By Lizzie C.

The Old Man and the Sea was an adventurous story about an old man
named Santiago, who was passionate and dedicated to his job as a fisherman.
Throughout the book Santiago spent the majority of his time on the sea.
The sea was the major setting of the story which shapes the plot and
Santiago. Without the sea, there wouldn’t have been a story.

The setting basically creates the plot. Santiago was after an immense
marlin. It was larger than his boat and he was alone without help. He
loved and respected the sea and had a lot of faith in himself because he was
vastly fervent about his job, which he also considered his life. “He
always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her in Spanish
when they love her” (29). Thinking of the sea as la mar also showed how the
old man loved the sea. A lot of fishermen don’t respect the sea as much as
he does. The sea is what produced the plot and not just for the obvious
reason of the old man being a deep-sea fisherman. The sea made the plot what
it was.

The setting did not just shape the plot, but also the character.
Santiago loved the sea and everything about it. He valued and respected it.
Without the sea he wouldn’t have been who he was. Being a fisherman defined him
and it was his obsession. He also cherished everything in the sea as well,
and thought of the fish as his brothers. “’Fish’, he said, ‘I love and
respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends’” (55).
This quote shows that the old man does respect the fish, but being a
fisherman he still wants to kill them. It’s hard to understand how he can keep both
views on the fish but each is an important piece of his life. The setting
gives the old man pride and a reason to live.

Without the sea, the book wouldn’t have been written. Santiago would
be a different man. The plot wouldn’t have existed. The sea is the story.
Santiago felt as though he was born for fishing, so without the sea
there wouldn’t be any fishing and without fishing there wouldn’t be Santiago.
He would have had different views and enjoyments; therefore he wouldn’t
have been the same person. The plot wouldn’t have been the same plot because
there wouldn’t have been an ocean for it to happen in.

The sea is the most important part of the story, which gives the story
its life and existence. Because of the sea, the book was what it was. It
gave the story it’s plot, character, and the reason the book happened. All
of the main idea, redundantly reflect off of the sea. There is no better way
to explain it, but the sea is the book.