Symbols are objects, characters, figures, and colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Marlin
Magnificent and glorious, the marlin symbolizes the ideal
opponent. In a world in which “everything kills everything else
in some way,” Santiago feels genuinely lucky to find himself matched against
a creature that brings out the best in him: his strength, courage, love, and respect.
The Lions on the Beach
Santiago dreams his pleasant dream of the lions at play
on the beaches of Africa three times. The first time is the night
before he departs on his three-day fishing expedition, the second
occurs when he sleeps on the boat for a few hours in the middle
of his struggle with the marlin, and the third takes place at the
very end of the book. In fact, the sober promise of the triumph
and regeneration with which the novella closes is supported by the
final image of the lions. Because Santiago associates the lions
with his youth, the dream suggests the circular nature of life.
Additionally, because Santiago imagines the lions, fierce predators,
playing, his dream suggests a harmony between the opposing forces—life
and death, love and hate, destruction and regeneration—of nature.
The Shovel-Nosed Sharks
The shovel-nosed sharks are little more than moving appetites
that thoughtlessly and gracelessly attack the marlin. As opponents
of the old man, they stand in bold contrast to the marlin, which
is worthy of Santiago’s effort and strength. They symbolize and
embody the destructive laws of the universe and attest to the fact
that those laws can be transcended only when equals fight to the
death. Because they are base predators, Santiago wins no glory from
battling them.
