Detailed Summary The Old Man And the Sea Part Two

Detailed Summary The Old Man And the Sea Part Two. A great novel leading us from dismay and venturing into the valleys of hope.

Detailed Summary The Old Man And the Sea Part Two

But the fish came again to eat the tuna fish and this time it swallowed the bait. The fish was heavy enough to carry even the fish with it and Santiago cries: “He has it sideways in his mouth now and he is moving off with it”. Santiago talks to the fish within himself: “Eat it a little more,” he said. “Eat it well.” Eat it so that the point of the hook goes into your heart and kills you”. Then Santiago, tried to pull the wire but the fish was so heavy that he could not pull it. He held it against his back. The old man misses the boy: “I wish I had the boy” because he could help him pull the fish. Four hours had passed and the fish was towing the boat steadily. Santiago thinks what if the fish swims downward and not on the surface.

Santiago shows a great resolve here. He is not likely to give up the fish because he proclaims of waiting for the fish even if it “will come up with the sunrise” next day. He feels strong and has no cramps. The night passed and the fish kept on swimming. The old man thought: ” I can do nothing with him and he can do nothing with me”. Its night once more and the fish is still swimming and Santiago desires of having the boy with him. He thinks nobody should be alone in his old age.

Then Santiago begins to pity the fish he has hooked. He thinks of its age and strength. Santiago remembers of a female marlin that he once caught. The male of that marlin had remained along trying to save the marlin. Santiago judges this fish to be a male one. He thinks: “that was the saddest thing I ever saw with them”.

He thinks he should not have been a fisherman. But the answer comes from within that he is born to be a fisherman. Meanwhile another fish had swallowed the bait and Santiago cut the wire so that he could save cord and stick to the big fish. In the efforts he also got a cut below his eye. Then he claims aloud: “Fish, I’ll stay with you until I am dead.” Now Santiago badly wanted the fish to come up so that he could see it and kill it but the wire was already strained enough and pulling it with stress would break the hook. Santiago declares: “Fish, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”

Santiago talks to a small bird which sits on his skiff to rest. In order to forget his backache Santiago tried to talk to the bird. Suddenly the fish gave another pull which dropped Santiago on the board. His hand was bleeding. Santiago cursed himself for talking to the bird and not paying attention to the fish. Then Santiago ate the small tuna to gain energy. Santiago keeps himself busy either by talking to himself or thinking e.g. “How do you feel, hand and Be patient, hand, I eat for you”. He thinks of the weather and of hurricane which is not imminent.

Continued… Detailed Summary The Old Man And the Sea Part Two:

Then the fish rose on the surface of water. It was two feet longer than the skiff. Santiago is impressed by the size of the fish and decides to stay on with the fish no matter of might it is. Santiago’s left hand has cramped and is not opening. He is praying that it does open before he is up with the fish for a fight. Santiago also prays to God for help and death of the fish. He “did not know he was so big.” Santiago determines to “show him what a man can do and what a man endures.” He wishes to think of the lions but he cannot.

Santiago begins to compare himself and the fish and then he thinks if DiMaggio were him, had he stayed with the fish as long as he has stayed. Suddenly the hand match with the Negro, the strongest man on the docks, at Casablanca comes to his mind. They had held against one another a day and a night with their elbows on a chalked line on the table. They changed the referees every four hours. It was such a tough fight that blood came out of their finger nails. People were betting on them. The Negro was huge and dark. They looked at each other’s arms and elbows.

People fed the Negro rum while he also smoked with the assistance of others. The Negro, after each pour of rum, “would try for a tremendous effort” but Santiago would keep it “dead even”. And when everybody wanted a draw, he had defeated the Negro and after that he had defeated several others quite easily including the same Negro that stood against him for so long. He remembers that his left hand had been a “traitor” during trial hand matches whenever he tried it.

While waiting for the fish to tire out, Santiago hooked another fish to eat. He again talks to the fish challenging it: “I feel good and my left hand is better and I have food for a night and a day. Pull the boat, fish.” Santiago praises the bravery of the fish and considers it a peer and a fried: “The fish is my friend too,” he said aloud. “I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him.” But he also feels sorry for the great fish which is hungry and tired because of him.

Then Santiago thought of waiting for the fish to open its mouth for eating something because it has the bait in its jaws and its mouth is shut tightly. When the fish is tired, it shall open its mouth to eat. Then Santiago’s real role would begin. The he got a couple of fish and ate them to his fill to regain his energy. He thinks of sleeping and taking rest but he cannot because he must not trust the marlin. He is a keen observer of weather and notices by looking at the sky that “here will be bad weather in three or four days”.

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Further Reading & References for the Detailed Summary of The Old Man and the Sea Novel:

  1. Original Text of The Old Man and The Sea
  2. The Movie The Old Man and the Sea

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