Symbolism of the marlin in Old Man and the Sea

The marlin is, for the first half of the story, Santiago's main antagonist.

It's introduced into the story as an unknown, mysterious entity that gets caught on Santiago's fishing bait. Because of the old man's experience and professionalism, though, the fish is quickly recognized as a Marlin- but he underestimates its size, and it's quick and abrupt escape begins the two-day chase.

As all forces have an equal and opposite reaction, the marlin's speedy flight brings out the strength in santiago's body and spirit.

The marlin is really a fish, and only a fish to most people. It does not have strong feelings, nor is it really intelligent. But as this novella is only from Santiago's perspective, his (mentally "different", to put it lightly) reality is our reality, and we are forced into his view of the marlin being a graceful, majestic creature.

In Santiago's world, the marlin has a personality similar to his, hinging mainly on two abstract concepts- pride and honor.

Honor

The marlin is an embodiment of honor, because no matter what, it never succumbs and defends itself- and the sea, symbolically- to the death. Not once does it (seem to) give up.

The honor in the marlin is not vanquished, but seems to be passed on to Santiago when he captures it, because of his fondness and respect for the animal.

He spends a whole day fighting off sharks for honor, because he can't stand to see something so respected by him being devoured by bloodthirsty sharks.

Pride

While we can not say with any certainty that a fish can feel pride, it does show off its gracefulness in a similar way to that which Santiago does- with precision, athleticism and brute force.

Santiago's (and the fish's) ultimate downfall is pride. For Santiago, pride brings him down by tempting him choose to fish further out in the sea, where it's dangerous, instead of the shallow water where the fishermen tend to fish. This choice is what caused Santiago's marlin carcass to be devoured by sharks.

The fish's downfall can also be attributed to its pride; although whether it was its lack of intelligence that made the marlin decide not to destroy the skiff or its arrogance that made it try to outrun Santiago, it does not matter, because only if Santiago believed in the fish's unproven abilities would they be indeed existent.

The marlin is the treasure of the sea which Santiago seeks, and he must overcome many a great obstacles to claim the treasure for himself, yet he also relates to its "personality", so overall, in the whole story the fish appears as a two-faced object; as both a material prize and a companion.

"The fish is my friend too," he said aloud. "I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I'm glad we do not have to kill the stars.'

"You are killing me, fish, the old man thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who."

Let's rephrase some words here:

"You are killing me, Human, the fish thought. But you have a right to. Never have I seen a greater, or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who."

Only when the marlin is truly dead and conquered does Santiago really start to philosophize of his relationship with the fish.

"Then his head started to become a little unclear and he thought, is he bringing me in or am I bringing him in? If I were towing him behind there would be no question. Nor if the fish were in the skiff, with all dignity gone, there would be no question either. But they were sailing together lashed side by side and the old man thought, let him bring me in if it pleases him. I am only better than him through trickery and he meant me no harm."

“You think too much, old man,” he said aloud. But you enjoyed killing the dentuso, he thought. He lives on the live fish as you do. He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are. He is beautiful and noble and knows no fear of anything. “I killed him in self-defense,” the old man said aloud. “And I killed him well.”

"You did not kill the fish only to keep alive and to sell for food, he thought. You killed him for pride and because you are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him, it is not a sin to kill him. Or is it more?"

Marlin

The

One can see that the marlin was truly loved by Santiago, and that their relationship went beyond predator-prey, or friend to friend. The marlin symbolized not just himself, but the sea, with all the beauty that Santiago saw in it. The marlin could even be somewhat comparable to Santiago's dead wife, because they both shared the cycle of life and death, or joy and mourning, within him.

In this semi-logical delusive confession uttered by Santiago, it is clear that he considers the fish much, much more than a carcass, food, or a prize. He finds it to be a friend.

Here, we can see proof that the marlin is special in some way to Santiago. He calls the Dentuso shark noble and majestic, yet he still waves it away as just another creature of the sea- but we don't see him degrading the marlin like this in any way.

In the novel, Old Man and the Sea

In Santiago's world, a fish can be caught without any personal glory, like the young fishermen in the video.

But he himself decides to fish well into old age using only his hands and antiquated instruments, because even if he fails time and time again, he will always bond with the sea and have another chance to try again with the its unpredictable charm and luck. And along the way, he will always remember his previous saline-watered companions, like the tortoises, the bird, and the marlin.

-Santiago

-Santiago... but is it really so far-fetched to say that the fish could be thinking something similar?