It may be short, but it is by Hemingway. I have a very vivid picture in my mind of what Santiago and the boy look like, the skiff, the sea, the shark attack. Hemingway doesn't spend a lot of time on scenic description, but for some reason he doesn't need to. In such a short story he is able to paint a very vivid image in the reader's head.Santiago is a tough old bird and spends three days reeling in a giant Marlin. He goes pretty much without food and water and has to defend his catch, as well as himself, against hungry Sharks. All his hard work and sacrifice proves futile as he finally docks back in Cuba with only a head and bones of what once was a magnificent catch. The greatest catch of his life, the one he needs the most and he sacrifices the most for, is taken away from him when success is just within reach--he can see the lights of the town as the final pieces of flesh are ripped off of the Marlin's defenseless body. Poor Santiago.
Hopefully his luck changes.
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