The Old Man And The Sea Allusion Analysis

In The Old Man and the Sea Earnest Hemingway uses allusion in his novella about an old fisherman and his battle with a huge marlin. The old man, Santiago, had gone 84 days without catching a fish. Manolin, who was an older boy that loved him and Santiago had taught him how to fish. He wanted to help Santiago and go fishing with him but his parents would not let him because Santiago had so much bad luck also known as “salao, which is the worst form of unlucky.” (page 1) One day the old man went fishing and he went very far out from the shore. Then he was on a 3 day journey with a marlin he had hooked, but was not able to reel it in because the fish was so great. For 3 days the fish pulled Santiago in his small skiff further and further away from his home in Havana, Cuba. When the fish had finally died Santiago had an even tougher time just trying to get the fish back home to sell it because he was very poor and in need of money. In the novella the numbers 40 and 3 appear numerous times as

well as they do in the Bible and the characters, animals, and objects are all allusions to the Bible and the life and works of Jesus Christ.
The number 40 is used in the Bible for many things for example when Jesus was in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights and he had to resist the temptations from Satan. Satan tempted Jesus with food, power, and to see if his angels would rescue him in times of trouble. To attain these things Jesus would have to worship Satan but Jesus had trust in God and did not give in to Satan’s temptations. “In the first 40 days the boy had been with him.” (Page 9) This is when Manolin was allowed to fish with Santiago but after these 40 days his parents would not let him. Before Jesus was crucified he received 40 lashes on his back. Throughout Jesus’ crucifixion only one of his Apostles stayed with him through it all the other 10 were too scared to be seen at his crucifixion because they thought the same thing would happen to them. The one Apostle that was at his crucifixion is like Manolin. Even though the boy could not fish with him he still saw Santiago as a teacher and loved one.
In the Bible the number three is used 466 times.

For instance Jesus is the way, the truth, and the light and Jesus brought three people back to life. Three days after Jesus was crucified he resurrected and stayed and visited among the Apostles for another 40 days. “There will be bad weather in 3 or 4 days.” (Page ) Santiago thought this as he was with the fish (also for three days). While Santiago is out at sea he says “I wish the boy were here” or “If the boy were here” nine times throughout the story. When Jesus was dying on the cross at the 6th hour there was darkness and it lasted all the way to the 9th hour. This happened over a span of three

hours.
The name Santiago means Saint James in Spanish. Saint James was an Apostle and fisherman. Manolin translates to Emmanuel meaning that he was an allusion to Jesus and Pedrico means Saint Peter. Santiago battles the fish for three days. This event represents Jesus dying on the cross then rising three days later. “’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.” While at sea, the old man wishes he had salt with him. The Bible mentions salt too and how salt is good and how it can lose its flavor. When Jesus was on the cross and after he died they stabbed his side to make sure he was dead. Water and blood poured out of his side. In the story Santiago thrust the harpoon into the shark’s side. Santiago said he was suffering and Jesus was referred to as a suffering servant. Santiago wears a straw hat that hurts his head and it symbolizes the crown of thorns Jesus wore. When Santiago was bringing the marlin back to Cuba it was attacked by sharks. This can be compared to Jesus’ crucifixion and the people cursing and throwing things at him. When Santiago tries to carry the mast back to his shack he falls three times just like Jesus did with the cross on his journey to Calvary. On the third day the fish jumped causing it to fill itself up with air and not allowing it to go to very deep into the water or it would die. It can be assumed that the fish jumping symbolizes Jesus rising from the dead. Santiago was like a father figure to Manolin like God and Jesus. Manolin left his parents to be with Santiago and to learn from him like Jesus did when he went to the Temple as a young boy and his parents couldn’t find him. After the fish had died and Santiago was back in Havana he gave Pedrico the head of the marlin it symbolized Peter as the Pope and the head of the church. While he was with the fish one of his hands were cramping and he got a cut on the other. These injuries symbolize the wounds on Jesus’ hands after being nailed to the cross. When Santiago got back to his shack he laid on his bed with his arms stretched out and he was in position that Jesus was in on the cross. Santiago, Manolin, and Pedrico were all fishers. Jesus’ Apostles were “fishers of men.”
Hemingways story about an old fisherman’s fight with a huge marlin is actually an allusion to characters in the bible.

The importance of the numbers 40 and three impacted the novella. The events that happened in the story are very similar to Jesus’ life. Manolin and Santiago have a comparable relationship to Jesus and

God.