Question # 4:      Is Santiago a superstitious man? Explain.

                   Is the old man superstitious? Justify or otherwise.

Answer:     Santiago is not superstitious character. Having remained unsuccessful for eighty four days, he believes that he may succeed in future. He is a realist and believers in his skills and the techniques of fishing. He tells to the boy (Manolin).

                   ‘Every day is new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. They say when luck  comes you are ready.’

          Santiago’s ideas are real. He believes in the power to endure suffering. The suffering provides a basis for hope and faith. He tells the Boys:

                   ‘I may not be as strong as I think’, the old man said. ‘But I know many tricks and I have resolution.’

          Santiago feels that he has committed no sin by killing the big fish, the Marlin. He attacks the sharks. He knows(data copied from vusolutions.com) that the attack of sharks is not surprising. His defeat by the sharks is due to his going ‘to far out’ on the sea. All this is beyond the limits of the human beings. He also feels that he has betrayed the Marlin through ticks. He never shows any sign of being a superstitious.

Question # 3:      Is Santiago believer of Christianity? Justify or otherwise your answer.

Answer:     Santiago has been introduced as a religious old fisherman but, he is, however, not a staunch believer in Christianity. When he suffers and is engaged in his struggle with a big fish, the marlin, he says that although he is not a religious fellow, yet he is believer in Christianity.

                          ‘Blessed Virgin pray for this fish, wonderful thought he is’

          Santiago’s allusion to Christ to God and to Virgin is simple appeal to strengthen him when he is in trouble. Before he is able to hook the fish, the Marlin, he exclaims with uncertainty.

                             ‘Christ know he (Marlin) cannot have gone.’

When his left hand has become temporarily useless, he says:

                             ‘God help me to have the cramp go.’

          Nevertheless, he does not solely depend upon God’s help. He massages his cramped hand and exposes it to the sun. He, however, think that his prayers to God, to Christ, and to Virgin may also help him. So Santiago’s faith and belief in God is not sole but man’s capacity to endless suffering.

Question # 2:      What are the interests of the old man besides the fishing?

Answer:     Santiago is by birth a fisherman. Fishing is his source of income and livelihood. In addition to fishing Santiago has many other interests and hobbies.

          Santiago is deeply interested in the game of Baseball. He takes keen interest in reading the newspapers in order to receive first hand information about the Baseball game. He takes interest in the league matches of this game. In fact, reading of the news of baseball in the newspapers gives him endless joy. The interest in this game is an inevitable part of his daily life.

          Santiago’s interest in the game of hand wrestling is also notable. He is a great player of this game. Once in his youth he fought and won with a contest in had wrestling. He had contested a big Negro. The Negro was a recognized hand wrestler in the area. The old fisherman felt himself encouraged after the contest. No doubt it was a grand contest between Santiago and the Negro.

          These are the chief interest and hobbies of Santiago in addition to his fishing.

‘The Old Man and the Sea’

Writer: Hemingway

Question # 1:                Write a note on the soliloquies and monologues of the old man.

Answer:     A soliloquy a device which is employed to reveal the inner-most thoughts of the speaker. Here the speaker speaks to none but to himself.

          A monologue is a speech by one person who speaks alone. It may be distinguished from the soliloquy by the fact that the monologue is addressed to someone.

          The novelist has used both these devices to being to light the inner working of the old man’s mind. Throughout the adventure with the giant fish and his fight with the sharks in the sea, the novelist has shown him talking to himself, to huge fish, marlin, to a small bird, Warbler, and to the sharks. This is his loud thinking.

The novelist has used the techniques of soliloquy and monologue for the following reasons:

          Being a lonely soul, Santiago does not appear to have close relationship with other fishermen. There is only the boy, Manolin, who comes to him to learn the art of fishing. Later on, he too leaves him on the orders of his parents. He is thus left alone. He feels himself lonely. To get rid of the sense of loneliness or isolation, he sometimes talks to the huge fish, marlin, and sometimes to the other creatures of the sea.

          Being far out and all alone on the sea, he also thinks loud of the Boy, Manolin, the lions, watched by him on the African Coasts during his youth, the base ball champion, DiMaggio, and his victory over a Negro in Hand game completion. While on the ocean, Santiago speaks to the huge fish, Marlin as:

                             ‘Fish I’ll stay with you until I am dead.’

Another major reason of his talking to himself has been described by Santiago himself as:

          ‘If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy,’ he said aloud. ‘But I am not     crazy, I do not care. And the rich have radios to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball.’

          It is clear that he has no sources of communication that is why he talks to himself. If he had radio he would not have talked to himself. Another important technical aspect is that Santiago has to remain on the sea for a long time and if there is no communication with the readers, they will not understand anything about their hero. For better understanding of the readers the devices of soliloquy and monologue have been used.