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Old Man and the Sea Section 4 (pg. 82-100)
Santiago is awoken by a strong pull from the line and hits his face with his fist. His left hand becomes numb and the fish jumps from the ocean and falls back in hard. His jumps pull the skiff quickly along. His hands are cut badly, but he anticipated this move by the marlin and does not allow the line to slip from his hands. He endures and ignores the pain. He waits for the marlin to start circling, and when the fish does, Santiago begins to see black spots before his eyes, the salty sweat from his forehead dripping into his eyes and cuts. He again prays to God for his help in surviving this battle against the marlin. He is very fatigued and the fish has dragged him far out into the Gulf. But he knows he will return: "A man is never lost at sea..." Page 89
Santiago tries to get close to the fish to harpoon and kill him. He will no longer be able to endure the turns of the circling fish and tells the fish that it is killing him:
"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." Page 92
Santiago has to remind himself to keep his head clear and suffer like a man, or fish. Finally, after a few more circles, the fish gently swims up by the side of the skiff and Santiago plants a harpoon in it. Though it is dying, the marlin comes alive for its last moments and proudly jumps out of the water and falls back in, spraying the old man and the skiff. Santiago says he has killed his brother.
Topic Tracking: Fraternalism 4
His head is still unclear and he still has pain, but feels good about his victory: "I think the great DiMaggio would be proud of me today." Page 97
He is still in disbelief about catching the fish. The fish and Santiago sail back towards land, side-by-side, as the marlin is latched on the side of the skiff. This way the two share a proud moment as they return to land. After only an hour, Santiago encounters his first shark.
