Comparing The Old Man And The Sea

Imagine being stranded in the ocean with no land in sight; this is what Santiago and the sailor had to go through. The Old Man and The Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a prevailing novella, and similar to this, All is lost starring Robert Redford are two extremely thought provoking stories. The Old Man and The Sea is about Santiago, a skilled fisherman, surviving in Cuba. One day Santiago sails out to deeper waters than usual. He hooks a colossal marlin and ferociously fights it for three days. In the film All is lost, Robert Redford’s sailboat becomes a lost cause and he is forced to survive alone in the middle of the ocean. Santiago and the sailor are both “Hemingway Code Heroes” because they have tenacity under pressure, are skilled, and are loyal.

Santiago is put in a situation where he could possibly fail. This circumstance tests Santiago's ability to have elegance in a stressful happenstance. Santiago is an old man with skin cancer, wrinkles, and scars surrounding his face and hands. Despite these setbacks, he fights a mammoth fish all alone at sea

and still manages to sort it out gracefully. Santiago is amazed by the “over fifteen hundred pound” marlin that he has hooked (Hemingway 97). He demonstrates a substantial deal of grace under pressure even though his “hands and back hurt truly” and shows how he is described as a code hero (Hemingway 97). The powerful marlin deprives Santiago of normalcy and pressures him to have to figure out a way to survive. This monstrous fish tests Santiago’s grace under pressure. His unwanting survival comes into play when Santiago says “If the fish decides to stay another night I will need to eat again” (Hemingway 65).
Secondly, Santiago can be seen as a “Hemingway Code Hero” in many ways, including his skillful fishing ability and his loyalty towards Manolin. He knows the Gulf Coast better than a GPS, Ernest Hemingway even wrote, “he [Santiago] was letting the current do a third of the work” (Hemingway 30). He is able to find out what species of fish he is catching by just knowing the depth of the water. Santiago’s brain has an extremely good memory system and “does not need a compass to tell him where south-west was” (Hemingway 97). In addition, Santiago is devoted to Manolin. Santiago views Manolin as a son and teaches him to fish. He likes Manolin a lot because he is nice to Santiago and understands him. Santiago realizes Manolins potential and wants him to be just as good as a fisherman as Santiago is. Santiago is loyal to Manolin: “I missed you [Santiago],” “Now we fish together again” (Hemingway 125). Being able to fish to the extreme and knowing how to direct himself around is a crystal-clear description of why Santiago is a code hero.
The sailor in All is lost is also a code hero for the same reasons as Santiago.

He is exceptionally good at handling a sailboat and never rests to keep himself alive. The ocean takes all of his energy and so “all is lost except for body and soul” (All is Lost). After his ship was sunk by a treacherous storm, he acquired the lifeboat and all of the things he needed for survival. Even when he was tired and needed rest, he prevailed and continued to fight for his own survival. The protagonist proclaims “I fought to the end, I’m sorry” (All is lost). Robert applies all of his strength to help contribute towards his survival. He is loyal to his boat, the Virginia Gene, and does whatever he can do to save it. The ship means a lot to him and it is necessary for his survival. Robert is skilled and knows everything there is to know about his sailboat. He is also able to repair his boat when something has afflicted damage to

it.
In conclusion, Santiago and Robert have many qualities that make them code heros, including that they are extremely skilled fishermen, loyal, and have finesse under pressure. As shown in these paragraphs, many good qualities make up Santiago and the sailor, but their skills and features differ from each other. Just imagine what it would be like, stranded, no one to talk to, being forced to survive all by yourself.