Themes, Human Nature - The Old Man and The Sea

In reading The Old Man and The Sea, two reoccurring themes stuck out to me.  The first theme that I found important was suffering.  How much suffering did not only Santiago go through, but also the fish.  In catching the fish, Santiago had to go through physical and emotional pain.  Hunger, lacerations, and loneliness overwhelmed Santiago, in his struggle with the fish.  In holding the line that the marlin was on, his hand had been cut very badly and was beginning to cramp up (Hemingway, 64).  Santiago began to get so hungry that he had to eat the fish that he had intended on using as bait (Hemingway, 66). However, Santiago was not the only one who had to go through suffering; the marlin also had to go through the pain.  Sure, he was a huge fish, who had great strength, but having a hook in your mouth and pulling a boat had to be very difficult. 
This theme leads into the next major theme of perseverance.  Both Santiago and the Marlin had a test of whose will was stronger.  You could say that in the end Santiago won this battle, but both had a test of their perseverance.  Santiago's was that he had to be able to hold on to the fish no matter how hard it was.  He had to go through the "sufferings" of pain, hunger, and loneliness to hold on to the great fish.  It tested his strength and endurance, but in the end Santiago prevailed in killing the fish.  Even hough the fish did die, his perseverance was tested.  Again, the fish had to go through much pain and strength to not give up.  In the end, he did, but it was a great fight that was put up on both ends of the battle.
By using the themes of suffering and perseverance, Hemingway not only understands the battle being fought in the book, but also the battle being fought by everybody on a daily basis.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.