Theme of Survival and Optimistic Elements in Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea'

Abstract

The Old Man and the Sea’ is a simple story consisting of only three characters Santiago, an old fisherman, Marlin, a huge fish and the minor character Manolin, a small boy. The whole story revolves around former two characters Santiago and Marlin. It shows the three days epic battle between a giant fish (Marlin) and a helpless old man (Santiago) who is struggling with his misfortune. After 84 days of bad luck Santiago is able to catch marlin on 85th day but she was not an ordinary fish. She was bulky enough to overturn Santiago’s boat on the other hand Santiago was determined he will win over Marlin by hook or by crook. How Hemingway blended this beautiful story with the theme of struggle, survival and optimism is briefly explained in this article.