The Old Man and the Sea- Conflicts

The biggest conflict in this book is between the old man and the sea. The author tells much of the story out at sea, as the old man is struggling to defeat the biggest catch of his career. The old man is very persistent and determined to catch this fish, and he will stop at nothing to do so. The old man battles against this fish for days, before the fish is finally weakened and dies. The old man, proud of his catch begins the journey back home. All throughout the next night and day, the old man faces a new battle, but this time against the creatures of the ocean. As he sets sail with the fish tied up to the boat, various sharks begin to follow him because of the blood trail left by his fish. The old man tries to ward them off, but they keep eating the meat off the fish. The old man fights the sharks far into the night, but it is a never ending battle. By the next morning all the meat has been eaten off the old man's fish. Throughout this story the author puts a lot of emphasis on the determination of the old man, and how much he struggles to catch this fish. I think that this determination only adds to the conflict between the old man and the sea. If the old man was not so determined to catch this fish, he probably would have given up. I believe anyone else that was in the same situation as him would have given up. With little food, water, and sleep the odds were against him, but he managed to drive through all these obstacles just to catch this magnificent fish. Many people in the world face conflicts with nature, similar to the conflict between the old man and the sea. For example, if the weather is bad, pilots can not fly their planes, and if it rains to much, farmers can not harvest their crops. Hemmingway shows how nature can be a conflict by telling us the story of the old man and the sea.

Bibliography

Hemmingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.