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Wisdom In Hemingway's The Old Man And The Sea

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In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago survives a three-day fishing trip while demonstrating dignity, skill, and endurance. Throughout the novel, he has demonstrated humility and wisdom through his days of fishing being unlucky and being patient knowing that his luck will soon come. He realizes how close his connection with the marlin is and how every other living thing in the world is all connected. He realizes what his purpose and place in the universe are. The universe can be connected in many different ways and if one thing is thrown off, the rest of the universe is thrown off. We all have our purposes in this world, like how the sun shines on us every day. He realizes that his purpose is to be a fisherman and that he was born to do …show more content…

He has had to use much strength and has had to use much endurance to use that strength. He endured to the end and would not accept defeat. Even though the sharks took much of the marlin and have physically exhausted him, he would not give up and would not let defeat overtake him. “But man is not made for defeat…A man can be destroyed but not defeated”(Hemingway 103). He knew that the sharks had taken most of the marlin and physically weakened him. But they did not defeat him. Not only did he return physically weakened, but mentally stronger with gaining wisdom, realizing how the whole universe is connected and realizing how he and the marlin aren’t much different. He realized that the only difference between him and the marlin was that he was better armed. Both had the same wisdom, experience, and knowledge. It just took Santiago a while to figure that …show more content…

He, through writing this, wanted to show how we each play a very important role in the universe and how we have a purpose through our lives to keep the universe in balance. He realizes through this purpose how every living thing is connected and similar in some way with how we all have a purpose in this universe and this life. He shows this through the connection between him and the fish with both being of great experience and knowledge by showing endurance, strength, and skill. He realizes how noble the fish is and how it has much humility and wisdom. “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men; True nobility lies in being superior to your former self”(Hemingway). He wanted to get the point across that no living being is considered higher above the other. We are all equal in the importance of our purpose and through the similarities we share. He knows that we have to realize this to make this world with each of its beings at peace and only then will the universe be in balance.

Work Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. Simon & Schuster,

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He is a stronger and smarter man because of what happened to him. Santiago hit a lot of adversity at the beginning of his journey and it prepared him for the worst of his journey. “Now he understood why the owner of the bar had been so upset: he was trying to tell him not to trust that man.” (Coelho 43). He lost it all and he was prepared for anything for the rest of his journey.

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