Previous
Similes
Situational Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Fed to the Sharks:
The Old Man on the Sea's ending is an instance of situational irony writ large. As the reader learns from the very first paragraph of the novel, Santiago has gone 84 days without a catch. The reader is also privy to Santiago's humble life: for example, Santiago can not currently afford his own food and wears patchwork clothes. Santiago then spends three days working tirelessly to catch a marlin, which is "the biggest fish that he had ever seen and bigger than he had ever heard of." This fish could feed an untold number of people and "would bring the highest price in the market." Santiago risks his life to catch the marlin, and though he ultimately succeeds, the fish is dead and mangled by the time he gets it back to shore, meaning it will be of little use to him.
The fact that sharks eat the marlin's meat after all of Santiago's struggle—and only after Santiago sacrifices both his harpoon and knife, killing the initial sharks—is situationally ironic. To succeed in catching the marlin and yet to receive no material reward for doing so is a comically unfortunate outcome. Santiago claimed he was "salao," or "unlucky," after failing to catch a fish for so long: the ending of the novella both disputes and reaffirms this claim. Santiago is lucky (and skilled) enough to catch the biggest fish he has ever encountered, and yet he is ironically unable to benefit from the fruits of his labor.
Related Themes:
Day Three
Explanation and Analysis—Clear as Brotherly Stars:
Hemingway uses situational irony and simile when detailing Santiago's thoughts about whether or not he should sleep:
I’m clear enough in the head, he thought. Too clear. I am as clear as the stars that are my brothers.
Santiago is in the middle of convincing himself that he needs to sleep, which he eventually does. The irony here is that the reader knows Santiago is not "too clear" in the head. A non-comprehensive list of evidence that Santiago is not "too clear" in the head includes Santiago talking to himself out loud, Santiago's loose grasp on whether or not he has food and a bait net at beginning of the novella, and Santiago's admittance directly prior to this quotation that he needs to sleep
The simile comparing Santiago's state of mind to the clear stars supports the irony: the stars are not in fact Santiago's brothers, and thus the simile allegedly supporting Santiago's clear-headed nature instead reveals the irony of the claim. Specifically, the claim is one of situational irony, as the facts of the scenario appear to directly contradict Santiago's assertion. While Santiago becomes confused at points throughout the story, he remains level-headed enough to catch the marlin (although he does end up sleeping before doing so).
Related Themes:
