old man and the sea
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The old man and the sea
The old man and the sea has a very basic plot with many themes. One on going theme is the old man (Santiago) wishing to be young again. The strongest way the author presents this is with symbolism. Reference to his youth, his young friend and the fight with the marlin are all used to demonstrate the old mans longing for youthfulness.
The old man is befriending by the young boy, and relating to each other by youthfulness. While the old man is fishing he is always wishing "he had the boy" 1, in other words wishing for his youthfulness. This happens when the old man is in hard situations that he could have done by himself when he was younger. The old man also says that the boy keeps him alive, again referring to his youth. In other words the author is using the boy as a symbol of the old man longing to be young again, this is done when the old man is in hard situations referring to the young boy as the need for his youth and strength.
The old man makes references to his youth by showing that he misses being young and strong...