In The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway leaves us one of the most luminous ethical teachings of the 20th century: in life, it is not always the one who wins the prize who triumphs, but the one who keeps their inner strength intact. An essential read to accompany children in learning about effort, patience, and respect.
The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway, is a simple and profoundly human work. In very few pages, it describes something enormous: silent effort and the ability to keep going when it seems that all is lost.
Its protagonist, Santiago, evoked great tenderness in me. He is a Cuban fisherman who has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish. Everyone around him considers him an unlucky man, and even his young friend Manolín ends up distancing himself from him at his parents' decision. Even so, Santiago does not want to give up.
When he finally catches an extraordinary specimen and returns to the coast, sharks devour his catch, and he can only show the fish's skeleton. The old fisherman returns tired, hungry, in pain, and alone. And yet, he respects the fish, because he recognizes in it the same strength and the same desire to survive that he feels within himself.
At first, I thought Santiago was a defeated man. Then I understood that his true victory was facing adversity: he lost the fish, but not self-respect, and he knew how to listen to the lesson the sea was teaching him. In life, the one who endures the most, the one who does not stop moving forward, triumphs.
A lesson for our children
What a valuable lesson for the new generations. Today, grades, prizes, and results are highlighted, and we too often forget what lies behind them: effort and perseverance. Children need to understand that not everything is achieved on the first try, that there will be difficult exams, changing friendships, and moments when they believe they cannot continue. And they also need to know that this does not make them worse.
Santiago learned from the sea that making mistakes or not reaching a goal is not failing. Reading this story, I understood that failure is giving up without having tried again and again, and allowing difficulties to extinguish our dreams or wound our faith.
Manolín also leaves a precious lesson: that of believing in others. He continues to admire Santiago even when everyone doubts him. That act of trust, in a world that quickly discards those who do not perform, is in itself a lesson in ethics.
From the classroom to life
Working on this book in school would allow us to talk to children about perseverance, patience, and respect. Teach them that their worth does not depend on results. A child is no less capable for needing more time, for making mistakes, or for learning at their own pace.
Santiago returns empty-handed, but he demonstrates that in life, it is not always the one who wins the prize who triumphs, but rather the one who keeps their inner strength intact despite the outcome. This is, perhaps, one of the most important lessons we can convey to our little ones: it is not the one who arrives first who wins, but the one who, despite difficulties, finds the strength to keep moving forward.
Sometimes life, like the sea, does not allow us to choose the direction of the wind or the intensity of the waves. But even in the midst of the storm, we can decide how firmly to hold the helm and continue sailing, without letting chance decide for us. Reading The Old Man and the Sea is learning, alongside Santiago, that some defeats hide the greatest victories.
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