the old man and the sea Day three continued

Things have calmed down as a small bird called a warbler flies out to Santiago's boat and lands on the line. The old man thinks that it is probably the warblers first trip out to sea. He thinks that the warbler probably knows nothing of the hawks that will greet him as he flies back. He realizes that the warbler can not understand him, but tells him to stay and rest anyways. Just as he says this, the marlin pulls sharply on the line, scaring the warbler away. The surge of the marlin is so strong that it nearly pulls the old man overboard. The marlin settles and the old man notices that he has gotten a cut from the line on his hand. The cut is not bad but is bleeding. The old man realizes that he must keep his strength, so he reluctantly eats the ten pound tuna that he caught earlier. He does not want to eat the tuna, because he had been planning to use it as bait later, but he knows that he must if he wants to keep his strength up. He uses his uncut right hand to cut up the tuna. He uses his left hand to hold all of the weight of the marlin on the line. The strain from holding all the weight causes the old man's left hand to cramp up very badly. His left hand is now just a claw which he cannot use for anything. The old man is becoming very aggravated at the weakness his body is displaying to him. He finishes cutting up the tuna and hopes that by eating it, it will give him strength and fix his hand from being a claw. While he is eating the tuna, he begins to think of the marlin. He thinks of how the marlin is trapped and unable to eat anything. The old man thinks that he has an advantage over the marlin now. He feels bad and gets a desire to give some of his tuna to the marlin to even out the battle.


Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995. Print.