One of the themes in the novel, The Old Man and the Sea, is that one should persevere even in the most challenging situations. The old man’s, Santiago’s, lone struggle with the fishes and the forces of nature over a period of almost three months demonstrated an almost mythical persistence. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate whether this theme has any value compared to God’s word. The Bible often discusses the theme of perseverance in the midst of adversity. Even though one views Santiago’s endurance and tenacity with admiration, the root causes of that perseverance is different from the reasons for a Christian’s perseverance in the world.
Santiago faced adversity due to his age and his social and economic circumstances. The novel describes him as “thin and gaunt with deep wrinkles at the back of his neck. The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But
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Perseverance in the midst of tribulation is noble, however, it is just as important to address the reasons for the perseverance. Santiago, though a strong moral character and hero in the story, did not have a relationship with God. He said he was not a religious man. He saw God only as someone to go to for help, not someone to love and worship. He trusted in and depended on himself. His motivation for enduring was to prove himself. Though attempting to prove oneself is not always wrong, for believers in Christ, having a relationship with God is most important. That relationship, which is constantly tested, is the cause of the believer’s perseverance. With the help of God, the believer can endure even without the unbelievable strength and determination demonstrated by the old man. God will give the believer all that he or she