The Old Man and the Sea exemplifies the spirit of life that Hemingway, a great American writer of the 20th century, pursued.

The story concerns an old fisherman who finally catches a giant marlin after weeks of not catching anything.

However, sailing on with the fish, he encounters sharks that devour the marlin’s meat.

By the time he returns to the harbor, there is only the skeleton of the fish.

Hemingway vividly describes a joyous triumph won in a relentless, agonizing battle, through an old man who would never cease struggling.

As the old man says, “A man can be destroyed but not defeated. ”

The old man exemplifies Hemingway’s ideal that indomitable courage is the eternal triumph of the human spirit.

Using simple, powerful language, Hemingway depicts the spirit of the fisherman and the dynamics of life.

The Old Man and the Sea is praised as a crowning achievement for best exhibiting Hemingway’s belief that although life is fighting the battle of defeat, the dignity won from the defeat is a triumph.