What is the theme of the novel The Old Man and the Sea?
Theme Analysis Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea is the deceivingly simple story of an old Cuban fisherman who undergoes the most difficult struggle of his life. Despite being a relatively short work, the novel is filled not only with drama but with the parable of one man’s perseverance through the hardest of times. In the title character, Santiago, Hemingway depicts one of the most distinguished examples in American Literature of an individual looking deep within to summon the courage necessary to get through the triumphs and tragedies that life — represented by the sea — presents. Alone on the sea, Santiago continuously struggles to find hope in several seemingly hopeless situations. The old man exemplifies Hemingway’s ideal of exhibiting “grace under pressure,” as he refuses to submit to the overwhelming obstacles presented by the sea. Santiago’s attitude seems to be that although he is faced with tragedy — as everyone is sooner or later in life — he will not cease struggling.
