The Old Man and the Sea - Question 2

What are the causes, gains and losses of the conflict dealt with in the book?

When I saw that this was a question on our list of things to answer for each book, I chuckled to myself. This question has literally been in every English class I have ever taken part in. Although, it is a great question for teachers to ask to make sure the students understand the bare essentials of the book. It also may even bring up a thought that may have never been thought of. (Did you just notice how I used "thought" as a noun and a verb in that last sentence? I didn't even mean to do that.)

The main conflict in the story, most would say, is between man and nature. The man hasn't caught a fish in a really long time, and he's had enough. Why he couldn't catch a fish isn't clearly stated. It never said "The old man ran out of fishing bait for 84 days and was not able to catch a fish." Some would say that it was because the old man just wasn't cut out to be a fisherman anymore, since he was in fact an "old man." I would say that it was probably all a mental problem. The old man probably got a little worked up when he hit a small dry spell, like a week or two long, and then just freaked out and then, boom, 84 days without a fish.

Obviously, the old man gains the pride of knowing that he caught a huge fish. He gained a huge amount of confidence because after catching an 18-foot fish, what can't you do? At the same time however, the man lost his life goal. He had so much to work for, breaking his dry spell, and when he caught the fish, he had completed his goal. He may not have had anything else to work for, and his fishing career may have even ended. Overall, the outcome of the conflict was positive.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995. Print.