Q1 Blog 3: Frenemies

In the third quarter of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, the old man finally vanquishes his foe and brother. An important quotation from this section was, "'The fish is my friend too,' he said aloud. 'I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him.'" This quotation, spoken aloud by the old man to himself, reflects the theme of duality because he refers to the fish as both his friend and his targeted victim. He is conflicted between viewing the majestic beast as a brother with whom he has spent the last few days, and viewing him as a trophy that must be attained through ending its life. Some other quotations soon after are, "There is no one worthy of eating him from the manner of his behaviour and his great dignity," and, "It is enough to live on the sea and kill our true brothers." These quotations further display the old man's feelings that the fish is a great being, superior to humans in some aspects, and that it is very difficult to end the life of our brother animals. After much fighting by both parties, the man harpoons the fish and brings him alongside the skiff. In the struggle, the old man begins to feel faint from exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and his wounds; however, he continues to push through the pain, knowing that he has to kill the fish, or it will beat him. As he sees the vibrant and beautiful colors fade from the scales of the swordfish, he tries to reassure himself that he did what had to be done. Having accomplished the task he had been working at for days, the old man finds everything to be somewhat surreal and dreamlike, as the fact that his eighty four day long dry spell has come to an end with the capture of a fifteen hundred pound fish seems incredible. I can relate to this because when I accomplish something grand that I have been working on for a long time, like a research paper or other project, it feels surreal because all I have known for the past couple of days has been this project. Suddenly being able to stop worrying about it seems so foreign in comparison, until something snaps me back to ensure this is reality, just like how the old man's wounds, aches, and trophy reassure the reality of his triumph.