#

Search for study resources "

Home > Book Guides > The Old Man and the
Sea

The Old Man and the

Sea
ERNEST HEMMINGWAY
Contributed by Harvey Landy

Content

Overview

Context

Themes

Characters

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 10

Summary

Although Santiago felt faint and sick, he

convinced himself to perform the "slave
work" needed to secure the !sh and head
home. The old man was in no condition to
lift the !sh aboard, but even if he was, it
was too large to !t in the small ski". Thus,
he went to work to lash the great !sh to the
side of the boat. He pulled the !sh
alongside the boat so that he could pass a
line through his gills and mouth to make
his head fast along the bow. At this time,
the old man got his !rst chance to touch
and see the !sh up close. He then tied the
tail and midsection to the ski" using
nooses of line and prepared to sail home.

The old man felt better after a drink of

water and began thinking about how much
money he could make if he sold the !sh at
market. It is at least 1500 pounds, he
thinks, and dressing two-thirds of that at
thirty cents per pound would make him a
good deal of money. But his mind is
focused on greater things than just money:
"I think the great DiMaggio would be proud
of me today." He con!gured the mast,
boom, and patchwork sail and began to
head southwest home.

Having little water, no food, and no bait on

board, the old man had to think how to
nourish his ailing body. As a patch of yellow
Gulf weed passed, he pulled some aboard
and ate the small shrimp inside. He still had
two drinks of water left in the bottle and
used half of one after eating the shrimp.
The ski" sailed well despite the gigantic !sh
attached to its side. He could not see the
!sh from his position, but only had to look
at his torn hands and back to know it was
not a dream. His hands would heal quickly,
he thought, as the dark Gulf water is the
greatest healer there is.

Santiago’s head started to become a little

unclear, and he becomes unsure whether
he is bringing the !sh in or if the !sh is
bringing him in. If he had been towing it, or
had it in the ski", then the answer would
be clear. But the !sh and boat were lashed
together side by side, and they sailed
together like brothers. Unfortunately, an
hour later the !rst shark attacked. The
shark had come from deep down in the
water, following the trail of blood that had
dispersed to the ocean #oor.

When the old man sees that it was a Mako,

with long, sharp teeth and great speed, he
knows that it had no fear and would do
exactly what it wishes. The old man
prepares the harpoon, but the rope
attached to it was short after lashing the
great !sh. The shark bites deeply into the
#esh of the great !sh lashed to the ski".
Poised to defend his catch, the old man
drives the harpoon between the shark’s
eyes into his brain, sending it into violent
convulsions before he died. Unfortunately,
the shark takes to the bottom of the sea
forty pounds of the great !sh #esh, the
harpoon, and all the rope he had attached
to it.

Santiago does not like to look at the !sh

after it had been mutilated - he feels as if
the shark had hit him when the !sh had
been hit. It was too good to last, he
thought. Now he wishes it had been a
dream and that he was in his bed on the
newspapers at home. "But man is not
made for defeat," he said. "A man can be
destroyed but not defeated." He is sorry
now that he killed the !sh, which will now
be torn apart by the cruel, strong sharks
that will surely follow the new trail of blood.
He decides to attach his knife to the end of
one of the oars, making a weapon with
which he can try to ward o" new predators.
"Now," he said. "I am still an old man. But I
am not unarmed."

< Chapter 9 Chapter 11 >

Have study documents to share about The Old

! Man and the Sea? Upload them to earn free
Studypool credits!

Popular Book Guides

Flowers For Algernon

by Alice Walker

Moby Dick
by Herman Melville

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

Sula
by Toni Morrison

Sounds Like Titanic

by Jessica Chiccehito Hindman

The 7 Habits of Highly E!ective People

by Stephen R. Covey

Nervous Conditions
by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Macbeth
by William Shakespeare

1984
by George Orwell

The Sun Is Also a Star

by Nicola Yoon

Notes from Underground

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Woman in the Window

by A. J. Finn

The Lost Man

by Jane Harper

Beowulf
by Anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet

The Aftermath
by Rhidian Brook

Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell

The Da Vinci Code

by Dan Brown

Treasure Island
by Robert Louis

Siddhartha
by Hermann Hesse

Tess of the DUrbervilles

by Thomas Hardy

SUBJECTS WE COVER

Accounting Communications

Geology Physics

Statistics Algebra

Computer Science Health & Medical

Political Science Science

Art & Design Economics

History Programming

Website Design Article Writing

Engineering Law

Psychology Java

Biology Excel

Management Python

Business & Finance Foreign Languages

Environmental Science Marketing

SAT Philosophy

Calculus Film

Mathematics Social Science

Sociology Chemistry

How it works | Honor Code | Terms of Service |

Homework Help | Become a Tutor

Blog | Our Mission | Partnership

Copyright © 2021. Studypool Inc.

Studypool is not sponsored or endorsed by any college

or university.