Old Man and the Sea 9

Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etcetera according to dictionary.com. Santiago is a very prideful man, but in many aspects this led to his failure. His pride is a very strong characteristic of his, and it should be. He is a strong, courageous man who can’t let anything beat him. The old man had too much pride to give up fishing after eighty seven days of failed attempts. He went out every day, and every time he fished just like the day before. Then he decided he had to go out farther in the sea. He went out and hooked a marlin that was big and strong enough to pull his boat with him. He could have given up then; he could have given up when it dragged him for over a day; he could have given up after his hand cramped; but he never gave up. Santiago has most likely never given up on anything in his life. Santiago is somewhat a tragic hero because his pride led to his downfall. It led to his hand cramping, his loneliness at sea, and his fish being eaten by sharks. This is a story about pride. I believe it says people need to take pride in all their efforts even though Santiago’s pride was one of the largest factors in his downfall. Adrienne Rich said “pride is a tricky, glorious, double-edged feeling.” I think this is very close to the message about pride that Hemmingway was trying to convey. I think it is a good thing to have pride. Pride gives a feeling of self worth after an accomplished feat. It makes people do thorough, hard work. Pride can also cause people to never give up. This can be good or bad. Santiago’s pride causes him to not give up. This may have led to his failure, but I think it is better to be prideful in the long run.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.

"Pride | Define Pride at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 01 Aug. 2011. .