The Old Man and the Sea: Man vs. Nature

In The Old Man and the Sea Santiago undergoes many hard obstacles in nature. Santiago has to deal with the deep ocean waters, the hot sun, the marlin, and many sharks.

Throughout his journey Santiago battles the sun and the water. Santiago did not know that he would be out at sea for as long as he was. He did not bring any water, food, or sun protection. Santiago suffers from dehydration. He cannot drink the ocean water because there is salt in it, and that would make him more dehydrated. During the day Santiago also feels the sun beating down on him. He cannot hide from the sun because he has nothing to hide from it with.

Santiago also has to battle the marlin. The marlin drags Santiago across the ocean for about three days. The marlin does not give up easily, so Santiago sees him as a worthy opponent. Both Santiago and the marlin suffer in their battle. Santiago gets hand cramps, cuts, and a ruined back. The marlin slowly suffers because he has a fishing hook in his mouth. Once the marlin jumps up in the air and remains close to the surface, Santiago can finally really start pulling him in. In the end, Santiago finally wins the battle and ends up killing the marlin.

After Santiago kills the marlin he has to fight off all the sharks that come to eat his fish. Santiago sees the sharks as dumb predators. He does not see them as worthy opponents at all. Some of the sharks come in two, so Santiago has to try to fight them both off at the same time. To kill the sharks Santiago would use something sharp and stab them right in the brain. After a few shark attacks, Santiago loses all of his sharp objects, so he has to let them eat his fish until he lands on shore.

Although Santiago did not fully beat all the sharks, he still won against the marlin, who was, in his eyes, a worthy competitor.