The Old Man and the Sea - Symbolism

Some of the most obvious symbols in this book are the symbols such as the great baseball player Joe DiMaggio. Because Joe DiMaggio is a partially handicapped baseball player, Santiago often looks up to him, especially because DiMaggio's dad was a fisherman just like Santiago. For example, when Santiago struggles to bring in the marlin his hand cramps up and Santiago fears that he will not be able to pull up a fish of that size with a crippled hand. At that moment, Santiago remembers the great DiMaggio and how he is handicapped as well. He then wonders to himself if the great Joe DiMaggio himself would be able to handle a fish of this size and like a miracle, Santiago's strength comes back instantly and he prevails. (Hemingway, 68)

The marlin also serves as a great symbol. I never recognized this symbol until one of my friends pointed it out because she read this book last summer. The fish can often symbolize Christianity for many reasons. One of the reasons is that the fish possesses many good values such as kindness, patience, and determination. Also, when the fish is finally hooked by Santiago the marlin does not panic, nor does it even try to swim down to the depths of the ocean. Instead, the fish almost guides Santiago and tries to win him over. Eventually, when the sharks arrive, they eat all of the meat off of the fishes skeleton. However, even though they ate all of the flesh, the skeleton still stands for all of those to see and to look up to. The skeleton, or Santiago's victory, will now be an inspiration to other fisherman.(Hemingway, 126-127) I never thought about comparing the marlin to Christianity, but now that I really think about it, it reminds me of that one verse in the Bible. I don't remember the verse exactly, but it said something along the lines of "go, you will now be fishers of men." I just thought that was interesting because in the Bible they were not catching fish at first either. Santiago was not catching fish, but the skeleton will inspire other fisherman, so its kinda like Santiago is a "fisher of men." Just thought it was kinda cool, but maybe its just a coincidence.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scibner Paperback Fiction, 1995. Print.