The Old Man and the Sea
by Ernest Hemingway
Table of Contents
Day 5
Summary
The next morning, Manolin stops by Santiago's shack, sees the old man's raw hands, and cries. He goes to get coffee with milk and sugar for Santiago. Fishermen are surrounding Santiago's boat, with one measuring the length of the marlin's body. He says it is 18 feet long, which the owner of the Terrace café later says is bigger than any fish the village has seen.
Manolin takes the coffee to Santiago's house and waits. When he wakes up, Santiago tells Manolin that he was beaten. Manolin assures the old man that he wasn't beaten, and then says that he wants to fish with Santiago again no matter what his family thinks. Santiago gives the head of the marlin to the local man who has been giving him newspapers and lets Manolin keep the marlin's spear.
The young man tells Santiago that a search had been conducted for him, complete with the coast guard and airplanes. Santiago makes plans to fish again with Manolin, and then falls back asleep.
That afternoon, tourists at the Terrace café notice the marlin's skeleton and, not understanding the explanation that one of the waiters tries to give them, think it is a shark. Manolin watches over Santiago as he sleeps, dreaming about the lions on the beach.
Analysis
Despite Santiago's claim that he has been beaten, the novel has a hopeful ending. Santiago's sacrifices have earned him Manolin's complete loyalty; he is now even willing to defy his parents to fish with Santiago. The old man now has a disciple who will carry on his ways, allowing his traditions to live on even after he has passed.
Santiago also ends the novel doing one of the things he enjoys most, dreaming about the lions on the beach in Africa, for the third time in the novel. This memory from his own distant past links back to his youth, and therefore, Manolin's present. Since the lions are playing together, it also suggests that lighthearted joy can exist even for predators like Santiago.
At the...
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