The Old Man and the Sea | Themes
The novel's best-known and oft-quoted line sums up its most important themes: "A man can be destroyed but not defeated." At the beginning of the story, Santiago has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, but his sea-colored eyes remain "cheerful and undefeated." Variations on the theme of being undefeated abound, and point beyond mere physical endurance to a quality of the human spirit which endures and prevails in spite of suffering and loss. Hemingway's theme has the broadest possible application to general experience, suggesting that although a person may be stripped of...
[The entire page is 371 words long]
Navigate
See Also:
- - For teachers, the The Old Man and the Sea Lesson Plan.
- - The Old Man and the Sea summary and study guide in the eNotes.
Tell a friend about The Old Man and the Sea at eNotes.
- Add The Old Man and the Sea to your favorites