The Old Man and the Sea - The Fish

Even though the fish could technically be considered not a character since it does not really talk or interact. I still think that it plays such a big role in the story and a great portion of the story has to do with the fish. This beast is a giant fish that drags the old man deep in to the sea for several days, tugging both the man and the boat far against the current. As I said in an earlier blog I believe that the fish represents life and the undeniable power behind life. Just as the fish tugged the old man around and around for days relentlessly life will tug you around forever with no break. The fish fought and fought for the last few moments of freedom and life that it could have, never giving up until there was positively nothing left in it to fight with any more. During life as people are dieing that is when they are truly the most alive, realizing how few moment they have left and trying to make the absolute best of what little time they have left on this world. People often have such epiphanies about race, religion, family and life in general when everything is so close to ending. They want to hang on for as long as they can and never give up. Lastly I think the fish was also supposed to reflect Santiago in a way. The fish and the old man both had a near unwavering strength of character and physically. The type of attitude that if something needs done they lower their heads and do it gladly. The old man dutifully goes on with his daily activities even when after eighty four days he has not caught a single fish. Just as the giant fish keeps struggling harder and harder even when it certainly must know that there really is no hope for it. There are doezens of more comparisons that could be made.