Hemingway's short novel The Old Man and the Sea is primarily a tale of man vs. nature, as the old man referred to in the title, Santiago, contends first with the ocean and then with the massive marlin he catches all alone on his small fishing boat off the coast of Cuba. This man vs. nature struggle takes up the bulk of the story. It is only in the opening of the novel that one can find any evidence of man vs. society. At the start of the story, Santiago has gone eighty-four days since his last catch, and his inability to bring home any fish has lead the other people in his village to label him "salao," or unlucky. The parents of his young apprentice take the label so seriously that they refuse to let their son continue to work for Santiago. This social stigma can be read as part of the reason that Santiago is so stubborn about going out to catch fish and bringing the marlin home with him. This can be considered man vs. society because of the way Santiago struggles against the town's perception of him.
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