Risk and Reward

Every decision we make, whether it's easy or extremely difficult, ends up effecting us in some way or another. Hopefully, we make a good decision, and it has positive effect, but that doesn't always happen. If we make a bad decision, we have to deal with the consequences. How people deal with the consequences of their actions, shows their true character.

A teenager who decides to stay out late past his curfew has made a risky, and usually bad, decision. The consequences he'll face from his disappointed parents will be very severe. Maybe it's no television, no cell, or, God forbid, no Xbox for two gloomy weeks. Now was it worth it to stay out that extra hour? Didn't think so. Similarly, in The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago decides to go out too deep into the Gulf of Mexico, and many things result from that. To name a few consequences: he loses his harpoon, kills an innocent fish, and injures himself. However, unlike the teenager, it wasn't all for nothing, there was some good that came from his decision.

The first consequence Santiago faces is losing his harpoon. To the everyday person, a harpoon is probably not an important tool, but to a fisherman it is one of the most important tools. Some may think that if you lose a harpoon, you can just buy a new one, which may be the case for some people, but, remember, Santiago is not a rich man and he does not have that luxury. Also, when he loses it he is in the Gulf of Mexico, and even if he had the money, he would be unable to buy a harpoon because of his location.

Now, this harpoon was clearly important to Santiago because he used it to kill the marlin. If he used the harpoon to kill that large of a fish, it must be needed to kill other large fish as well. As most people know, large fish bring in the most amount of money, and if you are unable to catch a large fish because you have no harpoon then you are missing out on a fanciful profit. A quote that shows how much Santiago needs his harpoon is: "Now the bad time is coming and I do not even have the harpoon" (103). This quote shows the importance of the harpoon as a weapon, as well as a tool. Forget about profit right now, Santiago is just trying to make it to shore safely and without a harpoon to protect against sharks or other fish, he could be in danger. Therefore, a consequence of Santiago going too deep is he loses his harpoon, a necessity of a fisherman, which will affect his safety and profit.

Another consequence Santiago faces is that he kills an innocent fish for no reason. The apologetic Santiago even admits it, "I am sorry that I killed the fish" (103). Because he went too far out into the Gulf of Mexico, by the time he reaches the shore, all that's left of the marlin is it's skeleton. Santiago is a compassionate and noble man who, even though he is a fisherman, would never harm anything unless he had a reason to. He thought the marlin would sell for a lot of money at the market, but if there's no meat, there's no money, and the reason there's no meat is because he went too deep into the water. Going too far out, cost the life of a beautiful fish, and the guilt Santiago has to face knowing he killed the fish for no reason.

One other consequence Santiago faces is injuring himself. "The speed of the line was cutting his hands badly" (83). In his efforts to catch the marlin out in the deep Gulf, he not only hurts his hands, he deprives himself of sleep and food, and injures his back. His hands are all cut up and his left hand is cramped. He doesn't sleep for three days, except for the little nap he takes. He lives off of raw fish. Then, on top of all that, he has a sore back from sitting in the skiff for so long.

Even though he is a tough man, why would you endure all those horrific things for nothing? No one, Santiago included, should. As an old man, being that far out in the Gulf, alone, in his tiny skiff, is a big risk to begin with. Add his injuries to that, and, let's face it, a tired man like him is in a considerable amount of danger, just one more consequence he faces for going out too far.

Now, being the optimistic man he is, Santiago would forget about all the consequences he faces, and look on the positive side. He would be proud of the fact that he accomplished something he had not done in eighty-four days. He caught a fish. It doesn't matter that no one actually got to see the beautiful fish it was. He proved something to himself.

From the beginning of the book, that was the conflict. On the very first page it says, "he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish" (9). Not anymore though. He doesn't have to come back to shore after a long day at sea and see other fisherman with their catches and feel sad. Santiago's confidence will be renewed and he can feel like a good fisherman once again. That is the one positive result that came from his decision to go out deep into the Gulf of Mexico.

The consequences Santiago faces in The Old Man and the Sea because of his choice to go too deep into the Gulf to pursue the marlin have a long-lasting effect on the character. Losing his harpoon, killing the innocent marlin, and hurting himself are all things he will remember forever and majorly impact his life. The positive result, the fact that he broke his eighty-four day unlucky streak and caught a fish, however, is much more important.

Consequences are very serious, whether they're in a work of literature or in real life. But, I think it's necessary to see the positive outcomes of a decision too. Is it okay to make a risky choice if the possible consequences don't seem too bad? After reading The Old Man and the Sea, I think the answer is yes. Be a rebel and take a risk, if you really want something. Because if it's what you really want, or need, then it's worth it.