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No one is born for failure; a person can be destroyed, but they
cannot be defeated. This is a truth left by Ernest Hemingway, which has become
so widely known that even before reading "The Old Man and the Sea," people are
acquainted with it.
This also serves as a fitting description of the old man, Santiago. Alone in his
small boat, adrift in the vast ocean, tormented by hunger, cold, and pain, he
was on the verge of physical destruction. Yet, he never surrendered.
Why? How could an ordinary old man possess such unwavering determination? Was it
the result of his devout prayers, receiving mercy in his solitary and destitute
state?
In reality, upon closer examination, the old man possessed some extraordinary
qualities.
"I am an unusual old man." He uttered this phrase twice, once to Manolin and
once to the deep, endless sea. In this short sentence, I see the indomitable
self-confidence of the old man, a deep-rooted belief in his own abilities. It is
this self-assurance that enabled the old man to raise his head and face the sea
even after eighty-four days of returning empty-handed, persisting alone in his
small boat to battle the mighty marlin.
"I still have a lot of tricks up my sleeve." This was evident not only in the
old man's exceptional fishing skills but also in his accurate judgment of the
situation. After successfully catching the fish, the old man did not let victory
cloud his mind but rather keenly anticipated the threat of the sharks. It was a
kind of agility, an indispensable wisdom in battle, and the strongest support
for his self-confidence.
Perseverance granted the old man his ultimate triumph. After the sharks took
away the harpoon, the old man tied a knife to an oar. He continued to fight the
sharks with a makeshift weapon until the blade snapped. Then, he grabbed a
wooden stick and battled on, making use of every available tool, persisting
until he reached his physical limits and faced "the end of his resources."
Confidence, wisdom, and unwavering determination—these qualities provided the
old man with the strength to withstand even destruction, making him unbeatable.
This is the essence of his "remarkableness." Each person lives in the vast sea
of life, amid the azure abyss with lovely marlins and the rolling reflections of
clouds, but also with venomous jellyfish and roaring storms. Destruction depends
on fate, while defeat lies within oneself. Only those who possess the qualities
of the old man can navigate the seas with prowess. |
