The Old Man And the Sea

TO CHARLIE SCRIBNER
AND
TO MAX PERKINS

The Old Man And the Sea

He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had
gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been
with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the
old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and
the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first
week. It made the boy sad to see the old man come in each day with his skiff empty
and he always went down to help him carry either the coiled lines or the gaff and
harpoon and the sail that was furled around the mast. The sail was patched with flour
sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat. (Note: The skill of the introduction
of the old man should be noted. He is both in time and timeless. The numbers mentioned are significant.)