Written Exam: The Old Man And The Sea
One of the themes in the old man and the sea is, Never Give Up. This is a good theme
because it explains the majority of the novella and what it is about. The theme starts to come
together when he is out on his boat fishing. When Santiago caught the big Marlin he was
determined to kill it. In the novella it states, “I love and respect you very much. But I will kill you
dead before this day ends(Hemingway 53).” He was so tired of the fish not dying that he was
determined to kill it before the day was over. Also, when the fish started pulling him out farther
and farther into the sea he doubted himself a lot wondering if should have even gone out that
far. But instead of cutting the line that the fish was hooked onto, he kept letting the fish pull him.
In my opinion, He just wanted to catch the fish to prove to the boy that he was a good
fisherman. Also, the boy didn't fish with the old man because they hadn't caught anything for so
long, so he went fishing on another boat, but I think the man is lonely and wants the boy to start
fishing with him again. So in my opinion, that is why I think the old man is so determined to
catch the fish. However, in the novella the way the author put the perspective of not giving up
was that, he hadn't caught a fish in such a long time, so catching the big fish would make him
happy. Also when he was fishing he was imagining how much money he could make from this
fish. In the end the story's theme is to not give up ...
