Godfish Themes

The setting of the book mainly takes place in the ocean. Though the story begins with the old man and the boy sitting and chatting while on their way to the market in Havana. After him and the boy talk for a while they leave for the old man’s house. Here they talk some more before the boy leaves for his own home. The old man the leaves for his fishing trip in the Atlantic. He paddles out in the early morning and sits and waits. The story continues in the ocean until the very end when the old man takes his newly caught fish in. He then made it into the city and finally ended up back at his place where the story concludes. Plot:

Some significant events in the story include the old man telling the boy that he will not come out to fish with him. This is foreshadowing for latter in the story when the old man wishes that he had the boy with him. Another

The old man (Santiago) has a struggle with defeat. At the beginning of the book he tells how he is on a streak of not catching a fish for 84 days and that he will probably break his record of 87. The story also focuses on death. When it comes to the time for Santiago to kill the fish he feels a slight restraint due to the fish’s greatness. He feels that the fish is a worthy opponent and should be honored, even though he doesn’t want to kill it he sees that it is necessary for him to do so. Another theme is that of pride. Santiago has a large amount of pride in himself and sees himself as worthy opponent for the fish since they are both of wisdom and worth. He respects everyone and everything. When he gets into port he does not flaunt the fish in its greatness. He shows that he is humble and does not need recognition for things. This is still true when the boy finds him and tells him how amazed everyone seems to be. If he wasn’t humble or prideful he would have gotten up to go flaunt the fish and himself, where instead he just laid there to get