11:31 AM
Mr. B-G
Throughout our lives, we make choices that at the time seem like a good idea and are for the better at the time, yet when the outcome comes, we regret them tremendously. Santiago, the main character of the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, seems to face that exact problem. The old man, also known as Santiago, made some difficult yet wrong decisions while venturing on one specific fishing trip, from that trip there resulted in multiple bad outcomes.
Many times on what seemed to be Santiago’s perpetual journey, he came frighteningly close to death, itself. If Santiago had maybe brought Manolin along with him, like Manolin had requested, he may have had a happy ending to his treacherous trip. Santiago, I could go with you again. We have made some money.”(10). Is what the boy exclaimed when Santiago brought up the fact that the boy was not allowed to attend the sea with him, only because, they claimed that the old man had bad luck, fore he hadn’t caught a good fish in quite some time. However, it was the old man who had taught him everything he knew. Many times the old man had said the simple yet dreadful words, “I wish I had the boy." He knew that the few days that he was spending out in the sea would have been a lot easier if he had taken the boy along with him, just like he had asked.
When the Old man was out on the sea and had caught the giant albacore, he was well aware of what a great accomplishment that it was. The old man was confident that his luck was turning around and that for the first time, in a long time he had caught something worth bringing back to the island to show off. At first the old man did not realize how truly large his fish was but after it hadn’t given any sign of weakness, the old man knew that he was just as strong and determined as himself. Once the sun had begun to fall upon the ocean, the old man was exhausted as ever. But when the sun came up the next morning he was even more tired. Santiago thought to himself, “I wish he would turn with the current. That would show that he was tiring.”(53). When I read that it made me think that once again, he was regretting a decision, this decision of sticking with the fish for such a long time. He knew that if his fish hadn’t already stopped it would take a long while before it would.
After the old man had gotten the fish in his grasp and it was dying, he still could not get it into the skiff, for it was larger than the boat itself. Santiago kept it along the side of the boat. With the blood seeking through the fish’s wounds and the smell of it rotting, Sharks then began to smell the sent of the strong odor and began to approach the albacore and its new owner. The old man knew that sharks would probably come, yet he felt a strong attachment to the fish and wanted to keep it with him even though he knew it might not last. Santiago began trying to cheer himself up, “Think about something cheerful, old man.” He said to himself (104). Once the he had fought through multiple little shark packs, I believe that he regretted keeping the fish along the side of his boat. It nearly cost him his life once again.
One after another, the old mans small decisions kept excelling to worse consequences. If the old man would have let the boy attend with him on his sailing trip, he may have caught the fish sooner, it would have died faster and the meat would have been fresher. They then would have either been able to get it into the boat or gotten back to the island faster. Lastly, he wouldn’t have faced all of the sharks that he did because they wouldn’t have smelt the fish.
Many times on what seemed to be Santiago’s perpetual journey, he came frighteningly close to death, itself. If Santiago had maybe brought Manolin along with him, like Manolin had requested, he may have had a happy ending to his treacherous trip. Santiago, I could go with you again. We have made some money.”(10). Is what the boy exclaimed when Santiago brought up the fact that the boy was not allowed to attend the sea with him, only because, they claimed that the old man had bad luck, fore he hadn’t caught a good fish in quite some time. However, it was the old man who had taught him everything he knew. Many times the old man had said the simple yet dreadful words, “I wish I had the boy." He knew that the few days that he was spending out in the sea would have been a lot easier if he had taken the boy along with him, just like he had asked.
When the Old man was out on the sea and had caught the giant albacore, he was well aware of what a great accomplishment that it was. The old man was confident that his luck was turning around and that for the first time, in a long time he had caught something worth bringing back to the island to show off. At first the old man did not realize how truly large his fish was but after it hadn’t given any sign of weakness, the old man knew that he was just as strong and determined as himself. Once the sun had begun to fall upon the ocean, the old man was exhausted as ever. But when the sun came up the next morning he was even more tired. Santiago thought to himself, “I wish he would turn with the current. That would show that he was tiring.”(53). When I read that it made me think that once again, he was regretting a decision, this decision of sticking with the fish for such a long time. He knew that if his fish hadn’t already stopped it would take a long while before it would.
After the old man had gotten the fish in his grasp and it was dying, he still could not get it into the skiff, for it was larger than the boat itself. Santiago kept it along the side of the boat. With the blood seeking through the fish’s wounds and the smell of it rotting, Sharks then began to smell the sent of the strong odor and began to approach the albacore and its new owner. The old man knew that sharks would probably come, yet he felt a strong attachment to the fish and wanted to keep it with him even though he knew it might not last. Santiago began trying to cheer himself up, “Think about something cheerful, old man.” He said to himself (104). Once the he had fought through multiple little shark packs, I believe that he regretted keeping the fish along the side of his boat. It nearly cost him his life once again.
One after another, the old mans small decisions kept excelling to worse consequences. If the old man would have let the boy attend with him on his sailing trip, he may have caught the fish sooner, it would have died faster and the meat would have been fresher. They then would have either been able to get it into the boat or gotten back to the island faster. Lastly, he wouldn’t have faced all of the sharks that he did because they wouldn’t have smelt the fish.
3 comments:
hey alaina whats upp, i just read your story and i thought that u made a nice thesis statement, as well as enticing. i thought that the quote “Think about something cheerful, old man.” was my favorite because it explains what happened with the shark. i thought ur story was overall very good but i really liked your word choice. next time, i think you should do the same thing you just did. muy bien
LAINNNA!
your essay was lovely. you had a good clear thesis. i really like your second quote, its really descriptive and shows santiago's decision with the marlin and how he regretted some of it. i thought your essay was very descriptive and clearly written. in your next essay i think you should continue to keep the reader engaged and still be crystal clearrr.
alainaa, your thesis statement was very catchy. It made me want to keep reading. I loved your details and your quotes fit in perfectly. I liked the last quote the best it fit right into the topic you were talking about. It showed how the old man suffered from knowing he was going to die. Good jobb!
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