What do the sharks in the Old man and Sea symbolize?
The Shovel-Nosed Sharks They symbolize and embody the destructive laws of the universe and attest to the fact that those laws can be transcended only when equals fight to the death. Because they are base predators, Santiago wins no glory from battling them.
What does the ocean symbolize in the Old Man and the Sea?
The sea, in the novel, represents the Universe and Santiago’s isolation in the Universe. It is at sea, with no help and no recognition, that Santiago faces his ultimate challenge. The novel, in this regard, is an example of Naturalism in Literature.
What is the old man’s attitude towards the sharks?
Santiago is both optimistic and stubborn in staying out in his boat long after it seems he has no chance of catching any fish. Once he hooks the marlin, this tenacity turns to obsession, as the sharks literally consume the fish and the impossible situation figuratively consumes his sanity.
What does the old man do when he sees the shark?
In his light-headed state, the old man finds himself wondering for a moment if he is bringing the fish in or vice versa. When the shark hits the marlin, the old man sinks his harpoon into the shark’s head. The shark lashes on the water and, eventually, sinks, taking the harpoon and the old man’s rope with it.
What is the moral lesson of The Old Man and the Sea?
The moral lessons from The Old Man and the Sea are as follows: the journey through life is the reward; a person who lives with courage and integrity can be destroyed but never defeated; and a strong person never complains about what he doesn’t have but instead uses what is at hand with the knowledge that it is one’s …
What is the point of Old man and the Sea?
The epic two-day battle between man and fish is enough to excite most, but the real significance of the story is found in the deeper meaning behind Hemingway’s characters. The old man represents humanity, while the marlin signifies achievement or purpose in life.
What does old man call the sea?
Answer: The old man calls the sea “la mar” because he likes to think of it as a woman that gives or withholds great favors. The gigantic marlin that provides the main conflict for the novel is the first thing the old man catches.
Why did Santiago finally lose hope?
Why did Santiago finally lose hope? He lost hope because the sharks ate basically all the meat on the fish. Because the sharks ate the fish.
What was the saddest thing the old man ever saw?
What was the saddest thing the old man ever saw? Once he hooked the female of a pair of marlin. The male fish stayed close to her all the time. When Santiago and Manolin brought her aboard the boat, the male fish stayed by the side of the boat.
What does it mean a man can be destroyed but not defeated?
It means that a man can fight to the end never relinquishing his honour or ideals. Even though he may be destroyed his ideas and values were never defeated.
How did Santiago drive away the shark?
In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago first tries to drive away the sharks with his harpoon, then with a makeshift harpoon he fashions from his knife and an oar, and finally by clubbing them. He loses against the sharks, but he fights them with everything he has.
Why do boys stop fishing in Santiago?
The boy is not fishing with the old man anymore because his father believes the old man doesn’t bring good luck since he hasn’t caught a fish in eighty four days.
How are the Sharks portrayed in The Old Man and the Sea?
Although Santiago manages to kill most of them, they tear apart the marlin ‘s body and leave Santiago devastated. While the marlin is portrayed as both an adversary and a noble companion to Santiago, the sharks are portrayed as purely vicious.
Why was The Old Man and the Sea called that?
Sharks in The Old Man and the Sea reveal the complex nature of life and the realization and acceptance of death. Hemingway titled his novella, The Old Man and the Sea and not The Old Man and the Fish for a reason. Part of that reason is sharks.
What kind of shark was the first shark?
The first shark to come was a Mako, and despite the old man’s disappointment with the shark taking a piece of his fish, he admires and respects the shark. Santiago reflects: ‘He was a very big Mako shark built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws.’
What did Santiago do in the last wave of sharks?
The final wave of sharks come in the night, and Santiago fights them blindly, reduced to the only weapon he has left, the tiller of his skiff. These final lines about the shark attacks reiterate an earlier theme in the novella: that a man can be destroyed but not defeated.