Every day, people face many troubles and obstacles that they have to try and overcome. It can be as serious as having cancer, or as simple as missing the bus. But whatever it may be, when you overcome it, you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Like they say, you can’t enjoy a rainbow without the rain. In the novella Old Man and the Sea, by Earnest Hemingway, Santiago faces many obstacles he himself must overcome to reach his goals of catching a marlin for the first time.
Santiago befriends a young boy named Manolin, who loved going on the boat, but then his parents didn’t want to be plagued with bad luck, like Santiago, so told him go find another boat to fish on. “’Santiago,’ the boy said to him..’I could go with you again. We’ve made some money.’” ‘No,’ the old man said. ‘You’re with a lucky boat. Stay with them.’”(10) Santiago continues to tell the boy that he can’t take him on the unlucky boat although he was the one to teach him how to fish. I think that Santiago really did him. I think it was wise for Santiago not to keep Manolin for himself, because Manolin could have not benefited from the experience as much as he needed too. It makes me feel that Santiago is thoughtful and sincere.
When Santiago goes to sea in hopes of catching a marlin, his left hand is suddenly cramping, and his hand is locked in position. He hasn't eaten in four days, and catches a raw fish and eats it as it is. “I will eat it all, and then I’ll be ready. ‘Be patient, hand,’ he said. ‘I do this for you.’” (60) Santiago is telling his hand to be patient, and try and forget about the hurting because he is eating raw fish, in order to get the strength back and to stop his hand from cramping. He says, “I do this for you” because most people don’t like eating raw fish, including Santiago, so he was doing this gross act, just for the hand. This shows how much Santiago needed his hand to be better, or at least to start feeling better and un-cramp. It also makes me understand how devoted he can be if he really wants something to happen.
When Santiago caught a Marlin, it was a very proud moment in his life. Only a couple hours later, a shark took a bite out of the Marlin. As the blood spread, more and more sharks came along, and Santiago gave up fighting them off, because there were too many. “He could see their wide, flattened, shovel-pointed heads now and their white-tipped wide pectoral fins. They were hateful sharks, bad smelling, scavengers as well as killers..” (107-108) Santiago is describing the sharks. He knows that they will attack the marlin, and eat some. Once the blood of the marlin is in the water, more and more sharks would come. He would fight them off as long as he could, but once too many came, it was just to hard, and useless.
Santiago overcomes each and every one of his obstacles because of his strength and perseverance. His patience when trying to catch the marlin showed that he is willing to wait until the situation is just right in order to jump on an opportunity. He knows what he wants, and how he's going to get there. That's something that everybody should have. Also, improvement is success in itself. When santiago catches the marlin, even though the sharks ate the whole thing, he still caught the marlin which was his accomplishment because he had never caught such a large fish before. His ability to stay calm and not become irritable and bitter allows him to achieve more than if he became stressed and frantic.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
After 5 o' Clock
Hailey and Caroline were lounging their chairs, listening to their ipods. It was a hot day at Ogunquit Beach in Maine. Their families were on their annual July trip to Maine for a whole week. The families shared two campers at “Beach Dreams”, their preferred camping site.
“Ahhhh, this is the life.” Hailey said while sipping a Pepsi. “It does’nt get any better then this!” She put the Pepsi back down on the cooler and reached for her sandwich. She looked behind her at the fake mangrove tree. This beach was always trying to seem tropical.
“Mhm.” Caroline muttered. She was shifting her shoulders side to side, attempting to dance in place during her favorite song.
“Come on Caroline! We’ve been tanning all morning. I’m sick of just laying around. Can we play beach volleyball, or go in the water, or at least take a walk?” Hailey pleaded.
Caroline stood up and brushed some of the sand off her legs. “Alright, let’s go in the water.” She moaned. It seemed as though Hailey was indefatigable. Caroline hated going in the water. She hated the cold, but she knew that Hailey was dying to get in so she sucked it up and grabbed a Boogie Board. They ran down the beach and dipped their toes in. Hailey Continued to run in. Caroline started to furtively back away.
