Day Two Reading Log

Waking up the next day Santiago retrieves Manolin from his house and they begin their day.  They have coffee and Manolin gives Santiago the bait he promised.   Santiago feels confident about the days prospects and drinks his coffee knowing it will be the only sustenance for the day.  While at sea he begins contemplating about the ocean and its creatures.  Santiago refers to the ocean as “la mar” rather than “el mar” ,the masculine version, like some of the younger fishermen do.  People who love her call it “la mar” while the fishermen that call it “el mar” think of the ocean as an opponent.  Santiago thinks of it as feminine and when bad things happen she cannot help it.  As he goes further out to see he sets his lines with precision and accuracy, each one done the same way.  His lines are always straight up and down.  He uses the birds to detect where fish are.  Using the birds he ends up catching a tuna and realizes that he talks to himself, even though he isn’t crazy.  As he watches his lines he notices a slight pulling and knows there is a huge marlin eating the sardine.  The marlin finally gets hooked on a line after nibbling at his other lines.  Santiago couldn’t bring the fish up and the marlin started to pull the boat.  After being pulled for four hours with no tiring, he has lost sight of land.  He still feels strong and begins to wonder where he is and how baseball went today.  He calls the fish and dolphins his brothers and begins to pity the marlin.  He continually wished Manolin was there.  As the sunrises the marlin is still swimming strong but Santiago promises himself that he will kill the fish before the end of the day.

            This day introduces a new character the marlin.  The marlin is a strong and resilient fish.  The marlin and Santiago are very similar.  This day enforces Santiago’s character traits.  He is very determined, while also being caring and compassionate to nature. 

            Santiago having no breakfast or other food before he starts his journey is surprising to me.  It is difficult to understand how he could survive working outside all day with no nourishment.  Catching the marlin is one of the most important events in the book.  The marlin represents so many things and the struggle with Santiago is significant.  Santiago relates to the fish and thinks of it as a brother.

            Symbolism is a prevalent literary element in this section.  The marlin has a lot of symbolism.  He represents Santiago, age, and wisdom.  Another more broad representation is the marlin and the struggle with Santiago is a symbol for all struggles people go through to try and obtain success.  There is also imagery in this section that helps the reader understand how Santiago fishes and his experiences. 

Vocabulary:

Carapace- A protective, shell-like covering likened to that of a turtle or crustacean