The Old man and the Sea Short Summary

Punjab University offers a Bachelor in Arts, now called bachelor associate degree,. The course of English includes a novel by Ernest Hemingway title "The old man and the Sea". The students are to read the novel thoroughly and answer the questions in details that appear in exams. In this case, the comprehension of the novel becomes inevitable.

I have published here the short summary of the novel to facilitate the students in their studies. The summary will give an idea of the story of the novel. So, this summary only includes the main story and all other related information is omitted. For comprehensive notes on this novel will give you more in-depth information on various topics of the novel.

The Old man and the Sea Summary

The story of the novel "The Old Man and The Sea" is about an Old Man. His name was Santiago. He was a seasoned fisherman. He fished in the Gulf Stream near the coast of Cuba. He failed to catch any fish for the last eighty-four days. He was declared 'unlucky' by other fishermen of the locality. A young boy Manolin used to work with him as an apprentice. His continuous failure in catching a fish influenced the mind of the parents of Manolin. They directed their son Manolin not to go with the Old Man for fishing. The Old Man possessed a great amount of patience and great resolution. He decided to go to the sea for fishing for the eighty-fifth day. He hoped that he would definitely hunt some big fish.

The boy Manolin brought some fresh baits for the Old Man and.a few sardines for him to eat. He pushed the Old Man's boat into the water and wished him ‘good luck'. The Old Man set out on his adventure early in the morning. Before the sunrise, he had reached that part of the sea which was called `Great Well' by fishermen. The Old man had dropped four baits of different depths in the sea. The Fist bait was at the depth of fifty fathoms, the second was at the depth of seventy-five fathoms, the third at hundred fathoms and the fourth was held at one hundred and twenty-five fathoms.

When the sun rose, the Old Man saw birds, small and big hovering in the sky. The. Old Man remained in the open sea for three days and three nights continuously.

At noon on the first day, the deepest line jerked and the Old Man sensed that a big fish Marlin had been hooked. He tried to pull it, but could not do so in spite of his best efforts. He wished that the boy would have been with him to help him in pulling the fish. The Old Man had a great contest with the big fish. The pull and pressure at the line told the Old man that the fish was very big. The fish pulled the boat for three days and three nights in different directions. On the second day, the Old Man had a chance to look at the fish which jumped out of water for air. The Old Man was standing at his place in the boat and he was profusely sweating. The fish did not show any sign of nervousness. During his contest with the fish, his right hand was injured and left hand was cramped. He felt lonely. He pledged to say prayers beginning with the Word to Mary and the Christ if he succeeded in killing the fish.

On the third day, at the time of sun break, the big fish seemed to be tired. The fish began to make circles. Sometimes, the big fish came close to the boat and at the moment, it disappeared into the sea. The Old Man continued. to draw the marlin close to himself till its mouth touched the planks of the boat. He collected all his strength and he drove the harpoon on the shoulder of the fish. The blood flowed from his heart and it reddened the seawater. The Old Man estimated that the fish might be weighing more than one thousand five hundred pounds. It was with great difficulty and much labour that he tied the fish with his boat. He set out on a journey towards his home. He sensed that the sharks would attack the big fish. He was ready to fight a battle with the sharks. After one hour, he saw a horrible shark coming towards the boat. He recognized it to be Mako. The shark attacked the tail of the big fish and ate at least forty pounds of flesh. The Old Man drove his harpoon into the brain of the Mako. The shark died at once and went into the sea. In this fight, The Old Man was deprived of his harpoon along with the rope.

The Old Man had to face the attack of two more sharks. The Old Man identified these shovel-nosed sharks as galanos. He killed these sharks with the knife and tied it to the end of the oar. In this attack, they seemed to have eaten one-fourth meat of the dead Marlin. Before sunset, two more sharks attacked the big fish. The Old Man beat their head with his club and injured them seriously. They also ate The Old Man large amount of the fish of the Marlin. At midnight, he saw the brilliant lights of Havana. He was near his destination. Then a pack of sharks attacked the fish. He took up his club and beat them mercilessly. Some of the sharks went below the boat and tore the meat of the fish. The Old Man succeeded in killing them but at that time, only the skeleton of the fish was left. 

The Old Man took his boat to the foot of the rock and tied it. He was fully tired. When he came to his cottage, he took a glass of water from the pitcher and went to sheep. In the morning, the boy visited his cottage. He was greatly grieved to see the old man in such a miserable condition. He began to cry. Later on, he went to the restaurant and brought coffee for the old man. The old man woke up. He served him coffee and consoled him.

Important points in the Novel:

• The Oldman is an Experienced Fisherman
• Oldman's struggle against marlin
• Oldman's struggle against sharks
• Man is Not made for defeat
• Oldman's dreams and loneliness
• Santiago as Hero of the Novel
• Character sketch of monoline
• Role of the Sea and its symbolic significance
• Theme of the Novel
• The Novel as a tragedy

You may also see the Complete English notes for B.A. Also see the Complete notes of Novel the Oldman and the Sea for B.A.