Plot Characters Summary Moral Lesson

1. The Old Man
And The Sea
Ernest Hemingway

2. Plot Overview
The Old Man and the Sea is the story of an epic struggle between an
old, seasoned fisherman and the greatest catch of his life
On eighty-four days without success , Santiago, an aged Cuban
fisherman, sets out to sea and returns empty-handed.
The old man used to be accompanied by a boy who is no more with
him because of his failure but the boy truly respects him and cares for
him
One day on his venture to the sea he expertly hooks the fish, but he
cannot pull it in. Instead, the fish begins to pull the boat.

3. The Marlin…..

4. The fish pulls the boat all through the day, through the night, through
another day, and through another night. It swims steadily northwest
until at last it tires and swims east with the current

5. •On the third day
the fish tires, and
Santiago, sleep-
deprived, aching,
and nearly
delirious,
manages to pull
the marlin in close
enough to kill it
with a harpoon
thrust

6. He kills the
marlin and
then brings it
home
On his way
home, a swarm
of sharks tries
to eat the
marlin

7. As Santiago sails on with the fish
tied outside the boat , the marlin’s
blood leaves a trail in the water
and attracts sharks. Santiago is
unable to save the fish he caught.
He arrives home before daybreak,
stumbles back to his shack, and
sleeps very deeply.

8. Time the skiff
reaches the
village, little
remains of the
great fish but the
head and
skeleton

9. Manolin, who has
been worried sick
over the old man’s
absence, is moved
to tears when he
finds Santiago safe
in his bed. They
decide to become
partners once again
and they go fishing.

11. Characters
. A meticulous and skillful
fisherman:
•Meticulous: prepares carefully for each outing on
his boat and when he makes a catch.
•Skillful:
Ø When the marlin indicates its tiredness,
Santiago uses all his strength to pull the fish and stab
with a harpoon
Ø When he loses his harpoon in killing the shark,
he makes new one by strapping his knife to the end
of an oar to ward off the next line of sharks

12. A young boy who shows
great concern for Santiago
A loyal apprentice Manolin

13. Wants to be a faithful companion
with the old man despite being
forbidden by his parents.
desires to learn from the old man.

14. THE SHARKS
a. Vicious: tear apart the marlin’s
body and mutilate chunks of meat.
b. Leave the old man
devastated: nothing remains but
the long backbone now just is
garbage.

15. The Marlin
(symbolic)
Giant & marvelous:
18-foot & 1500-pound
fish.
has blue and silver
stripes on its sides.
strong and long
resistant
The marlin is the fish
Santiago spends the
majority of the novel
tracking, killing, and
attempting to bring to
shore. Santiago
idealizes the marlin of
great nobility, a fish to
which must prove his
own nobility if he is to
be worthy to catch it.

16. Stubborn & full
of challenges:
Refuses to come to the surface.
Tows the old man’s skiff for 2
straight days.
Pulls the old man further and
further from land.

17. • Martin The owner of the Terrace (his name is Spanish for St.
Martin), he sends food and drink to Santiago through Manolin.
• Perico A man at the bodega who gives Santiago newspapers
to read.

18. Pedrico A fisherman in the village who looks after Santiago's
skiff and gear and receives the marlin's head to use in fish
traps.

19. THEME
Endurance and Struggle:
Santiago finds the marlin worthy.
¢This admiration brings respect and honor to
the struggle.
“Because I love you, I have to kill you.”
Santiago is destroyed but never defeated.
He emerges as a hero.

20. Pride and Determination:
Pride and Determination:
Santiago’s pride becomes his tragic flaw.
He is aware of this flaw. What does this mean for his character?
After the sharks destroy the marlin, Santiago apologizes to his
brother.
His pride ruins them both.
However, pride motivates Santiago to overcome the 84 days of
misfortune.
Pride and determination are the source of greatness.

21. Friendship
The friendship between Santiago and Manolin plays a critical part in Santiago's victory over the
Marlin. Santiago refuses to accept defeat because he knows Manolin would be disappointed in him.
Yet most of the novel takes place when Santiago is alone. Except for Manolin's friendship in the
evenings, Santiago is characterized by his isolation, but he refuses to give in to loneliness. Santiago
finds friends in other creatures, like the fish, birds and the sea.
FRIENDSHIP

22. The Man and The Natural World

23. Respect and Reputation
The Respect for the marlin, repeatedly emphasizing this during his
struggle and after he has killed the fish.
battle with the marlin is the notion of respect.
The old man derives respect from others with displays of strength and
prowess..
Pride and humility are not mutually exclusive qualities.
His pride is referred to as "long gone."

24. Memory and the Past
Santiago recalls a strength
and prowess of his youth.
The past can be used to
comment on the present
• The old man’s memory of
the lions is a constant
motif, compares his own
abilities to their prowess
and pride

25. When I was your age I was before the mast on a
square rigged ship that ran to Africa and I have
seen lions on the beaches in the evening."
"I know. You told me." (1.125-1.126)
The old man is caught up in the past and the
memory of his youth.

26. It’s not in the winning or losing (in life) that
matters, it is how you play the game.

27. Hemingway’s comment or
opinion about “life” is that to
be heroic, you must
overcome life’s obstacles
with dignity, decency, and
courage so that even if you
are destroyed, you are not
defeated.

28. SYMBOLS
• The Sea - represents the Universe and Santiago's isolation in the
Universe.
•The Marlin - represents the ultimate opponent
• The Sharks - destructive forces in life.
• Joe DiMaggio - symbolizes the indomitable will of the human spirit.
• The Lions - represent virility, youth, and hope of eternal life (at the
end of the novel).
• Manolin - hope.
• The lost harpoon - symbolic of individuals who lose their faith as
life's woes attack

29. It’s not in the winning or losing (in life)
that matters, it is how you play the game.

30. CONCLUSION
•All of the symbols employed by Hemingway add to the basic theme
that life is an endless struggle with illusory rewards. In order to gain
nobility in life, a person must show bravery, confidence, courage,
patience, optimism, and intelligence during the struggle. Then, even if
the prize is lost, the person has won the battle, proving himself capable
of retaining grace under pressure, the ultimate test of mankind.

31. At last: Moral of
the story
“A man can be
destroyed but not
defeated”