Old Man and The Sea Irony

In the book, The Old Man and The Sea, Santiago has not caught a fish in eighty-four days. Although the bad luck, he goes out fishing each day and is pessimistic about the chance of catching  the big one. Although it never happens, his attitude never changes about the subject of fishing. On the eighty-fifth day, Santiago's luck is about to change, although he does not know what is to come. He gets a bite and is praying that the fish take the bait. "Come on, make another turn. Just smell them. Aren't they lovely? Eat them good now and then there is the tuna. Hard and cold and lovely. Don't be shy, fish. Eat them." (Hemingway, 42). He is begging the fish to take the bait and he finally does. He has finally caught a fish and it is massive. Unfortunately for Santiago more bad luck is to come. The fish is soon devoured by sharks. Santiago tries everything to keep the sharks away, but he is no match. This is so ironic due to the fact that Santiago finally caught his fish, and now all that is left is the skeleton of the beast that was. He had done all this for nothing and his unfortunate luck continues. "What a fish it was, the proprietor said. There has never been such a fish. Those were two fine fish you took yesterday too. Damn my fish, the boy said and he started to cry again. Do you want a drink of any kind? the proprietor asked. No, the boy said. Tell them not to bother Santiago. I'll be back. Tell him how sorry I am. Thanks, the boy said." (Hemingway, 123). Another thing that is ironic about this situation is the fact that everybody (besides the young boy) was making fun of Santiago for his bad luck. Now they are feeling bad and are showing gratitude towards him. They are also amazed at what he had caught. It is amazing how peoples' attitude can change when someone does something big.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.