The Old Man and the Sea Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 73 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Old Man and the Sea.

The Old Man and the Sea Themes

This Study Guide consists of approximately 73 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of The Old Man and the Sea.
This section contains 1,068 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Old Man and the Sea Study Guide

The Human Condition

In his novella about a fisherman who struggles to catch a large marlin only to lose it, Hemingway has stripped down the basic story of human life to its basic elements. A single human being, represented by the fisherman Santiago, is blessed with the intelligence to do big things and to dream of even grander things. Santiago shows great skill in devising ways to tire out the huge fish he has hooked and ways to conserve his strength in order to land it. Yet in the struggle to survive, this human must often suffer and even destroy the very thing he dreams of. Thus Santiago cuts his hands badly and loses the fish to sharks in the process of trying to get his catch back to shore. Yet the struggle to achieve one's dreams is still worthwhile, for without dreams, a human remains a mere physical...

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This section contains 1,068 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
Buy The Old Man and the Sea Study Guide
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The Old Man and the Sea from Gale. ©2005-2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson Corporation. All rights reserved.