The Old Man and the Sea: The Marlin and Santiago

            The Marlin and Santiago have a love hate relationship in The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago is a very determined old man. He has been going on an eighty four day bad luck streak without catching any fish. He desperately needs to catch a fish very badly in order to provide money and food for himself. He is already living on little to no appliances and furniture. He is sleeping on a bed padded with old newspapers and cooks on a hot fire with a pot (Hemingway). On the first day of the five day journey with the marlin, Santiago catches the fish and feels the boat being drug along it(Hemingway). The old man has to make the decision to stay with the fish, or cut off the line. He makes the decision to stay with it because he does not know how long it will be until another fish comes along for him to catch. The marlin then takes him on an intense five day journey. The old man goes through periods of hating the fish for dragging it on and beating and exhausting him (Hemingway). He feels hate towards him, but loves him at the same time because he knows that if he catches him he can bring so much. The fish would also end his terrible bad luck streak. The marlin does not want to give up that easily however. He continues his fight only giving the old man slight glimpses of the massive fish. This makes the old man fight on with the fish. Even when the old man catches the fish, the fight does not end. Even from the dead the fish puts strains on Santiago, causing him to battle a dozen sharks and eventually losing the fish (Hemingway). The old man hates the fish for this, but loves him also for bringing back his reputation and ending his bad luck streak.

  Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.