The marlin can have several symbolic meanings depending on
how the story is read. At the simplest level, the marlin is an enormous fish that
Santiago catches through determination. Going deeper, the marlin represents an ultimate,
a perfect goal that comes once-in-a-lifetime, and so for Santiago catching it represents
the culmination of his entire life.
I want to see him, he thought, and to touch and
to feel him. He is my fortune, he thought.
(Hemingway, The Old Man
and the Sea, Google
Books)
Another interpretation
of the marlin is that it is Santiago's reclamation of his reputation; he has had hard
luck recently and some of the other fisherman make fun of him, but he remains confident
that his skills have remained strong and his luck will change. Another interpretation is
that the marlin is the final obstacle in a man's life. It proves almost too strong for
Santiago, but he defeats it with willpower; had he been weaker, the marlin would have
killed him with its strength.
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