A Young Woman and the Sea

The first time I tried to read The Old Man and the Sea I was only about 10 and never made it through to the end. Even though I  certainly had my own fish to battle, I still wasn't mature enough to fully appreciate the struggle the Old Man went through to catch the marlin. I finally picked it up again last week and from my new 26 year-old perspective it deeply resonated with me. I found the Old Man's determination to not let the disadvantages of his age and limited means keep him from his goal both inspiring and defeating. As someone who has always been in a battle against my health, with the ways of the ocean seeming insurmountable, reading about another man's success, albeit fictitious, made me feel all the less successful in my own struggle. After all, if Santiago could catch his fish, why couldn't I?

It was upon pondering this that I became aware of the key element to Santiago's success. It wasn't just his sheer determination and will that allowed him to catch the marlin; it was his ability to know his own strengths and weaknesses and work within those natural boundaries. Instead of trying to pretend that he was younger and stronger than he really was, Santiago found ways to hold on to the marlin without needing the fitness age had taken from him. The most poignant example of this comes from Santiago's approach to the struggle with the marlin. Instead of forcing the catch by tugging at the line, Santiago works with the situation at hand and bides his time, knowing that in due course, the fish will come to him. Instead of struggling with what cannot be changed, he works within his means to accomplish his goal.

The fact that he ultimately loses the fish is, in this limited sense, irrelevant. The hollowed-out carcass may not be able to provide him with food or money  but it rests there, tied up to the small boat, as a token of his success. And what is that success? On the surface it is catching the biggest fish the community has seen; deep down it is knowing that he still has the wits to catch the biggest fish in the sea.