Was the Marlin Really Dead

--A Review of "The Old Man And the Sea"

We might as well sit for such a test together: If you are asked to give a description of the old man Santiago and the marlin, what scene will first appear before your eyes, like bright sparks? The scene that the marlin was killed by the old man in the end, or that the old man was struggling to kill the marlin at sea all on his own?

Without caring what it is about others, I would rather picture Santiago, a man with iron will, fighting against the marlin, a big and powerful fish, if I am asked.

My mind, once grasped by this idea, never regains the original impression that I was made for the earliest time on the marlin, even though I can not recall the exact time. Never do I willingly believe the fact that the marlin died at last to the marrow of my bones. To my mind, the life of the fish was everlasting. Each time when"The Old Man And the Sea"was mentioned, the fight between the old man and the marlin will spring to mind. Therefore, I am often questioned by a strange voice: Was the marlin really dead?

There may be some similarities between my reflections of the marlin mentioned in"The Old Man And the Sea"and some other beautiful things. Here, I am willing to offer an example, one of my experiences which happened in the year when I was about ten. That day, when I came back to the earth, I found myself together with my elder brother, making our way to a small wood in the village where my grandparents lived. I did not do this of my free will. All the way, I appeared extremely unhappy and refused to talk with my brother. Instead, I walked after him aimlessly. Then all of a sudden, my eyeballs seemed to be touched by something. In a flash, I was all at sea and did not know what to do. I rubbed my eyes and finally discovered it. It seemed so far away from me that I had no idea how to put it precisely. Why had I never seen it before? At that moment, I began to regret not having brought my camera with me. Nearing to it, I decided to observe it carefully. It was a light blue flower in the shape of a butterfly. Looking at it in distance, I fairly felt I saw a beautiful butterfly dancing in the breeze. It made such a strong impression on me that I can not forget it until now.

What had happened to it these years? I do not want to know. But even if it had been three years, five years, or even ten years since I met it by chance on the way to the small wood that day, what would appear before my eyes was still the scene that the beautiful butterfly was flying gracefully in the same place, glancing back and smiling to me. Nothing about it would change in my eyes. Even if it has been fifty years or more, the situation will be the same. But, then, I have realized that it may have died, on a certain day after I left. However, believe in it or not, the life of the "butterfly" is everlasting to me.

As what Xi Murong once wrote: "永恒"的意思就是一种永远的流动，永远不停息的生命就在这样的流动里完成，what the marlin left me is not the static death but the dynamic fight against the old man Santiago.

Although death is not avoidable, it is not the end of life. It is only a small part of it. As it was written in"The Old Man And the Sea": "You were born to be a fisherman as the fish was born to be a fish"5, a fierce fight between the old man and the marlin seemed unavoidable, and the marlin was fated to be killed by Santiago, though, he was fairly regarded as a brother or a friend. To prove it ,there was a supporting detail in"The Old Man And The Sea": When the fish had been hit it was as though he himself were hit6. In another hand, what had the marlin done? Did he surrender to the old man without a fight? No, he never did. Instead, he fought against Santiago with great perseverance until the moment when he was killed. Why not support the persistent spirit of the marlin at the same time when most people think highly of that of Santiago? Is the marlin not worth sparing an approving glance? Have we ever thought of the fierce fight in the position of the marlin? "But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated7." Do not you think it is also somewhat suitable for the marlin?

Such was the marlin, a staunch and unbending fish. No wonder the old man Santiago considered him as a brother or a friend out of choice.

Now, close your eyes, and think everything about"The Old Man And The Sea",what do you see? Ask yourself, was the marlin really dead?
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