Santiago has been out on his fishing boat for 84 days without a catch. He believes he is destined to live out his life cursed by bad luck. His only companion is a young boy, Manolin. Despite his parents' entreaties that he work for another fishing boat, Manolin refuses to leave Santiago, confidant that one day, his "fish will come in." Santiago knows that time is no longer on his side, and each trip out to sea for that ever-elusive catch might represent his final journey.

             After the first night, something begins to take the bait. Santiago recognizes that this is no ordinary fish, but a huge marlin. The contest becomes a battle of wills between the tired old man and the vigorous fish. Finally, the marlin is close enough to harpoon, but the mako sharks get to it at the same time, ripping off a quarter of its meat. Santiago has only the immense skeleton to show for his toil, but becomes the talk among his fellow fisherman, who have never seen such a large skeleton. The old man has successfully met the challenges of the elements, and at least temporarily, his ongoing race against time. Although the fish remains an unattainable prize, Santiago's restored dignity is a victory of deeper moral value.

             Although on the surface, it would appear that Santiago is the incarnation of the aging Ernest Hemingway, many critics believe that although the story may have personal significance, there are many spiritual connotations which are evidenced by the biblical symbolism which is ever-present in The Old Man and the.

             Sea. Hemingway would frequently argue that, "No good book was ever written that had symbols arrived at beforehand and stuck in" (Gagne 1996). However, he did acknowledge that once the words were arranged on the page, they could take on a symbolism which the author never intended, but is nevertheless powerful.

             There can be no denying of the similarities between the old fisherman, Santiago, and Jesus Christ.