In The Old Man and the Sea a fisherman who lives in Cuba, near Havana, struggles to survive as he goes without catching a fish for 85 days. As Santiago, the troubled fisherman, struggles to survive the reader learns many symbols that mean a lot towards the plot in the book. Three symbols from The Old Man and the Sea are, Joe Dimaggio and his bone spur, the lost harpoon, and the lions. The first symbol from the book is about Joe Dimaggio, a baseball player on the New York Yankees. Santiago idolizes the New York Yankees and Joe Dimaggio. Santiago did not have a radio so the only way he could follow them was by reading the newspaper. The following quote shows why Joe Dimaggio has to do with a symbol in the book. “He had been pulled down tight…show more content… The old man uses the harpoon as defence, as well as a way to kill the fish after he has caught them on his line. The harpoon symbolizes faith as shown in the following quote. “The old man could hear the noise of skin and flesh ripping on the big fish when he rammed the harpoon down onto the shark’s head (Hemingway 102).”This quote shows how the old man was defending himself using the harpoon. The harpoon symbolizes faith because, faith is defined as having the confidence or trust in something or someone. And faith in other circumstances could be used as a defence just like the harpoon. Santiago had faith in the harpoon to protect himself from the sharks. However shortly after the old man ends up losing his harpoon while defending himself from a shark. And this following quote is another example of how the harpoon can symbolize faith. “Now they have beaten me, he thought (Hemingway 112).” This quote shows symbolism because this was the old man referring to the sharks that were attacking him in his skiff. He had already lost his harpoon and was struggling to defend himself let alone survive without being attacked. This shows that the harpoon symbolizes faith because if he had his harpoon he could have fought of the sharks easier and saved more of his prized possession. However he was doubting himself because he did not have anything to defend himself with which shows how faith can symbolize the…show more content… The reason the man wants to dream about lions is because, lions are considered the king of the jungle or predators. And the old man considers himself a predator to the marlin. As well the lions symbolize his youth, when he had strength to pursue a four day fishing trip and when he had pride. So really these quotes put together means that the man needs to prove his strength and his ability to hunt like a lion or a predator. The second example of the lions symbolism takes place at the end of the book when the man has arrived back home. He was sleeping in his shack and was trying to rest from all the pain he endured on the trip. The following quote shows another example of the lions symbol. “He was still sleeping on his face and the boy was sitting by him watching him. The old man was dreaming about the lions (Hemingway 127).” This quote was the last line in the book which is part of the reason it means something. The old man was not trying to act like a predator or to prove himself, rather he was hoping for eternal life. This still means that lion symbolize his youth, however this quote in other words could mean he was hoping for his youth back or he was hoping for eternal