The Old Man And The Sea - by Ernest Hemingway

This story can be interpreted in two ways: a proud and courageous man in the pursuit of an achievement to the very end, defeating odds with discipline and perseverance in spite of risks or, a stubborn and foolish man, filled with wishful thinking, in a fight against his own ego, sense of purpose and external recognition.

I lean towards the latter. An old fisherman, haunted by feelings of an unfulfilling life, who goes out to sea on his chore and ends up entering a search for the ultimate rush, a grand prize that would earn him external recognition, set probably by his cultural context but ultimately by himself, in a battle against undefeatable nature.

Regarding writing style, I found beauty in how words flow through the old man’s actions and his thoughts. I found myself fully immersed in the character. I empathized with the constant battle between two sides: animal and rational. In this case, it’s the animal side that pulls the old man to the path of survival. The right path. It’s the side that’s constantly reminding him: “you’re tired”, “you’re losing energy”, “go back”, “leave the fish”, “you will die.” On the other side, and which differentiates us from animals, the disregard for survival that can only come from the human capacity to “rationalize” objectives, even if fulfilling them means death. It’s the side that goes: “suck it up”, “you can’t give up”, “almost there”, “you will win.”

It’s painful to read the old man’s foolish drive to bring the fish back. It reminded me of stories Mount Everest climbers that, after peaking, died on the down-climb. The thoughts of peaking blinds to the fact that climbing down is as challenging as climbing up. Not on the physical potency required, but because by the time they peaked, their bodies are so exhausted that survival hangs on a thread. The end of the journey is not reaching the peak, it’s the surviving the round trip.

Ego is a character within us, constantly arguing why we do anything. In the case of mountain climbers and in the case of the old man, ego is a foolish, self-interested advisor. If not careful, it will care only about peaking, or about catching a fish and bringing it back. Ego is satisfied, then abandons the body to fend for itself. Should we allow ego to put a blindfold and take the driver’s seat?