“Caroline. Come on. Stop being such a wuss and get over here!” Hailey yelled. There was no way Hailey was going in alone, and she had an irrevocable decision that she WAS going to go in. Caroline groaned and stepped in slowly, hopping at each new wave. Hailey was already just past her hips, and she turned around to see Caroline shivering with the water just past her knees.
"Theres no gaffs in these waters, right?" Caroline shouted.
"Caroline! It's an ocean, not a lake." Hailey started laughing so hard she plunged into the cold water. She quickly got back up and motioned for Caroline to go faster. As she waited she started to circumnavigate for fun.
“I’m coming, just give me a sec!” Yelled Caroline. She quickly ran into the water and grabbed onto Hailey’s arm. They waited for a few waves then both caught one.
“See! This isn’t so bad once you get used to it right?” Hailey Asked.
“Actually, your right. I’m having more fun then I would have thought!” Caroline happily replied. They were riding a huge wave when Caroline saw Hailey flip over and go under the water. She swam over to help her. Hailey wasn’t coming back up. Caroline quickly dove under the water. She couldn’t open her eyes without the salt water burning them, and she wouldn’t be able to see much anyways because the water was dark, and filled with seaweed. So, she felt around for her best friend. She was looking for what seemed like a long time for somebody to be under..she started to panic.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. She’s probably fine. Maybe she was on the shore right now warming up with a sun heated towel, drinking a bottle of water.” She quietly said to herself. “No,” She answered herself. “Hailey wouldn’t leave me alone.” Caroline came up from the icy water and looked around. Hailey was no where. Caroline whipped her head around and looked at the shore. No life guards. It must have been past 5:00, when the lifeguards are off duty.
She yelled to the man next to her, “Please help me! My friend went under and I can’t find her!” The man yelled to his buddies and they all went further out and started looking. Caroline ran to shore as fat as she possibly could, abandoning her Boogie Board in the water.
Caroline started to yell for help. “MOM! MOM! HAILEY WENT UNDER I CANT FIND HER! WHAT DO WE-”
“Caroline look!” Her mother exclaimed. The men she asked her for help were carrying Hailey up the shore. Caroline was shocked. Hailey’s limp body was no longer smiling. Her hair was a mess, no longer perfect and Straight. Her legs were red from scraping against the ocean floor. Her whole body was shaking and Caroline knew she was still alive and fighting. As her mother called 911, Caroline got all the beach towels she could scavenge. She laid them down on the hot sand. A young woman offered CPR, and tried to get the water out of Hailey’s body. Caroline kept blaming herself.
“Its my fault for letting her go out in the water after the life guards left. Its my fault for waiting so long to find help. Maybe I could have done something more...” Caroline thought. She really needed to stop blaming herself, it wasn’t helping anything- or Hailey. She looked over as Hailey was spitting up water from the ocean. She still wasn’t breathing. The ambulance pulled up. Caroline saw many people watching the men come out and run with a stretcher towards her best friend. All she could think about was the pain of losing the person that means to most to her. Caroline followed the men onto the ambulance.
“Wait a minute miss, you can’t come on here.” Said the EMT.
“What? I have to be! I’m her best friend. I need to be here for her, and I want to know what’s going on.
“Very well, get in quickly.” Replied the EMT. Caroline hopped in. They had life support on the ambulance, and the thought that they might need it scared Caroline. The hospital ride was a blur. Caroline was focused on Hailey's face and nothing else, but she couldn't help but look at the EMT. They finally got a pulse. That very second they pulled up to the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was two days later. Once there was tidings of Hailey finally being alright, Caroline could sleep. She was in a comma for about 2 hours, from being so cold, and being knocked out in the water from her Boogie Board. She was in recovery for the last week, and today the Doctor emancipated her from the hospital and said she could go back to the beach. Their family extended their vacation so the girls could have more time. Hailey and Caroline were lounging with their ipods & Pepsi's, yet again, and for once Hailey was just fine with that.
