At one point Santiago realizes there is no room to think; he must simply endure. In this way, this great Hemingway novel makes a companion piece to The Myth of Sisyphus: It is the doing, the daring to do, that reveals the best in mankind. In Santiago's case, he went out "too far." For Sisyphus, the stone was too heavy. But Santiago did not fail, except in failing to preserve his catch. He caught the huge marlin, alone, fought off sharks, went sleepless, and sailed himself back to port. There, he found the love of the boy and the respect of his community.
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