[gmw]

Originally Posted by GreyWolfsGhost

I think it is a good accounting of how even though a task is "impossible" it should still be attempted even if it doesn't necessarily have the desired outcome. [...]

For me this is a probably the biggest question/talking point of this short story: should it have been attempted?

Consider my earlier posts: the old man professes to love the fish but continues in a struggle that is going to have no good outcome for either the old man or the fish. As an experienced fisherman he must know this.

It seems to me that Hemingway considers his old man to be heroic, but I don't see that. I think the old man is simply stubborn and in his stubbornness he makes a mistake that betrays his love of the sea and the fish. I do see the mistake as realistic, many people (including myself) have a strong tendency to keep pushing things when they should cut their losses, but I don't see it as right or sensible.

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I had to look that one up too, apparently the dolphins in this case were actually a kind of fish (mahi-mahi) but he was using the local word for them rather than English. Here's one article on it. The porpoises are what we expect of porpoises though.

Thanks for the explanations. I assumed it must be a language difference since I could not imagine catching what I think of as a dolphin as a light couple of meals for one old man. Then we hit the "gills" thing and I took that as confirmation we were talking about a fish.

Originally Posted by latepaul

[...]
His single-mindedness can be seen as foolish, especially if you do not like his goal, but it's also hard not to admire it.

I agree, but I also find it an interesting phenomena that we do admire what is wrong-headed and foolish - and that very often we fail to recognise that it was foolish.