Santiago's Destruction

Destruction and Defeat
Could you imagine catching an 18 foot long marlin? The marlin, eaten by a shark on the way home, could not defeat the fact that catching the great fish is a victory. Santiago did this in the book the Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway. He is victorious at the end of the story for multiple reasons-he has endurance, he is never defeated, and he does not lose faith throughout the entire story. Santiago's ability to endure the harsh life he lives gives even more meaning to his belief, "Pain does not matter to a man”(84). If DiMaggio can endure his bone spur, if the great fish can pull the weight of his boat, therefore a simple old man can at least endure the discomforts of his existence. To Santiago, his hands, unwilling to open, responsive only to pain, seemed to have a mind of their own. He had an extreme cramp in his hand, this showed that Santiago must endure and take in the pain instead of allowing himself to lose against his worst enemy and honorable brother (also known as the great marlin). Even when his great fight with the marlin is over, the old man, by himself, must carry home the mast of his ship, a symbol of his burden and suffering. He may be old, but he still has the endurance of El Campeon.
Santiago is never defeated.
Defeat is completely different from destruction, defeat is losing your morals, destruction is losing the battle but keeping all of your morals and respecting yourself throughout the entire process. Santiago is destroyed but he is never defeated. A man can fight to the end never losing his honor or ideals. Even though he may be destroyed his ideas and values are never defeated. He would not care if he died at the hands of the great marlin. The fish is a worthy opponent and Santiago would die like the man he once was, rather than a man defeated. Santiago would happily die doing what he loved. If he died, it would not mean he was defeated. His fight to catch the fish was tenacious, making him a
winner. Throughout all he endured, Santiago never loses faith. In spite of hunger, pain, and 84 days of bad luck, Santiago keeps the faith he has in himself. He dreams of days long gone, of hand-wrestling and of golden lions on the beach of Africa. He tries to be like Joe DiMaggio who overcame pain (a bone spur) and believes the baseball player would be proud of him. Santiago has faith that he can be like the sea turtle whose heart keeps beating even in death, and so the old man will never give up. At the end, something is broken inside, but the old man's eyes remain alive. The body may be weak, but the spirit is enduring, and eternal. Although he prays and promises to say hundreds of Hail Mary's, Santiago believes in himself. One person who especially gave Santiago faith was Manolin, Santiago’s apprentice and helper. The old man first took him out on a boat when he was five years old. Due to Santiago’s bad luck (84 days of bad luck), Manolin’s parents forced the boy to go out on a different fishing boat. Manolin still cares for the old man, and continues to look at him as a mentor. He has great love towards Santiago, as the two discuss baseball and the boy recruits help from villagers to improve the old man’s bad condition. They have an extreme amount of faith in each other and make plans to fish together. Santiago would never have caught the marlin without faith, whether it was Manolin, his dreams, or amazing past experiences. Santiago is a very wise and respectful man. Santiago has amazing endurance, he is never beaten, and he never gives up. Santiago’s journey in catching the marlin shows that though he may have been destroyed he is not defeated.