions like the old man does at the very end of the book.