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Anonymous Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

Confusing Dialogue in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Hello,

I am reading The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and I came across this confusing dialogue between Manolin and Santiago:


(Manolin) "Where are you going?"

(Santiago) "Far out to come in when the wind shifts. I want to be out before it is light."

(Manolin) "I'll try to get him to work far out..."

(Santiago) "He does not like to work too far out."

Then, a little bit further down:

(Manolin) "Are his eyes that bad?"



Here, what is "he/him/his" referring to? Is it referring to the boat, Santiago himself, or another person?


Thank you in advance,

Sean

  

Top answer

"Him" is apparently the skipper of the new boat the boy is now working on. The boy says he will try to get his skipper to work farther out than usual, so as to be near Santiago if he needs assistance. Santiago knows the boy's skipper and says that he (the skipper of the boy's boat) doesn't like to work too far out, because his eyes are bad, ruined by turtle fishing.

— Anonymous

  • "Him" is apparently the skipper of the new boat the boy is now working on.
  • The boy says he will try to get his skipper to work farther out than usual, so as to be near Santiago if he needs assistance.
  • Santiago knows the boy's skipper and says that he (the skipper of the boy's boat) doesn't like to work too far out, because his eyes are bad, ruined by turtle fishing.
  • This vagueness about "him" is apparently deliberate.
  • There are really only two characters in the novel, the old man and the boy, with the old man by far the most important.
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1 Answers
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"Him" is apparently the skipper of the new boat the boy is now working on. The boy says he will try to get his skipper to work farther out than usual, so as to be near Santiago if he needs assistance. Santiago knows the boy's skipper and says that he (the skipper of the boy's boat) doesn't like to work too far out, because his eyes are bad, ruined by turtle fishing.


This vaguenes

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