The great and glorious marlin that Santiago hooks when he first ventures out to the deep and open water is not only one of Santiago’s future friends but enemies as well. At the end of the story, the reader finds out that the marlin is actually about eighteen feet long. That is easily the largest fish ever to come into Santiago’s small fishing village, and all the other fishermen who once ridiculed Santiago now envy him. Santiago is just an old man while the marlin is a large beast, so Santiago is quite unable to pull in the marlin with brute strength alone. The marlin actually starts pulling the boat and Santiago around because it is so long. To Santiago, death is inevitable to either him or the marlin in their epic battle. He speaks of it multiple times throughout the novel. However, Santiago is not very upset about this fact because he shows somewhat of a deep love for the marlin. Obviously the marlin cannot think or talk back to Santiago, but I believe that it would feel the same way Santiago does. The battle between fish and man is not as much of a head to head struggle as much as it is a mutual contest between two great competitors. If the marlin could speak, I think he would speak of how worthy of an opponent Santiago is. Also, I think he would kind of feel bad for the old man because of his terrible luck and fading life. There are numerous similarities between the marlin and Santiago. For example, they are both old and experienced with the sea. Also, they are both great warriors. When I say great warriors, I mean they have a mutual respect for their adversary. It is astonishing to me that Santiago would be okay if the marlin actually killed him. It kind of reminds me of the Roman gladiators. They are both ruthless, and they are both noble fighters.
No comments:
Post a Comment