I have published here the short summary of the novel to facilitate the students in their studies. The summary will give an idea of the story of the novel. So, this summary only includes the main story and all other related information is omitted. For comprehensive notes on this novel will give you more in-depth information on various topics of the novel.
The Old man and the Sea Summary
The story of the novel “The Old Man and The Sea” is about an Old Man. His name was Santiago. He was a seasoned fisherman. He fished in the Gulf Stream near the coast of Cuba. He failed to catch any fish for the last eighty-four days. He was declared ‘unlucky’ by other fishermen of the locality. A young boy Manolin used to work with him as an apprentice. His continuous failure in catching a fish influenced the mind of the parents of Manolin. They directed their son Manolin not to go with the Old Man for fishing. The Old Man possessed a great amount of patience and great resolution. He decided to go to the sea for fishing for the eighty-fifth day. He hoped that he would definitely hunt some big fish.
The boy Manolin brought some fresh baits for the Old Man and.a few sardines for him to eat. He pushed the Old Man’s boat into the water and wished him ‘good luck’. The Old Man set out on his adventure early in the morning. Before the sunrise, he had reached that part of the sea which was called `Great Well’ by fishermen. The Old man had dropped four baits of different depths in the sea. The Fist bait was at the depth of fifty fathoms, the second was at the depth of seventy-five fathoms, the third at hundred fathoms and the fourth was held at one hundred and twenty-five fathoms.
When the sun rose, the Old Man saw birds, small and big hovering in the sky. The. Old Man remained in the open sea for three days and three nights continuously.
At noon on the first day, the deepest line jerked and the Old Man sensed that a big fish Marlin had been hooked. He tried to pull it, but could not do so in spite of his best efforts. He wished that the boy would have been with him to help him in pulling the fish. The Old Man had a great contest with the big fish. The pull and pressure at the line told the Old man that the fish was very big. The fish pulled the boat for three days and three nights in different directions. On the second day, the Old Man had a chance to look at the fish which jumped out of water for air. The Old Man was standing at his place in the boat and he was profusely sweating. The fish did not show any sign of nervousness. During his contest with the fish, his right hand was injured and left hand was cramped. He felt lonely. He pledged to say prayers beginning with the Word to Mary and the Christ if he succeeded in killing the fish.
The Old Man had to face the attack of two more sharks. The Old Man identified these shovel-nosed sharks as galanos. He killed these sharks with the knife and tied it to the end of the oar. In this attack, they seemed to have eaten one-fourth meat of the dead Marlin. Before sunset, two more sharks attacked the big fish. The Old Man beat their head with his club and injured them seriously. They also ate The Old Man large amount of the fish of the Marlin. At midnight, he saw the brilliant lights of Havana. He was near his destination. Then a pack of sharks attacked the fish. He took up his club and beat them mercilessly. Some of the sharks went below the boat and tore the meat of the fish. The Old Man succeeded in killing them but at that time, only the skeleton of the fish was left.
Important points in the Novel:
- The Oldman is an Experienced Fisherman
- Oldman’s struggle against marlin
- Oldman’s struggle against sharks
- Man is Not made for defeat
- Oldman’s dreams and loneliness
- Santiago as Hero of the Novel
- Character sketch of monoline
- Role of the Sea and its symbolic significance
- Theme of the Novel
- The Novel as a tragedy