"You know, they should really put a warning label on those Boogie Boards." Hailey Joked. "You could She look over at Caroline who gave her a funny look. She took a deep breath and said, "or maybe we'll just keep the water fun for BEFORE 5:00!" The girls both gave out a big laugh. Caroline was feeling a bit taut about the whole situation.
"Hailey...? I want to make the rest of the vacation as fun as possible for, soo......do you you want to go in the water?" Caroline made a funny face, maybe she shouldn't have asked that? Hailey let out a large sigh and frowned. Caroline quickly became nervous. She started to sweat as she thought that the question could have shocked Hailey or made her uncomfortable. "Or not! I mean, it doesn't really matter to me. Its not a big de-"
Hailey quickly cut her off. There was a nictus as Hailey sorted out her words. She didn't want to soud inept when she told Caroline what she was feeling. She touched the contusion one her head, then began.
"Caroline. What you just asked me made me so happy." Hailey said in a serious voice. "I know your afraid to go back into the water because of what happened to me, and I don't really blame you. So asking that made me feel like you care more about me and this friendship then you do yourself." Caroline's countenance was priceless.
"Oh I.." Caroline didnt even know what to say. As she thought about what her friend had just said to her, she grinned ear to ear, analagous to the one Hailey had. They were best friends; And nothing could ever change that. They gave each other a hug. Caroline truley learned that day, that friendship is the most valuable thing you can ever have.
“Ahhhh, this is the life.” Hailey said while sipping a Pepsi. “It does’nt get any better then this!” She put the Pepsi back down on the cooler and reached for her sandwich. She looked behind her at the fake mangrove tree. This beach was always trying to seem tropical.
“Mhm.” Caroline muttered. She was shifting her shoulders side to side, attempting to dance in place during her favorite song.
“Come on Caroline! We’ve been tanning all morning. I’m sick of just laying around. Can we play beach volleyball, or go in the water, or at least take a walk?” Hailey pleaded.
Caroline stood up and brushed some of the sand off her legs. “Alright, let’s go in the water.” She moaned. It seemed as though Hailey was indefatigable. Caroline hated going in the water. She hated the cold, but she knew that Hailey was dying to get in so she sucked it up and grabbed a Boogie Board. They ran down the beach and dipped their toes in. Hailey Continued to run in. Caroline started to furtively back away.
“Caroline. Come on. Stop being such a wuss and get over here!” Hailey yelled. There was no way Hailey was going in alone, and she had an irrevocable decision that she WAS going to go in. Caroline groaned and stepped in slowly, hopping at each new wave. Hailey was already just past her hips, and she turned around to see Caroline shivering with the water just past her knees.
"Theres no gaffs in these waters, right?" Caroline shouted.
"Caroline! It's an ocean, not a lake." Hailey started laughing so hard she plunged into the cold water. She quickly got back up and motioned for Caroline to go faster. As she waited she started to circumnavigate for fun.
“I’m coming, just give me a sec!” Yelled Caroline. She quickly ran into the water and grabbed onto Hailey’s arm. They waited for a few waves then both caught one.
“See! This isn’t so bad once you get used to it right?” Hailey Asked.
“Actually, your right. I’m having more fun then I would have thought!” Caroline happily replied. They were riding a huge wave when Caroline saw Hailey flip over and go under the water. She swam over to help her. Hailey wasn’t coming back up. Caroline quickly dove under the water. She couldn’t open her eyes without the salt water burning them, and she wouldn’t be able to see much anyways because the water was dark, and filled with seaweed. So, she felt around for her best friend. She was looking for what seemed like a long time for somebody to be under..she started to panic.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. She’s probably fine. Maybe she was on the shore right now warming up with a sun heated towel, drinking a bottle of water.” She quietly said to herself. “No,” She answered herself. “Hailey wouldn’t leave me alone.” Caroline came up from the icy water and looked around. Hailey was no where. Caroline whipped her head around and looked at the shore. No life guards. It must have been past 5:00, when the lifeguards are off duty.
