English LiteratureICSE Class 8 · The Old Man and the Sea

Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat (ICSE Class 8)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway, 1952), the old Cuban fisherman Santiago, after 84 days without a catch, hooks a huge marlin and holds the line for two days and nights, then loses the flesh to sharks. He returns with only a skeleton, but not defeated: the novella shows courage, pride, respect for nature and dignity in defeat.

Understand Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat

Status. On the Suggested Reading List for Class VIII; recommended, not prescribed. Ernest Hemingway's short novel (novella) was published in 1952, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and was the one work named when Hemingway received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. His style is plain: short sentences, simple words and few adjectives.

Santiago and Manolin. An old, poor, thin fisherman in a Cuban village, 84 days without a fish. Manolin, a boy who once fished with him, was made by his parents to join a luckier boat after forty days, but still loves and helps him with food and bait.

The struggle. On the eighty-fifth day Santiago rows far out into the Gulf Stream, and a huge marlin takes his bait and pulls his skiff out to sea. He holds the line across his back for two days and nights, his hand cramping and cut. As the fight goes on he comes to admire and love the fish, calling it his brother, though he knows he must kill it. On the third day he drives his harpoon into it and lashes it alongside the boat.

The sharks. Blood attracts sharks. Santiago kills the first but loses the harpoon, ties his knife to an oar until it snaps, then uses a club. By harbour only a skeleton is left.

Return. He carries his mast home and sleeps. Manolin weeps at his injured hands and vows to fish with him again. Santiago dreams of lions on the beaches of Africa.

Themes. Courage and endurance; dignity in defeat; respect for nature; friendship across ages; pride (it takes him "too far out", bringing both his greatest achievement and his loss).

Quotations on the chapter page. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated"; "But man is not made for defeat". Use only phrases like these.

Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat: key facts

Sequence: 84 days without fish
85th day: marlin
Two days and nights
Harpoon on day three
Sharks
Skeleton; Count the days exactly.
Santiago's qualities: Courage
Endurance
Pride
Respect for nature
Dignity; Give an event for each.
Themes: Courage and endurance
Dignity in defeat
Respect for nature
Friendship across ages
Pride; Man is not made for defeat.

How to answer Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat questions

Use this for character or theme answers.

1Open with who Santiago is and his situation.
2Give two events: the fight with the marlin and the sharks.
3Name the quality each shows.
4State what he gains or loses and how he responds.
5Link to the theme and a short quotation.

Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

A hypothetical marathon runner

Suppose an old runner trains for a race, leads for most of it, cramps near the end and finishes last, yet smiles and says he will run again.

How is this like Santiago?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Great effort and endurance.
A loss at the end.
Dignity and the will to try again.

Answer: Like Santiago, he suffers a loss but keeps his dignity; the value lies in the struggle, not in the result.

Memory hook: Dignity is not won by winning.

Tricks to remember Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

84 then 85
Eighty-four unlucky days, the eighty-fifth the marlin.
Use it when: Number facts.
Destroyed, not defeated
The key idea of the book.
Use it when: Theme.

Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The dream at the end · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

What does Santiago dream of at the end of the novella?
(a) Lions on the beaches of Africa (b) Sharks (c) The marlin (d) A village feast

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

It recalls his youth.

Answer: (a) Lions on the beaches of Africa.

Example 2: Who is Manolin? · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

Who is Manolin and what does he do for Santiago? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The boy who once fished with him (1).
Brings food and bait (1).

Answer: Manolin is a boy who used to fish with Santiago. He brings him food and bait and talks with him about baseball.

Example 3: The struggle with the marlin · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Describe Santiago's fight with the marlin. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Far out in the Gulf Stream (1).
Holds the line two days and nights (1).
Comes to admire the fish (1).
Harpoons it on the third day (1).

Answer: On the eighty-fifth day Santiago rows far out into the Gulf Stream and a huge marlin takes his bait. He holds the line across his back for two days and nights, in pain and without proper sleep or food. He comes to admire and love the fish but on the third day he harpoons it.

Example 4: The sharks · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Explain how Santiago fights the sharks and what the result is. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Blood attracts sharks (1).
Harpoon lost with the first (1).
Knife tied to an oar, then a club (1).
Only a skeleton remains (1).

Answer: Blood from the marlin attracts sharks. Santiago kills the first but loses his harpoon, then uses a knife tied to an oar and finally a club. In the end the sharks eat all the flesh and only the skeleton remains.

Example 5: Defeat or victory? · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Is Santiago defeated? Support your view with two points. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

A clear view (1).
He loses the fish (1).
He keeps his pride and dignity (1).
Manolin's respect and the dream (1).

Answer: He loses the marlin's flesh, so in a practical sense he loses. But he is not defeated: he keeps his pride and self-respect, and Manolin's tears and vow to fish with him show that he is honoured. The novella suggests that a man can be destroyed but not defeated.

Where students lose marks in Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Wrong numbers
Counts are exact.
Wrong working
Forty days without a fish.
Right working
84 days; the boy left after 40.
Do this: Learn the numbers.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Calling Santiago a failure
He keeps dignity.
Wrong working
He fails and gives up.
Right working
He loses the fish but is not defeated.
Do this: Show both sides.
Usually costs: 2 marks
Mistake: Long quotations
Short only.
Wrong working
A page recalled.
Right working
"A man can be destroyed but not defeated".
Do this: Keep short.
Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

Count the days exactly.
Mention Manolin in friendship answers.
Use the key quotation briefly.
Describe the plain style when asked about language.

Practice questions on Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Which prize did the novella win in 1953?
(a) Nobel (b) Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (c) Booker (d) Sahitya Akademi
Hint
The Nobel was in 1954.
Answer
(b) Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Q2 · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why does Santiago call the marlin his brother? (2 marks)
Hint
Admiration.
Answer
As the struggle goes on he comes to admire and love the great fish, though he knows he must kill it.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
What is Hemingway's style in this novella? Give two features. (3 marks)
Hint
Plain.
Answer
The style is plain: short sentences and simple words, with few adjectives. The simple surface hides deeper meaning.
Q4 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Show how pride affects Santiago, with two points. (4 marks)
Hint
Too far out.
Answer
His pride takes him far out into the Gulf Stream, farther than other fishermen go, so he catches the great marlin. The same pride keeps him in a long fight and exposes the catch to the sharks, so pride brings both his greatest achievement and his loss.
Q5 · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
What do the dreams of lions at the end suggest? (4 marks)
Hint
Youth and strength.
Answer
The lions recall Santiago's youth in Africa, a time of strength and freedom. At the end of his struggle they suggest peace and the continuing strength of his spirit. It is a hopeful close, with Manolin ready to fish with him again.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who wrote the novella?Show answer
Ernest Hemingway.
2.Where does Santiago live?Show answer
A Cuban fishing village.
3.Who is Manolin?Show answer
The boy who loves Santiago.
4.Which creature does he catch?Show answer
A huge marlin.
5.What eats the fish?Show answer
Sharks.
6.What does he dream of?Show answer
Lions on the beaches of Africa.

Santiago's Struggle: Endurance, Pride and Dignity in Defeat: frequently asked questions

Is it a novel?

It is a short novel called a novella.

Is it prescribed?

No, suggested reading.

Why is the style simple?

Hemingway uses plain words and short sentences.