DayOne
(p 3 – 18)
From Santiago’s return from the eighty-fourth consecutive day without catching a fish to his
dreams of lions on the beach
Summary
He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in
the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.
Santiago, an old fisherman, has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. For the first
forty days, a boy named Manolin had fished with him, but Manolin’s parents, who call
Santiago salao, or “the worst form of unlucky,” forced Manolin to leave him in order to work
in a more prosperous boat. The old man is -wrinkled, splotched, and scarred from handling
heavy fish on cords, but his eyes, which are the color of the sea, remain “cheerful and
undefeated.”
Having made some money with the successful fishermen, the boy offers to return to
Santiago’s skiff, reminding him of their previous eighty-seven-day run of bad luck, which
culminated in their catching big fish every day for three weeks. He talks with the old man as
they haul in Santiago’s fishing gear and laments that he was forced to obey his father, who
lacks faith and, as a result, made him switch boats. The pair stops for a beer at a terrace café,
where fishermen make fun of Santiago. The old man does not mind. Santiago and Manolin
reminisce about the many years the two of them fished together, and the boy begs the old man
to let him provide fresh bait fish for him. The old man accepts the gift with humility. Santiago
announces his plans to go “far out” in the sea the following day.
Manolin and Santiago haul the gear to the old man’s shack, which is furnished with nothing
more than the barest necessities: a bed, a table and chair, and a place to cook. On the wall are
two pictures: one of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and one of the Virgin of Cobre, the patroness of
Cuba. The old man has taken down the photograph of his wife, which made him “too lonely.”
The two go through their usual dinner ritual, in which the boy asks Santiago what he is going
to eat, and the old man replies, “yellow rice with fish,” and then offers some to the boy. The
boy declines, and his offer to start the old man’s fire is rejected. In reality, there is no food.
Excited to read the baseball scores, Santiago pulls out a newspaper, which he says was given
to him by Perico at the bodega. Manolin goes to get the bait fish and returns with some dinner
as well, a gift from Martin, the café owner. The old man is moved by Martin’s thoughtfulness
and promises to repay the kindness. Manolin and Santiago discuss baseball. Santiago is a
huge admirer of “the great DiMaggio,” whose father was a fisherman. After discussing with
Santiago the greatest ballplayers and the greatest baseball managers, the boy declares that
Santiago is the greatest fisherman: “There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But
there is only you.” Finally, the boy leaves, and the old man goes to sleep. He dreams his sweet,
recurring dream, of lions playing on the white beaches of Africa, a scene he saw from his ship
when he was a very young man.
1
, Day Two
(p 18 – 44)
From Santiago waking Manolin at the start of the eighty-fifth day since Santiago has caught a
fish to Santiago’s promise to kill the marlin before the day ends
Summary
The old man hit him on the head for kindness and kicked him,
his body still shuddering, under the shade of the stern.
The next morning, before sunrise, the old man goes to Manolin’s house to wake the boy. The
two head back to Santiago’s shack, carry the old man’s gear to his boat, and drink coffee from
condensed milk cans. Santiago has slept well and is confident about the day’s prospects. He
and Manolin part on the beach, wishing each other good luck.
The old man rows steadily away from shore, toward the deep waters of the Gulf Stream. He
hears the leaps and whirs of the flying fish, which he considers to be his friends, and thinks
with sympathy of the small, frail birds that try to catch them. He loves the sea, though at times
it can be cruel. He thinks of the sea as a woman whose wild behavior is beyond her control.
The old man drops his baited fishing lines to various measured depths and rows expertly to
keep them from drifting with the current. Above all else, he is precise.
The sun comes up. Santiago continues to move away from shore, observing his world as he
drifts along. He sees flying fish pursued by dolphins; a diving, circling seabird; Sargasso
weed, a type of seaweed found in the Gulf Stream; the distasteful purple Portuguese man-of-
war; and the small fish that swim among the jellyfish-like creature’s filaments. Rowing
farther and farther out, Santiago follows the seabird that is hunting for fish, using it as a guide.
Soon, one of the old man’s lines goes taut. He pulls up a ten-pound tuna, which, he says out
loud, will make a lovely piece of bait. He wonders when he developed the habit of talking to
himself but does not remember. He thinks that if the other fishermen heard him talking, they
would think him crazy, although he knows he isn’t. Eventually, the old man realizes that he
has sailed so far out that he can no longer see the green of the shore.
When the projecting stick that marks the top of the hundred-fathom line dips sharply,
Santiago is sure that the fish tugging on the line is of a considerable size, and he prays that it
will take the bait. The marlin plays with the bait for a while, and when it does finally take the
bait, it starts to move with it, pulling the boat. The old man gives a mighty pull, then another,
but he gains nothing. The fish drags the skiff farther into the sea. No land at all is visible to
Santiago now.
All day the fish pulls the boat as the old man braces the line with his back and holds it taut in
his hands, ready to give more line if necessary. The struggle goes on all night, as the fish
continues to pull the boat. The glow given off by the lights of Havana gradually fades,
signifying that the boat is the farthest from shore it has been so far. Over and over, the old
man wishes he had the boy with him. When he sees two porpoises playing in the water,
Santiago begins to pity his quarry, to consider it a brother. He thinks back to the time that he
caught one of a pair of marlin: the male fish let the female take the bait, then he stayed by the
boat, as though in mourning. Although the memory makes him sad, Santiago’s determination
is unchecked: as the marlin swims out, the old man goes “beyond all people in the world” to
find him.
