The Old Man and the Sea Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
The Old Man and the Sea tells of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman on a long run of bad luck, who hooks an enormous marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. After a three-day struggle he kills it, only for sharks to eat it as he sails home.
It is a short novella, and its quiet story of effort and dignity in defeat is often read in a single sitting.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Santiago | Old fisherman who has gone 84 days without a catch |
| Manolin | Boy who loves Santiago and once fished with him |
| The marlin | Giant fish Santiago respects as a brother |
| The sharks | Predators that destroy his prize |
How does the story begin?
Santiago has caught nothing for 84 days. The boy Manolin used to fish with him, but his parents made him join a luckier boat. He still brings the old man food and talks with him about baseball and the great Joe DiMaggio. On the 85th day Santiago rows farther out than anyone else.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens with the marlin?
At noon a huge marlin takes the bait deep below. It is too strong to pull in, so it tows the skiff out to sea for two days and nights. Santiago holds the line across his back, his hands cut and cramping, eating raw fish to keep his strength. He talks to himself, to the fish and to a small bird, and comes to love and respect his opponent.
On the third day the marlin begins to circle. Close to fainting, Santiago draws it in and kills it with his harpoon. It is longer than his boat, so he lashes it alongside and heads for home.
↑ Back to the topWhat do the sharks do?
The blood draws a mako shark, which Santiago kills, losing his harpoon. More sharks follow. He fights them with a knife tied to an oar, then a club, then the tiller. By night they have stripped the marlin to its skeleton. He knows he went out too far.
↑ Back to the topHow does it end?
Santiago reaches the harbor and stumbles to his shack, carrying the mast, and falls asleep. Fishermen measure the skeleton in amazement. Manolin weeps over the old man's wounded hands, brings him coffee and promises to fish with him again. Tourists mistake the skeleton for a shark's. Santiago sleeps, dreaming of the lions he saw on African beaches as a young man.
Santiago loses the fish, but not his courage, which is the heart of the story: losing everything is not the same as being beaten.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Old Man and the Sea
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.