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Sitaram · Site Admin Joined: 14 Sep 2005 Posts: 1079

in the novel, Old Man and the Sea, the old man slays a total of 7 sharks (hmmm... 7 deadly sins)

Let us not forget that Santiago is "St. James" who stresses salvation through WORKS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea

The novella first appeared, in its 26,500-word entirety, as part of the
September 1, 1952 edition of Life magazine. 5.3 million copies of that
issue were sold within two days. The majority of concurrent criticism was
extravagantly positive, while a streak of dissenting criticism has since
emerged.

Thus on the eighty-fifth day, Santiago sets out alone, taking his skiff far
into the Gulf. He sets his lines and, by noon of the first day, a big fish that
he is sure is a marlin takes his bait. Unable to pull in the great marlin,
Santiago instead finds the fish pulling his skiff. Two days and two nights
pass in this manner, during which the old man bears the tension of the
line with his body. Though he is wounded by the struggle and in pain,
Santiago expresses a compassionate appreciation for his adversary, often
referring to him as a brother.

On the third day of the ordeal, the fish begins to circle the skiff, indicating
his tiredness to the old man. Santiago, now completely worn out and
almost in delirium, finds the strength to stab with a harpoon and kill the
fish during one of his great lunges out of the water.

Santiago straps the marlin to his skiff and heads home, thinking about the
high price the fish will bring him at the market and how many people he
will feed. The old man determines that because of the fish's great dignity,
no one will be worthy of eating the marlin.

Waldmeir was one of the most prominent critics to wholly consider the
function of the novella's Christian imagery, made most evident through
Santiago's blatant reference to the crucifixion following his sighting of the
sharks that reads:

Ay, he said aloud. There is no translation for this word and perhaps it is
just a noise such as a man might make, involuntarily, feeling the nail go
through his hands and into the wood. (Hemingway 107)

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