Old Man And The Sea Quotes
In The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemmingway expresses the idea that when one shows honour during struggle, defeat, and even death, one may be rewarded with greatness due to their perseverance. Hemmingway shows this through the character of Santiago, and the journey he goes on. From when he was first introduced, to the moment he caught the fish, and finally when Santiago arrives back home, he showed honour during his finest and most unfavourable moments. • Perceived as a failure from the beginning • 84 days without a fish, soon break his own record of 87 days • catches fish, 1600 lbs. Marlin, • killed on the 4th day, this is the climax • end of the marlin’s life is the most vital of moments • fish comes alive “with his death in
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him” and exhibits to Santiago, more strongly than ever before, “all his power and his beauty.” • fish transcends his own death because it invests him with a new life. • notion of transcendence is important, for it resounds within Santiago’s story • the old man suffers something of a death on his way back to the village • stripped of his quarry and, given his age, will likely never have the opportunity to land such a magnificent fish again • he returns to the village with his spirit and his reputation revitalized.
Quotes
“Then the fish came alive, with his death in him, and rose high out of the water showing all his great length and width and all his power and his beauty. He seemed to hang in the air above the old man in the skiff. Then he fell into the water with a crash that sent spray over the old man and over all of the skiff.”
“But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated. ”
“Let him think that I am more man than I am and I will be so.”
“Most people were heartless about turtles because a turtle’s heart will beat for hours after it has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too.”
“It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought.”
“Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead.”
“But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are …show more content…
ready.”
“The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.”
“The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks.
The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert.”
“He remembered the time he had hooked one of a pair of marlin. The male fish always let the female fish feed first and the hooked fish, the female, made a wild, panic-stricken, despairing fight that soon exhausted her, and all the time the male had stayed with her, crossing the line and circling with her on the surface. He had stayed so close that the old man was afraid he would cut the line with his tail which was sharp as a scythe and almost of that size and shape. When the old man had gaffed her and clubbed her, holding the rapier bill with its sandpaper edge and clubbing her across the top of her head until her colour turned to a colour almost like the backing of mirrors, and then, with the boy’s aid, hoisted her aboard, the male fish had stayed by the side of the boat. Then, while the old man was clearing the lines and preparing the harpoon, the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep, his lavender wings, that were his pectoral fins, spread wide and all his wide lavender stripes
showing. He was beautiful, the old man remembered, and he had stayed.”
“I wish the boy was here,' he said aloud and settled himself against the rounded planks of the bow and felt the strength of the great fish through the line he held across his shoulders moving steadily toward whatever he had chosen.
When once, through my treachery, it had been necessary to him to make a choice, the old man thought.
His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either one of us.”
“You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?”
him” and exhibits to Santiago, more strongly than ever before, “all his power and his beauty.” • fish transcends his own death because it invests him with a new life. • notion of transcendence is important, for it resounds within Santiago’s story • the old man suffers something of a death on his way back to the village • stripped of his quarry and, given his age, will likely never have the opportunity to land such a magnificent fish again • he returns to the village with his spirit and his reputation revitalized.
Quotes
“Then the fish came alive, with his death in him, and rose high out of the water showing all his great length and width and all his power and his beauty. He seemed to hang in the air above the old man in the skiff. Then he fell into the water with a crash that sent spray over the old man and over all of the skiff.”
“But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated. ”
“Let him think that I am more man than I am and I will be so.”
“Most people were heartless about turtles because a turtle’s heart will beat for hours after it has been cut up and butchered. But the old man thought, I have such a heart too.”
“It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought.”
“Fish," he said softly, aloud, "I'll stay with you until I am dead.”
“But, he thought, I keep them with precision. Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are …show more content…
ready.”
“The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.”
“The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks.
The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert.”
“He remembered the time he had hooked one of a pair of marlin. The male fish always let the female fish feed first and the hooked fish, the female, made a wild, panic-stricken, despairing fight that soon exhausted her, and all the time the male had stayed with her, crossing the line and circling with her on the surface. He had stayed so close that the old man was afraid he would cut the line with his tail which was sharp as a scythe and almost of that size and shape. When the old man had gaffed her and clubbed her, holding the rapier bill with its sandpaper edge and clubbing her across the top of her head until her colour turned to a colour almost like the backing of mirrors, and then, with the boy’s aid, hoisted her aboard, the male fish had stayed by the side of the boat. Then, while the old man was clearing the lines and preparing the harpoon, the male fish jumped high into the air beside the boat to see where the female was and then went down deep, his lavender wings, that were his pectoral fins, spread wide and all his wide lavender stripes
showing. He was beautiful, the old man remembered, and he had stayed.”
“I wish the boy was here,' he said aloud and settled himself against the rounded planks of the bow and felt the strength of the great fish through the line he held across his shoulders moving steadily toward whatever he had chosen.
When once, through my treachery, it had been necessary to him to make a choice, the old man thought.
His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either one of us.”
“You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?”