FREE ESSAY ON THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA

In The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway there are two characters who have a great
friendship, the old man and the young boy. The old man has been fishing for many years
and for the last eighty-four days has not caught a fish. Now the boy who looks up to him
is not allowed to fish with him anymore. This boy looks up to the old man as a hero
because the old man shows courage, perseverance, and respect.
The old man shows courage just by going out all alone everyday and still fishing at his
age. Although he showed the most courage when he had to fight the big fish. He could have
let the fish go, by cutting the line, but instead the old man was willing to die trying
to catch it. "He had seen many that weighed more than a thousand pounds... Now alone, and
out of sight, he was fast to the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he
had heard of" (pg 63) Yet he didn't fear the fish because he knew that if he fought the
fish wisely he could beat it. However, if he lost his courage, then he would be done for
and would never see the fish again.
Not only does the old man show courage but he also shows perseverance. This man went
eighty-four days without catching a fish. Yet he woke up every morning, way before dawn
and get ready for a day of fishing. He knew that if he stuck with it, then his
perseverance would pay off in the long run. Ever as he's fighting the fish he shows
perseverance. "Fish he said softly, aloud "I'll stay with you until I die""(52) This
shows that he was in for the fight of his life and that he was willing for his life to
end before giving up. And in the end his perseverance pays off and he finally gets the
fish to the boat.
The boy also looks up to the old man because of the old mans respect. He has respect for
everything and everyone. He respects the boy by treating him like a son, the fish by
realizing the beauty of it, and him self by not giving up on trying to catch the fish.
"You are killing me fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen
a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer, more noble thing than you, brother,"(92). This
shows the respect and the lover that the old man has for the fish and all things.
The old man is a hero to the young boy for all of these reasons. The young boy loves the
old man and helps him by carrying stuff for him, getting him bait, and cooking for him.
Everything the old man says and does affects the boy. The old man stands for all the
heroic qualities that the young boy wants to have, courage, perseverance, and respect.
The old man is a perfect hero for the boy.