by Marilyn Justine

Created on: September 12, 2008   Last Updated: June 08, 2010

Ernest Hemingway's Nobel Prize winning short story, or novella, The Old Man and the Sea, is an engaging tale of an aging fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin miles out in the Gulf Sea. The story is particularly touching due to the close relationship between the old man (Santigo) and Manolin, a young boy from the village.

The novella was published in 1952 and won the author the 1953 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Other accolades include the Award of Merit Medal for the Novel from the American Academy of Letters and, most prestigiously, the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

The plot sees the old man, who has not caught a single fish in 84 days; travel alone far out in the Gulf Sea. On the first day something takes his bait and he is sure it is a marlin. The majority of the story sees him trying to reel the giant fish in as he grows wearier due to lack of food, the strong sun and no human company (since the young boy is under strict orders from his parents not to go fishing with the old man but more successful fishermen). The old man bears the tension of his lines for two days and two nights; his left hand is both cramping and injured from the tension of the line but he keeps fighting.

During this time, the old man becomes greatly attached to the marlin. He talks to the fish (and to himself) on several occasions and even refers to the great marlin as his brother. The long battle between the two is finally ended on the third day as the marlin begins to circle the boat, showing its tiredness. The old man, in a similar state of fatigue, somehow manages to get up enough strength to pull the fish onto its side and stick a harpoon into it. The battle is over, but the old man suddenly feels terribly alone out on the water now that the marlin is still. However, he continues to talk to the great fish's carcass, apologizing several times for having to kill it and admiring its beauty.

The old man is not alone for long, however. The trail of blood left from the marlin's open wound has attracted the unwanted attention of several sharks, which attack while the old man is attempting to return to shore, realizing he is further out than he first thought. The old man, although completely exhausted, is still quick-witted and he kills the sharks one by one; unfortunately not before they have destroyed his beautiful marlin.

The Old Man and the Sea was made into a movie in 1958, directed by John Sturges and starring Spencer Tracy. Tracy was nominated for an Oscar for his performance as the old man and the film won the Academy Award for best music with a score. It was remade in 1990 as a TV movie starring Anthony Quinn.

Learn more about this author, Marilyn Justine.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.