She yelled to the man next to her, “Please help me! My friend went under and I can’t find her!” The man yelled to his buddies and they all went further out and started looking. Caroline ran to shore as fat as she possibly could, abandoning her Boogie Board in the water.
Caroline started to yell for help. “MOM! MOM! HAILEY WENT UNDER I CANT FIND HER! WHAT DO WE-”
“Caroline look!” Her mother exclaimed. The men she asked her for help were carrying Hailey up the shore. Caroline was shocked. Hailey’s limp body was no longer smiling. Her hair was a mess, no longer perfect and Straight. Her legs were red from scraping against the ocean floor. Her whole body was shaking and Caroline knew she was still alive and fighting. As her mother called 911, Caroline got all the beach towels she could scavenge. She laid them down on the hot sand. A young woman offered CPR, and tried to get the water out of Hailey’s body. Caroline kept blaming herself.
“Its my fault for letting her go out in the water after the life guards left. Its my fault for waiting so long to find help. Maybe I could have done something more...” Caroline thought. She really needed to stop blaming herself, it wasn’t helping anything- or Hailey. She looked over as Hailey was spitting up water from the ocean. She still wasn’t breathing. The ambulance pulled up. Caroline saw many people watching the men come out and run with a stretcher towards her best friend. All she could think about was the pain of losing the person that means to most to her. Caroline followed the men onto the ambulance.
“Wait a minute miss, you can’t come on here.” Said the EMT.
“What? I have to be! I’m her best friend. I need to be here for her, and I want to know what’s going on.
“Very well, get in quickly.” Replied the EMT. Caroline hopped in. They had life support on the ambulance, and the thought that they might need it scared Caroline. The hospital ride was a blur. Caroline was focused on Hailey's face and nothing else, but she couldn't help but look at the EMT. They finally got a pulse. That very second they pulled up to the hospital.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was two days later. Once there was tidings of Hailey finally being alright, Caroline could sleep. She was in a comma for about 2 hours, from being so cold, and being knocked out in the water from her Boogie Board. She was in recovery for the last week, and today the Doctor emancipated her from the hospital and said she could go back to the beach. Their family extended their vacation so the girls could have more time. Hailey and Caroline were lounging with their ipods & Pepsi's, yet again, and for once Hailey was just fine with that.
"You know, they should really put a warning label on those Boogie Boards." Hailey Joked. "You could She look over at Caroline who gave her a funny look. She took a deep breath and said, "or maybe we'll just keep the water fun for BEFORE 5:00!" The girls both gave out a big laugh. Caroline was feeling a bit taut about the whole situation.
"Hailey...? I want to make the rest of the vacation as fun as possible for, soo......do you you want to go in the water?" Caroline made a funny face, maybe she shouldn't have asked that? Hailey let out a large sigh and frowned. Caroline quickly became nervous. She started to sweat as she thought that the question could have shocked Hailey or made her uncomfortable. "Or not! I mean, it doesn't really matter to me. Its not a big de-"
Hailey quickly cut her off. There was a nictus as Hailey sorted out her words. She didn't want to soud inept when she told Caroline what she was feeling. She touched the contusion one her head, then began.
"Caroline. What you just asked me made me so happy." Hailey said in a serious voice. "I know your afraid to go back into the water because of what happened to me, and I don't really blame you. So asking that made me feel like you care more about me and this friendship then you do yourself." Caroline's countenance was priceless.
"Oh I.." Caroline didnt even know what to say. As she thought about what her friend had just said to her, she grinned ear to ear, analagous to the one Hailey had. They were best friends; And nothing could ever change that. They gave each other a hug. Caroline truley learned that day, that friendship is the most valuable thing you can ever have.
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