Choices and Consequences

Life is a web of decisions that must be made—and depending on the choices you make when confronted with these decisions, you will receive the appropriate consequences. When you’re a kid, your biggest decision might be: who do I want to play with at recess today? But as you go through life, you face obstacles that become a little more complex. Sometimes you’re asked to make decisions with which you don't want to be bothered. When you reach high school, depending on the crowd you run with, you might find yourself face to face with decisions about time management, what you do outside of school, partying, and ways to “fit in.” When you’re presented with a problem, no matter how big or small it is, it could sway what happens in your day-to-day life. But no matter who you are, or where you come from, you will be exploring the concept of choice and consequence for the rest of your life.

Santiago, a colloquial fisherman from cuba, is watching his career slowly become hopeless. He has not caught a fish in 84 days, and he decides to set sail by himself. "'Eighty-five is a lucky number,' the old man said. 'How would you like to see me bring one in that dressed out over a thousand pounds?'" (16). Santiago insists on carrying out his fishing career, and this quote shows that he appears to be optimistic about the circumstances. This was a major choice that was reflected throughout the whole story. The old man's life is defined by fishing. He has been a failure for over eighty days, and yet he is still determined to prove to his cynical community--and to himself--that he is capable of overcoming the bad luck that had been upon him. His judgment lands him in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, on his pitiful boat, with a massive, argumentative fish hooked on the end of his line.

Along with going out sailing by himself, Santiago brought no food with him, very little water, and almost no supplies. The amount of water he brought was enough to last him about a day. Because he had no food, he had to catch albacore and flying fish to eat raw. The reason he didn't bring very much of anything was because things were looking bleak. He didn't expect that his luck would change. He had seemed to be acting optimistic before, when in fact he was not as confident as he seemed. He didn't expect to catch a marlin, especially one of this gargantuan size. Since he was doubting that he would catch a fish in the first place, he deffinitely did not think that he would be out to sea for three days, therefore not needing much food or water. “‘I had better re-bait that little line out over the stern,’ he said. ‘If the fish decides to stay another night I will need to eat again and the water is low in the bottle. I don’t think I can get anything but a dolphin here. But If I eat him fresh enough he won’t be bad. I wish a flying fish would have come on board tonight. But I have no light to attract them. A flying fish is excellent to eat raw and I would not have to cut him up. I must save all my strength now. Christ, I did not know he was so big’” (66). This is a good example of the things he had to think about when he began to realize that he would be needing food if he was going to pursue this marlin. His choice was to bring a small amount of supplies, and the consequence was that he ended up staying out there longer than he expected and now he isn't prepared.

Santiago knows that this fish is the thing that could threaten his life, but also make or break his career. He decides that it is more important to stay with this fish, rather than let it go and play it safe. He wants to be able to return home with a prize. Going home empty-handed would only make him look worse. "Fish, I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends" (54). This shows how determined he is to be successful. I'm sure his patience is running thin, and that he's getting tired of waiting around for this fish to just give in. He's being thoughtful and cautious, and overall calm about being in such a complex situation. He chooses to stay with the fish, and the consequence he is given is that he's realizing that it's going to be hard doing this by himself, without the boy.

“‘Unless sharks come,’ he said aloud. ‘If sharks come, God pity him and me’” (68). The final obstacle Santiago is faced with is when the sharks come and try to get his precious marlin. The old man seems sure that he will lose this battle, but he goes into it with all of his courage and strength. As much as he tries to fight him off, there are forces working against him. He is a very old man, with no one there to help him, he does not have the proper supplies, and he has an injured hand. But, I believe he also had things that were driving him to fight. He could use the anger he felt toward the people who believed he was unlucky and who did not support him, and the anger that I'm sure he was feeling toward the sharks that were in the process of stealing the fish that he had been after night and day for three days. Santiago chose to attempt to fight off the sharks, and he ended up losing the marlin. Even though he lost the fish in the end, he never truly gives up.

The choices made by Santiago may have left him returning home with only the skeleton of the marlin, but that skeleton also resembled all of the effort and will power he had. The choices that we make every day will impinge on the rest of our lives, no matter how big or small those choices may be. When faced with a big, scary decision, most people will cringe, turn around, and walk the other way. Santiago rose to the occasion, and the choices he made, though the result was not what he wanted in the beginning, earned him the respect that he deserved.