The theme of a book is mainly dependant on the reader, and what they obtain from the book. In The Old Man and the Sea, there is one main theme that stood out to me. This is the theme of struggle.

Struggle can be seen from many perspectives in this story. From my viewpoint, the old man, Santiago, is struggling to hold onto his pride as he approaches his own record of failure. His lack of ability to catch a fish is really hurting him. His friend, Manolin really looks up to him, as shown in his statement, "There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there is only one you." (23) It is things such as this that drive the old man's desires. He would not give up his pride.

The old man also had quite the struggle with the marlin. Once he caught the fish, the battle began. He set out with one goal, stating "Now is the time to think of only one thing. That which I was born for." (45) Throughout his battle, each creature fought for survival. The marlin, his life, and the fisherman for the survival of his pride. They struggled for three days, each trying to overcome one another. The competition between them was fierce. Santiago knew that the fist could indeed kill him. He would not have any of this, as seen by his line on page 54, "Fish, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends." (54)

When the marlin finally died, the irony is visible. Neither fish nor man had truly won the struggle, yet they both did. This fish was never taken captive, yet Santiago never really accomplished what he wanted. They both won their struggle as well, and Santiago left this battle a wiser man.