By Morgan P.

In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago, a perseverant old man, had to overcome many obstacles. Some of these included his hand cramping up, fatigue, and battling sharks. Each of these obstacles demonstrated Santiago’s strength and courage, that isn’t commonly found in men his age. When Santiago had first caught the marlin, he began to think that everything was going to be just fine. Then, his left hand cramped up. This angered Santiago a good deal. “’What kind of hand is that,’ he said. ‘Cramp then if you want. Make yourself into a claw. It will do you no good’” (58). Santiago catches a fish one handed, and eats as an attempt to relax his muscle. He continues to massage his left hand with his right one. When he feels the line rising with his right hand, he manages to...

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By Matt C.

The Old Man and the Sea is a great novel and like all good books the main character faces obstacles that he has to overcome. That trend is not changed as Santiago faces many obstacles on his way to catching the giant marlin. It is amazing that he has the strength to continue through every challenge that the great ocean throws at him. These obstacles do not only challenge him physically but also mentally. While fighting the monster marlin Santiago has to continue although he is 84 years old. This makes him extremely tired. It takes Santiago four days to catch the fish and get back home. This is an enormous obstacle because any regular man his age would collapse of exhaustion after putting out that much effort for that long. "I'll try it again, the old man promised, although his hands were...

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By Lindsey H.

In The Old Man and the Sea, the main character, Santiago, faced many different obstacles on his treacherous fishing trip. Santiago faced fatigue, loneliness, and vicious sharks while on his trip. These obstacles aren't ones that people usually have to face on a daily basis unless you're a fisherman like Santiago, of course. It took Santiago about three days to catch the marlin, and those three days wore him out excessively. Santiago didn't have much time to eat or sleep, so he was very tired and hungry which caused him to be fatigued. "'But you have not slept yet, old man,' he said aloud. 'It is half a day and a night and now another day and you have not slept. You must devise a way so that you sleep a little if he is quiet and steady. If you do not sleep you might become...

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By Kay T.

Specific qualities that authors give their characters in a novel help shape the story and that character. Most of the time, specific qualities tie in with the theme. In the novel The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemmingway, the main character Santiago shows a great deal of determination throughout the story. This very important theme Hemmingway is trying to get across is never give up despite the odds. Placing this theme in the story allows the readers to be able to connect with the story and the characters. I have discovered that this is very important to remember when going through life. During the book, after Santiago captures the marlin, his determination kicks into gear. He spends three days with the Marlin at sea and he never let go. No matter what he was convinced he was...

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By Kaitlyn B.

During life, we all have to face challenges and overcome obstacles, it’s unavoidable and it’s vital in everybody’s life. On his 85th voyage without a catch, Santiago was pushed to his overall limit. Three struggles the old man had to overcome were shark battles, his age, and being unprepared. Some of the most intense parts of the story were the shark battles. Hemingway described some to be very big, only showing how much harder Santiago would have to fight. “And he was the biggest dentuso that I have ever seen. And God knows I have seen big ones” (103). Santiago had to fend off sharks a couple time through the story, whether it be single sharks or sharks in greater numbers, but he didn’t let anything stop him. “The old man drove the knife into the juncture, withdrew it, and drove it into...

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By Garrett B.

After reading The Old Man and the Sea what really interested me was that why Manolin always hung around Santiago even after he stopped working for him. Manolin still asked the old man if he could do anything to help him catch some fish. Was it out of pity or did Manolin really enjoyed spending his day with an old fisherman, instead of playing with kids his age or just relaxing on the beach? I don’t believe a realistic boy would rather do chores for an old man than do something fun. In the very beginning of the story Manolin could have rid his life of Santiago, but instead he starts to take care of Santiago and makes sure he is taken...

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By Casey O.

Without a friend the world can be a dark and lonely place to live. With Manolin at Santiago’s side it brings light into the sometimes depressing life of a fisherman. The relationship shown through out the book, The Old Man and the Sea, is remarkable. It reveals the meaning of best friend, and or father-son. Though Manolin was not Santiago’s son, Ernest Hemingway portrayed the relationship as though they were. Santiago took on the task of teaching the boy not only to fish but life lessons as if he was his son, and also sometimes felt lost when the boy wasn’t by his side. They shared one true interest also, which was baseball. Santiago was affected...

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By Brian R.

Throughout life, a person is forced to make choices and live with the consequences that follow those choices. In the book Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway writes about a poor, everyday fisherman who has to make important choices and live with the consequences. One of the greatest choice he had the make was the decision to stay out at sea for three straight days. After making this important decision, he puts his physical fitness, health and even his reputation at sea, on the line. Santiago makes the choice and when he comes home from being out at sea, his physical fitness is weak. Throughout the book, you can somewhat...

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By Anna K.

