The Old Man and the Sea Essay

Like hidden clues to a puzzle, endlessly searched for by the greatest detectives of all time; like an X-marks-the-spot hidden deep beneath the burning white sand of a tropical beach; like the ever-present hint in the stare of a coquette, continuously overlooked by the ignorance of a man; in every story there is a message, or a theme, if you will. These small, yet meaningful secrets behind the reality of a good story are so often unseen by readers all around the world, yet they are solely the reason for which reading itself is so valuable. The novella The Old Man and the Sea is no exception to this truth. There are many themes in the famously unique plot, endless concepts to be learned from its pages. Lessons such as the value of youth, enjoying the ride, not the destination, and man’s connections and relationships with nature all lay deep within the 127 pages of the book, unearthed only by those with a great appreciation for literature.

The first of many themes in The Old Man and the Sea is the value of youth, something that Santiago, the old man in this story, holds close to himself. It’s very important to keep the child in oneself alive, even as we grow older and lose its benefits. Not even the evil of senescence, something that, at times in the story, Santiago may possess, can free the grip that our minds will always have on our youth, and in fact, growing older often leads us back to it, back to the days of simplicity and the ability to view the world in a happier, more peaceful way. This shows greatly in a conversation between the boy and the old man, where the boy asks the old man if he is "strong enough now for a truly big fish" (14), and the old man says, "'I think so'" (14). He believes in himself as a withered old man, that he is up for the challenges he has still yet to face in life despite his advanced age. A lot can be learned from him. Notice should be taken.

Another lesson that is taught by this beautiful novella is that in many situations, and sometimes in life as a whole, it is not about what you strive to achieve, it is about the journey that gets you there. Santiago realized this years before the story takes place and now lives out its meaning each and every day. He tends to observe the weather, like "the white cumulus built like friendly piles of ice cream" (61), appreciating its help as he attempts to catch fish. Then, he comes home each evening, fishless and tired, with a sense of satisfaction and happiness despite his failure to catch anything. This is because he has a great time doing what he does, and knows that it is not always about what you catch while fishing, its about having fun as you try to catch it. One who cannot understand this will achieve what they want in life and look back to find out that they wasted half of their lives trying to acquire it, left people stepped on, left countless opportunities missed. On the other hand, someone like Santiago, who fully understands this, and who may never even achieve his goals, will look back to realize that the journey he took to arrive at where he is will be just as wonderful, if not better, than the end result of his travels themselves.

The third and final theme that can be found in The Old Man and the Sea is that it is important to remain in balance with nature as we live our lives. It has become an often-used term that something is “man-made”, and it is a perfect example of how our kind has established itself as different from and better than the rest of the planet and its creatures, a fatal mistake that will be the death of us in the end. As was observed by Santiago, "...they are not as intelligent as we who kill them; altho ugh they are more noble and able" (63). Like Santiago, an old man that we as humans could really learn from, we must know to treat each animal and all nature as our equal, for there will always be stronger, taller, faster, and more beautiful living and non-living things than ourselves . By understanding that we live alongside the other inhabitants of this earth, not above them, we can move forward as a civilized species. However, should we continue, the way we are doing now in society and life, to see all living things as inferior to ourselves, we will never be able to understand them, and ultimately mankind will not survive.

To conclude, there are many themes that can be dug up from literature. Any and every book ever printed has a message, something that authors want to share with the world, something that they feel we all need to know, and through simple analysis, we can learn what the author is trying to say. In this novella, The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway is telling the world to hold onto the youth that lies within them, to appreciate not so much their successes, but the journeys that led them there, and to be kind and appreciative to all nature, for they are not so different from us and are, in fact, equal to us in the sense that we all share this beautiful blue planet as our home. This book teaches us all of that, and it would be wise for everyone to read it and hear what its pages so simply state.