The Old Man and the Sea is one of Hemingway's most discussed and significant books. Its theme and setting invite the assumption that the work has some deep allegorical meaning that can be unlocked, but ultimately, the message seems to be "things happen."
In that sense, it's completely up to the reader whether they choose to believe any allegory is intentional on Hemingway's part. The author was known for his Iceberg Theory, for being one of the masters of showing meaning instead of directly telling it.
The Old Man and the Sea definitely offers many possible interpretations. It has been seen as a fable-like tale of man's struggle against nature, a symbol for fighting and being defeated, a religious story showcasing being outmatched by something vastly more powerful than a human being ever could be, and so on. The "trouble" with Hemingway's work is that absolutely all of these interpretations can be argued for successfully.
The message of "things happen" seems to fit into all of them, however, including the disappointing one that perhaps the author never intended for the story to be allegorical at all. After all, in life, things happen. We as human beings give them meaning of good and bad, but in truth, most of the time things happen because of the relation of cause and consequence.
A lot of readers, young and old, have been saddened by the arrival of sharks in the tale. As they eat and eat and eat, the reader feels the poetic justice of the story slipping away. The ending offers some relief for Santiago—a few apologies, his continued friendship with the boy, and so on—but it's still a bittersweet ending, with the big, proud marlin eaten long before he reaches the shore. Why did it happen like that? One could say it was Santiago's fate to suffer such a loss, but another way of seeing it is that there was simply blood in the water. Blood attracts sharks. Shark need to eat. They ate.
The brilliance of Hemingway's writing is that there always seems to be something lurking beneath the surface, like with an iceberg. Possibly, the message of the book is that, just as in real life, people need to assign meaning to events. Everyone in the book acts naturally, according to what they are (human and fish alike). The story resolves the way it does, but it could have gone a million other ways as well. The Old Man and the Sea is, in that sense, a picture of life, and in life, things happen.
I would recommend first examining some of the story's themes, and then pick which one you feel is the message that Hemingway is trying to get across to his readers. I think perseverance, strength, skill, and suffering are all themes present within the book. Santiago hasn't been fishing well lately, but he perseveres through adversity. The giant fish he catches is not an easy catch either. He struggles and perseveres to catch the fish for days, and it is only because of this and his skills as a fisherman that he succeeds in catching the huge fish; however, I do not believe any of those are the main point or message. I think the author is trying to give readers a message about defeat. Santiago successfully catches the fish, but he doesn't get it back to shore with him. The sharks eat the fish, and Santiago is once again without a catch to eat or sell. He is defeated, yet he dreams of lions again. His spirit is not crushed. I think Hemingway is trying to tell readers that there are times when you've struggled and worked so hard for something that you deserve to be rewarded; however, defeat is always possible. What matters is how you handle that defeat.
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