By Danny F.

In Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, the main character, Santiago, makes some very important choices at the beginning of the book when he first sets off on his journey. For the past few weeks, he has had no luck and caught few fish, but at the start of the book, he believes he is due to catch a giant fish. When he begins his voyage, he carries little supplies on his skiff, including a bottle of water, fishing lines, hooks, and baits, a short club, the tiller, and the oars. However, his struggles with the giant Marlin he eventually catches while at sea would have been greatly lessened if he had thought to bring a few key items on his expedition, such as stronger rope, food and water, or better weapons. He made a choice to bring only the bare essentials and he would come to regret that decision more and more as he his forced to deal with its consequences.

Some items that would have been vastly effective in relieving the old man of great pain and hardship would be a stronger rope or a simple spring mechanism. “How simple it would be if I make the line fast, he thought. But with one small lurch he could break it. I must cushion the pull of the line with body and at all times be ready to give line with both hands.” (77) With a stronger rope or a spring to dampen the marlin’s abrupt tugs, the old man wouldn’t need to constantly hold the rope.

The old man does eventually catch the marlin through his great struggle, but he is left malnourished, and under slept and tired. Because of this, he loses his catch to attacking sharks on the way home. However, he might have saved some of his prize if he had chosen to bring along some better weapons. “I have the gaff now, he said. But it will do no good. I have the two oars and the tiller and the short club.” (112) With those supplies and his ingenuity, the old man is able to defend the fish from the sharks for a short time. But eventually he is defeated. With a second spear or longer stronger knife, he might have been able to save his fish even in his exhausted state. The old man uses lots of energy while trying to catch the great marlin. He must constantly hold the line once he catches the fish as well as do other fishing tasks, all under the hot sun.

To fuel his efforts, he has only what he caught at sea, such as the dolphin or flying fish. Although he is old and lost much of his hunger, he knows he must still eat and drink. He would have been very wise to bring along some extra food and water for his long voyage, but he chose not to. “I wish I had some salt. […] I had better eat it all although I am not hungry.”(59) Aside from energy, the old man also needs food to concentrate. He could have thrown some sea water on the ship and let it evaporate to get salt, but he forgot. Later on, he becomes very forgetful and finds it difficult to concentrate without nourishment.

In the end, the old man acknowledges his unfortunate choices at the beginning. He knows he was undersupplied. He should have prepared for the worst when he set off and been ready for anything. A few simple tools and supplies would have made his ordeal much easier. Granted he lives in a poor town and he himself has no money, but he surely could have rented or bought some or most of the supplies he would inevitably need, especially because he could pay for it afterwards with the money from the fish.