Question

How does Santiago hook the marlin?

• A. With a harpoon
• B. With bait 100 fathoms deeр
• C. By netting it
• D. With hands

Answer 1

Answer:

B. With bait 100 fathoms deeр

How Santiago Hooks the Marlin in The Old Man and the Sea

• Deep-Sea Strategy: Santiago, an experienced fisherman, employs a specific technique to target large fish like marlin, which typically inhabit deeper waters.
• Bait Placement: He uses fresh bait, often small fish like sardines, carefully attached to his lines. His primary method involves letting the bait sink to a considerable depth.
• Target Depth: The marlin is hooked with bait that Santiago deliberately sets at approximately 100 fathoms deep. A fathom is a unit of length equal to six feet (1.83 meters), primarily used to measure water depth. Thus, 100 fathoms is equivalent to 600 feet or about 183 meters.
• Hand-Line Fishing: Unlike modern sport fishing with rods and reels, Santiago fishes using hand lines. This method requires immense strength, skill, and sensitivity to feel the slightest tug on the line, indicating a fish.
• Patience and Observation: Santiago's success is a testament to his profound understanding of the ocean, the currents, and the behavior of fish, combined with extraordinary patience. He waits for the marlin to take the bait naturally.

Key Facts about The Old Man and the Sea for Competitive Exams:

• Author: The novel was written by the renowned American author Ernest Hemingway.
• Publication Year: It was first published in 1952.
• Literary Awards: The novel earned Hemingway the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953 and was cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to his Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
• Setting: The story is set in the Gulf Stream waters off the coast of Cuba, near the village of Cojímar.
• Main Characters: The central character is Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman, and the majestic Marlin he pursues.
• Themes: Prominent themes include perseverance, heroism, man's struggle against nature, defeat, victory, dignity, and the bond between man and the natural world.
• Symbolism: The marlin symbolizes nature's grandeur, Santiago's ultimate challenge, and a worthy adversary. The sharks represent the destructive forces of nature and the challenges that can strip away one's achievements.
• Narrative Style: Hemingway's signature concise and straightforward prose (the 'iceberg theory') is evident throughout the novel.