old man and the sea essay

People who give up in life will never become very lucky. In the novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Santiago works very hard but never gets anything in return. My first example of perseverance is when Santiago goes out fishing every day but comes back every day empty handed. Another example is when Santiago doesn’t give up fighting the fish. My third example of perseverance in this novella is how the boy doesn’t give up on Santiago.


My first example of perseverance in a character in the novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is how Santiago never gives up is how he gets up early in the morning to go fishing. He then is out all day on a fishing boat with nothing but a bottle of water. He comes home late at night empty handed. He does this every day so he never has any food or money to buy food. So he has to eat the food the boy brings him. He never sleeps in and decides not to go fishing even though it has been months since he caught anything. That shows how Santiago never really gives up. This is shown in the following line, “‘But remember how you went eighty-seven days without fish and then we caught big ones every day for three weeks’” (10).


My second example of perseverance in a character in the novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is how Santiago never gives up is how he manages to make it home safely. There were many things threatening his safety but he survived them all. He manages when his hand tenses on him. He makes it through the night with no food. He manages when he gets lost. He never once thinks about letting the fish go. It makes you be grateful for what you have and thankful that you are so well off. That is shown to the audience in this line, “‘Fish you are going to have to die anyway’” (92).


My third example of perseverance in a character in the novella The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway how Manolin is devoted to Santiago. He meets him at the dock at the end of the day to help him bring in supplies. He brings Santiago coffee. He covers him with a blanket. He shares food with him. He does all this every day and never doesn’t help Santiago. This is shown to the audience in this line, “‘ Can I offer you a beer on the terrace?’”(10).


After reading this suspensful novella I realized that perseverance can come in any shape, color, or size. Of course perseverance is not an actual object so it can’t be seen in any certain color although perseverance can appear in objects. I accepted that just because mandolin is a young boy doesn’t mean that he can’t understand perseverance. Manolin is curious of the fishing world yet naïve. He is respectful of Santiago. He becomes anxious when Santiago doesn’t come back. Santiago is wise and sincere. He is lonely out on the sea without the boy. He is also very patient he waited hours to catch the fish. He also waited for a while for his hand to uncramp. Both Santiago and mandolin are optimistic. Perseverance is very closely connected to love because loves something or someone they persevere after that thing or person and never give up.