The sun rises and the fish has not tired, though it is now swimming in shallower waters. The
old man cannot increase the tension on the line, because if it is too taut it will break and the
2
(p 3 – 18)
From Santiago’s return from the eighty-fourth consecutive day without catching a fish to his
dreams of lions on the beach
Summary
He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in
the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.
Santiago, an old fisherman, has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. For the first
forty days, a boy named Manolin had fished with him, but Manolin’s parents, who call
Santiago salao, or “the worst form of unlucky,” forced Manolin to leave him in order to work
in a more prosperous boat. The old man is -wrinkled, splotched, and scarred from handling
heavy fish on cords, but his eyes, which are the color of the sea, remain “cheerful and
undefeated.”
Having made some money with the successful fishermen, the boy offers to return to
Santiago’s skiff, reminding him of their previous eighty-seven-day run of bad luck, which
culminated in their catching big fish every day for three weeks. He talks with the old man as
they haul in Santiago’s fishing gear and laments that he was forced to obey his father, who
lacks faith and, as a result, made him switch boats. The pair stops for a beer at a terrace café,
where fishermen make fun of Santiago. The old man does not mind. Santiago and Manolin
reminisce about the many years the two of them fished together, and the boy begs the old man
to let him provide fresh bait fish for him. The old man accepts the gift with humility. Santiago
announces his plans to go “far out” in the sea the following day.
Manolin and Santiago haul the gear to the old man’s shack, which is furnished with nothing
more than the barest necessities: a bed, a table and chair, and a place to cook. On the wall are
two pictures: one of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and one of the Virgin of Cobre, the patroness of
Cuba. The old man has taken down the photograph of his wife, which made him “too lonely.”
The two go through their usual dinner ritual, in which the boy asks Santiago what he is going
to eat, and the old man replies, “yellow rice with fish,” and then offers some to the boy. The
boy declines, and his offer to start the old man’s fire is rejected. In reality, there is no food.
Excited to read the baseball scores, Santiago pulls out a newspaper, which he says was given
to him by Perico at the bodega. Manolin goes to get the bait fish and returns with some dinner
as well, a gift from Martin, the café owner. The old man is moved by Martin’s thoughtfulness
and promises to repay the kindness. Manolin and Santiago discuss baseball. Santiago is a
huge admirer of “the great DiMaggio,” whose father was a fisherman. After discussing with
Santiago the greatest ballplayers and the greatest baseball managers, the boy declares that
Santiago is the greatest fisherman: “There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But
there is only you.” Finally, the boy leaves, and the old man goes to sleep. He dreams his sweet,
recurring dream, of lions playing on the white beaches of Africa, a scene he saw from his ship
when he was a very young man.
1
, Day Two
(p 18 – 44)
From Santiago waking Manolin at the start of the eighty-fifth day since Santiago has caught a
fish to Santiago’s promise to kill the marlin before the day ends
Summary
The old man hit him on the head for kindness and kicked him,
his body still shuddering, under the shade of the stern.
The next morning, before sunrise, the old man goes to Manolin’s house to wake the boy. The
two head back to Santiago’s shack, carry the old man’s gear to his boat, and drink coffee from
condensed milk cans. Santiago has slept well and is confident about the day’s prospects. He
and Manolin part on the beach, wishing each other good luck.
The old man rows steadily away from shore, toward the deep waters of the Gulf Stream. He
hears the leaps and whirs of the flying fish, which he considers to be his friends, and thinks
with sympathy of the small, frail birds that try to catch them. He loves the sea, though at times
it can be cruel. He thinks of the sea as a woman whose wild behavior is beyond her control.
The old man drops his baited fishing lines to various measured depths and rows expertly to
keep them from drifting with the current. Above all else, he is precise.
The sun comes up. Santiago continues to move away from shore, observing his world as he
drifts along. He sees flying fish pursued by dolphins; a diving, circling seabird; Sargasso
weed, a type of seaweed found in the Gulf Stream; the distasteful purple Portuguese man-of-
war; and the small fish that swim among the jellyfish-like creature’s filaments. Rowing
farther and farther out, Santiago follows the seabird that is hunting for fish, using it as a guide.
Soon, one of the old man’s lines goes taut. He pulls up a ten-pound tuna, which, he says out
loud, will make a lovely piece of bait. He wonders when he developed the habit of talking to
himself but does not remember. He thinks that if the other fishermen heard him talking, they
would think him crazy, although he knows he isn’t. Eventually, the old man realizes that he
has sailed so far out that he can no longer see the green of the shore.
When the projecting stick that marks the top of the hundred-fathom line dips sharply,
Santiago is sure that the fish tugging on the line is of a considerable size, and he prays that it
will take the bait. The marlin plays with the bait for a while, and when it does finally take the
bait, it starts to move with it, pulling the boat. The old man gives a mighty pull, then another,
but he gains nothing. The fish drags the skiff farther into the sea. No land at all is visible to
Santiago now.
All day the fish pulls the boat as the old man braces the line with his back and holds it taut in
his hands, ready to give more line if necessary. The struggle goes on all night, as the fish
continues to pull the boat. The glow given off by the lights of Havana gradually fades,
signifying that the boat is the farthest from shore it has been so far. Over and over, the old
man wishes he had the boy with him. When he sees two porpoises playing in the water,
Santiago begins to pity his quarry, to consider it a brother. He thinks back to the time that he
caught one of a pair of marlin: the male fish let the female take the bait, then he stayed by the
boat, as though in mourning. Although the memory makes him sad, Santiago’s determination
is unchecked: as the marlin swims out, the old man goes “beyond all people in the world” to
find him.
The sun rises and the fish has not tired, though it is now swimming in shallower waters. The
old man cannot increase the tension on the line, because if it is too taut it will break and the
2