In The Old Man in the Sea, the main character Santiago has to make a crucial decision as to whether or not to continue to battle the marlin He decides to fight. This decision is mainly because of pride. He needs this catch to prove that he isn’t unlucky and that he can succeed. He needs it for his own benefit. He needs to prove it to himself as much as to everyone around him. As a result of his choice the rest of his journey and life are affected. His hands begin to cramp, he cannot get any sleep, and he has to fight off sharks that try and get to the marlin. On effect of him elongating his struggle with the marlin is his hands cramping up. As he holds the line steady his left hand begins to face problems. When he realizes that it will only get worse, he gives his hand a break “You let the...

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By Ryan L

Throughout The Old Man in the Sea Santiago, an old fisherman who lives a simple life has to overcome a variety of obstacles. Not unlike the normal everyday person. He has extraordinary strength for a man with 85 years behind him. A great majority of Santiago’s obstacles have been because of physical boundaries. Hemingway, the author, describes these obstacles in a simple yet effective way, which makes the novella even more enticing. One obstacle that Santiago is forced to face is that his left hand began to cramp. As I stated, Santiago is an 85 year old man and holding onto a fish twice the size of his boat. The last thing he needs...

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By Jessica M.

Everyday, we as people, struggle with life’s challenges, the obstacles that barricade us for our goals. We force ourselves to overcome these walls, and at the end try as hard as we can to achieve our final aspiration. In the novella, The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago faces many obstacles on his quest to catch a marlin. Through his three gruesome days at sea, he suffers through physical and mental exhaustion, treacherous hungry sharks, and the pure struggle of being alone. Such obstacles postponed his success with the marlin, creating a book full of suspense, and a well-rounded, realistic character. One of Santiago’s most...

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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...

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By Brianna T.

Everyday people go through everyday struggles, from not being able to find an outfit, to fighting to survive the deadly, cancer disease. We learn to overcome and fight through these challenges, its part of our human nature. And even if it is difficult or tiring, or even puts our lives in jeopardy, we always seem to get through them. In the novella The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, Santiago has to overcome many struggles and challenges. He fights the elements of Mother Nature, hunger, exhaustion and fatigue, and let’s not forget, the ferocious sharks. He fights all of theses elements alone at sea, at the age of 85, just to catch...

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By Nate J.

Santiago faced many consequences during his time out at sea. He spent around two to three nights in the water, which can be very dangerous to your health if it rains. In the novella, The old man and the sea, by Ernest Hemmingway, Santiago’s decision was to stay with the Marlin, and his consequences of this action is the old man’s mental health deteriorating, getting a disease or getting sick from the raw fish he is eating, and his physical health deteriorating from his old age. All of these problems are important to his health, and extremely dangerous if he does not sustain his health out as sea. Santiago had his mental health deteriorating...

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By Libby M.

Choices govern our every day life, even though we do not realize it. Will we wear the jeans or the mini skirt, the tank top or the t-shirt? Will I have cereal for breakfast or bacon and eggs? Will I walk or take the bus? Will I do my homework today or the class period before it is due? Should I answer the teacher or pretend I didn’t hear? Santiago had to make many different decisions so he would survive his fight with the marlin. He had to decide how to prepare for the trip, he had to choose to kill the fish, and his biggest choice was the decision to fight for the fish. Santiago had to decide how to prepare for his fishing trip....

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By John B.

In the story The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the main character Santiago is faced with many obstacles. While trying to catch one of the biggest fish he has ever seen, Santiago struggles with a few physical and mental problems. Also there are some living obstacles in his way too. Santiago decided not to bring any food on his boat either, which took away time from trying to concentrate on catching the Marlin. As you can see there are many things in Santiago’s way. As Santiago tries to hold on to the fishing line for several days he starts to feel some aches and pains in his hands. In his left hand he experienced some aches and pains from when he had arm wrestled a “Negro” for approximately one day. “For a long time after that everyone had called him “The Champion”...

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By Derek H.

The choices Santiago made and didn't make had a huge affect on the outcome of the book The Old Man and The Sea, but if he made different choices the story would be a lot different than it was. Some of these choices were going after the marlin when he had problems with his hands, when he had no food, and when he had no time to sleep. If Santiago had made choices to solve these problems he would have never caught the marlin. This would greatly change the story and its ending. The first decision Santiago made that had an impact on the outcome of the book, was his choice to keep trying to catch the marlin when he was clearly struggling with hand cramps and cuts. He could barely hold on to his own fishing pole, but he never gave up and kept after the great fish. This quote best shows the problem...

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By Connor F.

Throughout ones life, we face many obstacles and challenges, which not only change us, but shape the rest of our lives forever. In Old Man and the Sea, a novel written by Ernest Hemingway, the main character Santiago , a simple minded hard-working fisherman, is forced to deal with obstacles that change his life and him as a person. These nagging troublesome obstacles and challenges consist of fatigue, hunger, and sharks. These obstacles not only greatly infected the plot, but changed Santiago as man for the rest of his life. Capturing a 12-foot marlin alone at sea is not an easy thing to do. Imagine being Santiago , an...

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