There are plenty of moral lessons that can be drawn from
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. Some of the more obvious ones include the following:
Persistence is a virtue: The entire story is based on the old man's refusal to give up in his battle with the fish. His determination, even when he seems overmatched in his little boat, is meant to be admired.
Being true to oneself: The old man is completely secure in his identity as a fisherman and does not measure his self-worth in terms of what he catches. His fishing ability is inborn, and his knowledge of the sea is instinctive.
Courage: The old man's battle with the fish is a kind of ultimate test of his courage, although the old man does not think about it in that way. Hemingway's famous definition of courage as "grace under pressure" comes into play here, as the fisherman's courage is less a conscious decision on his part than it is something necessary in order for him to perform his work.
One's work should be one's art: The fisherman's adventure with the fish is a kind of expression of the artist at work, struggling with his material. In another sense, the instinctive way the old man approaches fishing is similar to the way the artist develops his work. In either case, his fishing is an expression of his inner personality and passion.
The end is less important than the means: It is significant that the old man is not able to bring the fish to market and that all that is left of it, in the end, is the skeleton. What is important about the old man's struggle is not what he acquires, but how his struggle validates his identity as a fisherman.
From Octavia Cordell, Certified Educator, Teacher K-12, Educator since 2016
Ernest Miller Hemingway, American Writer
There are some similarities to L&P if you can imagine them.
-Not your average "Captain Dunsel" post!-