How Does The Old Man Feel Compassion Toward The Marlin

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Ernest Hemingway’s 1952 novella The Old Man and the Sea explores an old man (Santiago) and his struggles to reel in an eighteen-foot marlin. Throughout the story, however, the old man is revealed to have gained a connection to the marlin, to the point where he considers it his “brother.” The old man appears to feel compassion toward the marlin, but is still not reluctant to reel it in in the end. Also seen a multitude of times throughout the story are a series of statements used to personify the fish, the sea, his hands, and other inhumane objects. The explanation for this is never explained in detail, but readers speculate that the reasoning for this is to make the old man feel a bit less lonely. For example, the old man reveals his feelings