This is a novel describing people's struggle with nature. Old fisherman San Diego the protagonist has been fishing for 84 days at sea without catching any fish. At first, a boy named Manolin goes out to sea with him, but when they haven't caught any fish after 40 days, the boy is arranged by his parents to another boat because they believe that their boy can't get good luck with the old man. On the 85th day, the old man paddles his boat far away early in the morning, … mehrand unexpectedly catches a fish even bigger than the boat. After fighting for two days with this fish, the old man has finally speared it, and then tries hard to pull it back with his boat. However, on the way, he meets a shark attack, and finally the big fish is reduced to a skeleton only and the old man is so exhausted that he falls down on the shore. The boy comes to see the old man, but he doesn't think San Diego is defeated. That afternoon, San Diego falls asleep in a thatched hut and he sees a lion in his dream. The moral of the novel is symbolic -- the old man's is a glorious failure. The novel praises the old fisherman's remarkable fortitude and tenacious determination. The boy is ready to go out to sea with the old man again, and he wants to learn the old man's skills and inherit the old man's undefeatable spirit. weniger