The Old Man and the Sea: Pages 43-84

Summary:
Hours have gone by and the old man is still fighting to rail the fish in. The old man is tired, hungry, flustered and is really debating about giving up but then the thought of catching the fish and defeating him keeps him going. He describes the fish as gorgeous and really big. The struggle to keep the fish is harming the old man tremendously. The old man tries different methods in order to kill the fish and rail him in. He tries speaking to the fish, begging him to turn his direction so that the old man can cut him off and stab him to death. Unfortunately the fish does not want to give up and he continues this long and frustrating chase.

The old man begins to truly doubt himself. He complains that his age will not allow him to capture this fish. He complains that the hot air and lack of food will lead to his death out here in this ocean and the fish would prevail against all odds. Then he would look at the fish and gain a sense of confidence. He told the fish that he will be their trying to capture him until he dies.

The fish began to travel on a steady pace, so the old man decided to grab a raw fish to eat for strength. He also grabbed some salt water and placed it on his face to cool down. By doing this the old man gained a little strength and was ready to continue on with this struggle, even if it took a lot longer.

Quotation:

" You better be fearless and confident yourself, old man" ( Hemingway 84).

Reflection:
This quote shows some of the methods the old man used in order to continue on with the fight between the fish and himself. He conostanly has to tell himself that he can achieve the goal of capturing the fish. No matter how straneous and outragous this tasks seems at that moment in time he knows that he has to continue on in order to prevail. He also thinks about the little boy and he wants to show the little boy that he still is the fisherman that he remembers.