Literary Essay The Old Man and the Sea The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway ties together a story about a fisherman trying to catch a fish and a deeper story about a man attempting to prove to society that he is not useless. This novella is an example of Man’s struggle to maintain dignity in the face of adversity. The old fisherman (Santiago) could have easily given up against the giant 18 …showed first 75 words of 565 total…

…showed last 75 words of 565 total…maintaining the right to keep his head up high. The old man, caught the Marlin after days of hard work. He was willing to die to protect his catch. When he returned, he had not lost because he came back with what he set out for: a marlin. He had done everything a person possibly could have. That earned him the respect from the others and the dignity for himself that he so badly wanted.