Analysis of the Old Man

The Old Man's real name is Santiago, but he is only called that when people are speaking to him. In the text, he is simply referred to as 'the old man'. The old man used to be the 'El Campeon' or 'shaft' of the fishing community. But now, he is just the old man that cannot catch a fish and that everybody laughs at. So the old man feels like he really needs to prove himself and not be a laughing stock for any longer. He think he really need to prove that he has got what it takes.

Santiago has got some pretty weird quirks. He hardly ever eats, and when he does it is for the sole purpose of gaining strength, not to nourish his body. He could be compared to the marlin, who is also trapped by his own hunger, because that is how he got caught by the old man. And then the old man eats some of the same bait he used to lure in the marlin and he is also trapped in a way.

During the old man's battle with the marlin, it is clear that he is trying to become a champion again. But he cannot really go back to his old days of being the grand champion 'El Campeon' because he has simply gotten older and weaker and cannot push his body as far as he once could back in his golden days.

The old man spends days sitting in a boat, with a fishing line across his back, bleeding from three places, and eating old, raw fish bait just so that he can catch a really big fish. It is understandable that he wants to continue doing his profession, but by the third day he is really just pushing it and going too far. He should have taken the foreshadowing of his struggle to catch the fish into account, and just went a little closer in to shore to catch some smaller fish. But no, he keeps on trying and after all of his trouble, the old man is finally able to kill the fish with his harpoon. Great, good for him. But then he goes through even more trouble to take the marlin back, and the marlin ends up getting totally devoured by sharks.

Every ounce of the old man's tireless, hard work is suddenly put to waste and he has nothing at all to show for his five day battle with a giant purple marlin.