Question

Writing Prompt: The shark plays a symbolic role in Old Man and the Sea. Write an essay explaining what the shark symbolizes. In preparation for your essay, consider the following: Santiago’s character and his relationship with the marlin The cycle of life and death and the interrelationship of nature Santiago’s perseverance, inspiration, and drive

Answer 1

According to Hemingway, the sharks don't symbolize anything in The Old Man and the Sea. At least that's what he said when the book was published in 1952. Despite what Hemingway said, and even though it was his work, it's hard to ignore the glaring symbolism the sharks do present. The two different types of sharks provide two distinct symbols for Santiago and Hemingway. To the protagonist Santiago, the shovel-heads are unworthy creatures, but the Mako symbolizes death, which Santiago knows he is close to facing. The shovel-heads, to Hemingway, symbolize literary critics.
'They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers, and when they were hungry they would bite at an oar or the rudder of a boat. It was these sharks that would cut the turtles' legs and flippers off when the turtles were asleep on the surface, and they would hit a man in the water, if they were hungry, even if the man had no smell of fish blood nor of fish slime on him.'
These creatures were not noble or worthy. They were hateful scavengers, which echoes Hemingway's feelings toward his critics--the people who said he was finished as a writer.
A man can be destroyed but not defeated,' which is what Santiago says just after he has killed the first shark that attacked the enormous marlin he caught. 'He was a very big Make shark built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws.'
THE END