Old Man and the Sea- luck

Throughout the story Santiago keeps mentioning how he is unlucky (The town says so too). This is the reason the boy is no longer allowed to work with him, because there are other fisherman who have been catching fish lately. With all of the expertise and experience that the old man has, it seems strange that he still believes that luck is the reason for his success being stopped in its tracks. One quote of Santiago is quite interesting. He said, “Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Everyday is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”(Hemmingway 37). The fact that he stated it is better to be lucky really made an impression on me upon reading this part. It is evident that he prefers to be exact and he most definitely is. During the story he speaks about how great he is, but this seems to differ that thought. One would think that at this point in his life and after all of his years of experience he would trust in his abilities, but the old man is still thinking that it is better to be lucky in the trade of fishing. Sure luck has something to do with it, but if there are people who do it for a living it seems like there would be a certain way to do it that comes with time and experience. I would not trust in luck if I had to go catch fish to pay the bills and keep myself alive. I would much rather have a good plan and know what I’m doing before I go out to fish. This is probably why this part of the book really stuck out to me. Because if you know you’re good at something, it seems reasonable to be confident in yourself and do that rather than just saying, “I wish I was luckier.”
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print..