Lance Watkins English P-4 Old Man and the Sea “Nature”, “Wisdom of old age”, and “luck vs. craft and skill” are all themes used in The Old Man and the Sea. Define these terms and tell how they are used.” There were many cases of Earnest Hemingway displaying the theme of the wisdom of old in his classic Novella, The Old Man and the Sea. Three of the most prominent were the Old Man knowing his limits, the Old Man conserving his supplies and strength, and the Old Man knowing the virtues of patience. All of these qualities could be found in the character of Santiago, or the Old Man, and he showed these traits time and time again in his classic struggle with the outsized marlin. The first of these cases was the Old Man’s knowledge of his limits. The Old Man had lived a long time, long enough to know almost exactly what he was capable of doing. This allowed him to accept his losses easier. When the sharks were attacking the marlin, he knew that he could only hold them off for so long, especially after breaking his knife. He knew that he could only be able to hold off one or two sharks with the oar. This did not mean that he gave up, just that he had a firm grip on reality. That was much healthier than deluding himself. When he lost the fish, his grasp of reality helped him to be stoic during his tragedy. The second of these cases was the Old Man conserving his supplies and strength. Santiago knew that his battle with the marlin could have lasted a long time. He managed to conserve one bottle of water for three days. He also ate only what he needed of the smaller fish that he had caught with the other hooks. This helped him to survive and keep strong in his struggle with the colossal fish. In addition, he never struggled with the fish unless he was forced to. The marlin was tremendously stronger that the Old Man, and he would have been completely exhausted himself in a short time. The Old Man, in his wisdom, knew this. What's more, he also knew of the perfect time to take sleep and restore this energy. He did not just go to sleep blindly, either. He set it up so that the slightest change in the marlin’s actions would awaken him. This might have been too much of a risk for a younger, less experience person, but the Old Man knew that it was better to go to sleep prepared than to fall asleep at an inopportune time. The third of these cases was the virtues of patience. The Old Man showed that he was a very patient man, in both his struggle with the marlin and his flashbacks to his youth. In one of his flashbacks, he remembered his heroic battle with the Negro, in which they wrestled for over a day in a bout of arm-wrestling. If this memory was true and not the hallucinations of a sleep-depraved and old mind, than the Old Man showed great patience in not giving up or succumbing to the pain. It was not the Old Man’s strength that won him the battle, for he was evenly matched with the Negro. It was the fact that he could outwait him. This was something that could only be learned with age. Another case of this was during his battle with the marlin, where he kept himself from struggling. This did more than showcase him conserving his strength; the Old Man knew that it would be much easier to wait for the fish to jump out of the water and let it lacerate itself instead of struggling with it. The old man was patient for a long time. He struggled with the marlin the marlin for three days before it panicked and jumped around as if it were mad, but it paid off for him. There are many cases of Earnest Hemingway displaying the theme of the wisdom of old in his classic Novella, The Old Man and the Sea. As all of these examples have shown, Santiago was a very wise old man. He had lived for a long time, and compiled many years of experience. He was a testament to what a human could do if he or she had enough experience, and he continues to show us that strength can exist in old age.