The Old Man and the Sea: Personification 2 key examples

Santiago engages in a self-aware reflection over the fact that the sea, or "la mar," is referred to "as though she were a woman." Hemingway matches the femininity of the Spanish word “la mar” with Santiago's explicit labeling of the sea as a "woman," using "she" or "her" to refer to the ocean here and elsewhere. For example, Hemingway later writes: "She is kind and very beautiful. But she can be so cruel."

While Santiago battles against the marlin, Hemingway describes the overarching relationship between Santiago and nature in a nuanced way. The ocean provides for Santiago over the course of the novella while also quite literally providing Santiago his livelihood—fishing. The personification of the sea lends a humanity to the water upon which Santiago sails, creating a kinship between Santiago and the setting, even though if this setting also hurts or harms Santiago at times.

While an atypical instance of personification, Santiago talks to his hand specifically as if it was a person in and of itself. Indeed, he uses the second-person perspective when offering to "eat some more for you," acting as if his hand was separate from his body and yet benefited from his actions. Ironically, Santiago treats his personified hand as if it was alive, while Hemingway's simile compares Santiago's hand's stiffness to rigor mortis, which occurs after something has died. The two instances of figurative language exist in tension with one another, connoting both life and death.

For one, this instance of figurative language emphasizes Santiago's age and his isolation. As he explains elsewhere, Santiago didn't use to speak when fishing with Manolin. Moreover, the cramp can be understood as Santiago's body continuing to betray him as he ages. At the same time, nature's benevolence is illustrated through the food that Santiago eats in order to resolve the cramp: the ocean provides the fish that Santiago needs for fuel in order to continue battling the marlin.