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Nestie Bryal C.

Villaviray MD 2Y1-5

Mr. Mel Garcia Oct. 5, 2012

The Old Man and the Sea and its Connection to Suffering Short Summary

a) Santiago was a poor old fisherman, who after eighty-four days without catching a fish, suffered jokes from colleagues. b) He had a faithful friend, Manolin his disciple, loyal to the old man- which was forbidden by his father to accompany him in fisheries. c) Alone, Santiago decided to retrieve the success and embarked to the high seas in his small boat with a little water, only two baits given by the boy and feeding on fish, under the blinding sun. d) He feels a strong pull on his line, suggesting that is a great fish, a marlin. e) Santiagos left hand was cramping up, but he was determined to stay with the fish until catch it. It lasted through an entire day and night. f) When he finally catches the fish, he had to fight against several sharks attracted by the blood trail of the marlinanother battle. g) At the end of his journey, he arrives at the beach, exhausted, bruised and with only the skeleton of the fish, but even so he received the admiration and respect of people.
The Old man and the Sea connection to the life of Jesus of Nazareth

When Santiagos palms are first cut by his fishing line. Santiago's marlin is approached by a pair of shovel nosed sharks. "Ay', he said out loud." The image of the old man struggling up the hill with his mast across his shoulders. When Santiago makes his way into his shack and collapses into his bed with "his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up."

Christ suffering his stigmata and the hands of the crucified Jesus. It is the sound a man makes as his hands are nailed to wood Christ's struggle to carry the cross up the hill cavalry The same way Jesus was positioned on the wooden cross. The image of Christ suffering.

Therefore, the incidents that occurred in the life of Santiago were very similar to the occurrences in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Ernest Hemingway decided to construct his story to reflect upon the life of Jesus but did not make this too obvious to the reader. There are many references to the crucifixion of Jesus. This shows that the old man and Jesus suffered in many of the same ways. They were both fishermen. The old man was the fisherman of fish and Jesus was the fisherman of souls.

Closely connected to Santiago's recognition of the philosophical differences between the two groups are his Job-like musings.

He wonders why sea birds are made so delicate when the ocean can be so cruel, which recalls Job's question about why the innocent are made to suffer (as, of course, Santiago himself is made to suffer). He also wonders why those who let their fishing lines drift are more successful than he is, though he keeps his fishing lines precisely straight, recalling Job's question about why the unworthy prosper. Santiago later answers both questions and more when he considers whether killing the marlin was a great sin. He eventually decides that he killed the marlin not for food, but because he is a fisherman. In his understanding resides the echo of God's answer to Job. Essentially, God's answer was that suffering is in the very nature of the universe. Just as enigmatic, Santiago's own understanding is that he did what he had to do, what he was born to do, and what his role in the eternal nature of things demands. That acceptance is both God's and Santiago's answer to why the good are made to suffer (why the sea birds are made so delicate, why Santiago has gone for so long without a catch) and why the unworthy prosper (why those who let their fishing lines drift are more successful).
*sorry if I forgot to include the list of sources/reference

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