The Old Man and the Sea

A man can be destroyed but not defeated says the old man after the first shark attack, at the end of the story is the old man defeated?discuss

in hermingway old man and the sea

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I think that Santiago feels undefeated because he feels that, despite the sharks, had come his way. That Santiago completes the novel undefeated and still in possession of his dignity is demonstrated by his conversation with Manolin. His first words to the boy are "They beat me. They truly beat me," referring to the sharks (124). Immediately, though, he moves to mundane matters such as what to do with the head of the marlin and what Manolin has caught in his absence. When Santiago refuses to fish with Manolin because of his own lack of luck, the boy says he will bring the luck. Soon, Santiago is talking about how to make a new killing lance in preparation of their next voyage. Finally, in the last sentence of the novel, we are told that "the old man was dreaming of lions," the same symbols of strength and youth which he enjoyed before his voyage (127). True to Hemingway's formula for heroism, Santiago, for all this trials and tribulations, remains the same unsuccessful but undefeated soul as before.

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http://www.gradesaver.com/the-old-man-and-the-sea/study-guide/section7/