The old man and the sea

Santiago was an old fisherman. He had a young assistant, named Manolin, to help him in fishing. Once, [a] a trying time. Every day, he set out to the sea and had to return empty-handed, without getting even a single fish. When the same fate lasted for many days, seeing that he is unlucky, Manolin’s parents forced him to leave the old man. Thus, he went to fish in another boat. [b], the boy [c] for the old man. He brought him dinner in the nights and talked about baseball, especially about the old man’s hero, Joe DiMaggio. Thus went eighty four days without any fish for the old man. Nevertheless, in spite of this sustained failures, the old man said that he would get a good catch

On the eighty-fifth day Santiago did as he promised. He sailed his skiff far beyond into the (d). He prepared his lines and dropped it one hundred fathoms deep into the water. At noon, a big fish took the bait. Santiago knew it was a Marlin. The old man (e) and strong for him to pull it in. Instead, the fish began to

It was the beginning of a long struggle. It was not possible to tie the line fast to the boat because the fish would break a tight line. So, the old man bore the strain of the line with his shoulders, back, and hands, He keeps the line ready to let loose if the marlin make a run. The fish pulled the boat all through the day, through the night, through another day, and through another night. It swam steadily northwest until at last it became tired and started swimming east with the current. The entire time, Santiago suffered constant pain from the fishing line. Whenever the fish leaps or makes a struggle to get free, the line cut Santiago badly. Although wounded and weary, the old man felt a deep admiration for the marlin. He felt him as a noble brother, glorious in suffering, strength, and determination. Still, he was confident. Though Marlin was stronger and nobler than him, he was skilled and experienced and had many tricks.

On the third day the fish lost its power. Santiago was also extremely weak, sleep-deprived and aching. But, he managed to pull the marlin close to the boat. Then, he struck the huge fish with his harpoon (spear) and killed it. Dead beside the skiff, that was the largest marlin Santiago has ever seen. He tied it to his boat and set sail for home.

As Santiago was sailing on with the fish, the marlin’s blood left a red path in the water and it attracted sharks. The first to attack was a great mako shark. Santiago managed to kill it, but, in the fight, he lost the harpoon and lengths of valuable rope. Sharks came one after another. The old man fought them as best he could. Although he killed several sharks, more and more appeared, and by night, they came too large in numbers for Santiago to resist and ate the marlin’s meat completely, leaving only skeleton, head, and tail. Santiago sailed along and reached home before daybreak, walked unsteadily to his house, and slept deeply.

The next morning, a crowd of fishermen gathered around the skeletal body of the fish, which was still tied to the boat. Knowing nothing of the old man’s struggle, everyone expressed surprise at the huge marlin. Manolin, who has been worried sick over the old man’s absence, was moved to tears when he found Santiago safe in his bed. The boy fetched the old man some coffee and the daily papers with the baseball scores. When the old man woke, the two agree to fish as partners once more. The old man returned to sleep and dreamt his usual dream of lions at play on the beaches of Africa.

Style Master

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