Shortly after he has gone to sea, Santiago watches the sky and the water for signs of fish. As he does so, his glance onto the surface of the water reveals "the purple, formalized, iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portugese man-of-war" that floats closely beside his boat. Hurling an invective after naming it in Spanish--Agua mala [literally "bad water"].
There are two reasons why Santiago hates the Portugese man-of-war:
- Fish do not want to be near this poisonous creature, so it ruins his opportunities to catch fish.
- Countless times, Santiago has been injured by this creature when he has brought in line that on which some of the poisonous filament has attached itself. Stinging "like a whiplash," this poisonous filament has caused his hands and arms to swell and itch from welts similar to those caused by poison ivy or poison oak.
Furthermore, Santiago feels that although there is...
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a certain beauty of the "iridescent bubbles," they are the "falsest thing in the sea" because they hold no value for the fisherman, and they are a negative force against fish that are worthy catches. For these reasons, he loves to watch the sea turtles, who are of "great value," eat them.
This attitude of Santiago's toward the Portugese men-of-war is truly in keeping with the old fisherman's love of the sea and its denizens, even if he does have a "friendly contempt for the huge, stupid loggerheads who happily eat these creatures. For, the "Agua mala" is, as Santiago calls it, a "whore," a negative force that exploits and poisons the fish, unlike the other inhabitants of the sea.
How does Santiago react to the Portuguese-Man-of-War in The Old Man and The Sea?
Santiago had a strong respect for nature. He had learned to read natural signs to help him with his fishing. He followed the birds in the sky and the smaller fish of the sea to locate his big fish. However, he hates the Portuguese-man-of-war. When he sees it near his boat, he says,
“Agua mala….You whore.” (pg 35)
“Agua mala” means bad water. The Portuguese-man-of-war was swimming so close to the boat that Santiago could see the tiny fish that were swimming between the filaments. These fish were immune to the poison of the Portuguese-man-of-war, but humans were not. Some of the filaments would catch on the fishing lines of the boats, and when the fishermen brought in the lines, they would still get stung, even when the filaments were no longer attached to the gelatinous body. Santiago would get
“….welts and sores on his arms and hands of the sort that poison ivy or poison oak can give” (pg 36)
The only difference was that the poison of the Portuguese-man-of-war was quick, similar to a whiplash. The old man enjoyed watching turtles eat the agua mala and, after a storm, he loved to walk on the beach and pop them with his feet. However, that practice is NOT recommended by those who know that a Portuguese-man-of-war can sting you with its filaments even after it is dead. There was definitely no love lost there.
Check out the reference below from National Geographic for some stunning pictures of a Portuguese-man-of-war.
References