Isolation Quotes - Quotes, The Old Man and the Sea | The Old Man and the Sea - Summary, Themes & Characters - Novels PDF Download

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. (1.1)

The old man is forced into isolation because of his bad luck.

"But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast and your eyes are good."

"I am a strange old man." (1.46, 1.47)

The old man’s description of himself as "strange" identifies him as a unique character, different from others. Because he is so different from others, he is often alone.

On the brown walls of the flattened, overlapping leaves of the sturdy fibered guano there was a picture in color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre. These were relics of his wife. Once there had been a tinted photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down because it made him too lonely to see it and it was on the shelf in the corner under his clean shirt. (1.52)

The old man has had solitude forced upon him, separated from his wife by death and the boy by his parents.

Sometimes someone would speak in a boat. But most of the boats were silent except for the dip of the oars. They spread apart after they were out of the mouth of the harbour and each one headed for the part of the ocean where he hoped to find fish. The old man knew he was going far out and he left the smell of the land behind and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean. (2.20)

Isolation is an inherent part of the old man’s daily activity.

He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself. He had sung when he was by himself in the old days and he had sung at night sometimes when he was alone steering on his watch in the smacks or in the turtle boats. He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left. But he did not remember. When he and the boy fished together they usually spoke only when it was necessary. They talked at night or when they were storm-bound by bad weather. It was considered a virtue not to talk unnecessarily at sea and the old man had always considered it so and respected it. But now he said his thoughts aloud many times since there was no one that they could annoy. (2.52)

The old man is dissatisfied with isolation, creating for himself the illusion of company.

"If the others heard me talking out loud they would think that I am crazy," he said aloud. "But since I am not crazy, I do not care. And the rich have radios to talk to them in their boats and to bring them the baseball." (2.53)

The old man envies the company that others have, or that others have created for themselves artificially.

"I wish I had the boy" the old man said aloud. "I’m being towed by a fish and I’m the towing bitt. I could make the line fast. But then he could break it. I must hold him all I can and give him line when he must have it. Thank God he is travelling and not going down." (2.77)

The old man at first wants the boy to help him fight the fish.

Then he said aloud, "I wish I had the boy. To help me and to see this." (2.87)

The old man later desires the boy’s presence because he wants someone to share the experience with.

No one should be alone in their old age, he thought. But it is unavoidable. I must remember to eat the tuna before he spoils in order to keep strong. Remember, no matter how little you want to, that you must eat him in the morning. Remember, he said to himself. (2.88)

The old man distracts himself from his solitude by focusing on the task at hand.

That was the saddest thing I ever saw with them, the old man thought. The boy was sad too and we begged her pardon and butchered her promptly. 

"I wish the boy was here," he said aloud and settled himself against the rounded planks of the bow and felt the strength of the great fish through the line he held across his shoulders moving steadily toward whatever he had chosen. (2.93, 2.94)

The old man wishes the boy were there in order to share the experience, as he has done in the past.

His choice had been to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all snares and traps and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either one of us. (2.96)

The old man’s solitude extends to the fish – they are in isolation from the rest of the world, but together because of it.

Aloud he said, "I wish I had the boy." 

But you haven’t got the boy, he thought. You have only yourself and you had better work back to the last line now, in the dark or not in the dark, and cut it away and hook up the two reserve coils. (2.101, 2.102)

The old man distracts himself from his solitude by focusing on the task at hand.

He looked around for the bird now because he would have liked him for company. The bird was gone. (3.23)

The old man finds company in the creatures of the sea because he lacks the company of men. He may, however, prefer their company to men.

He looked across the sea and knew how alone he was now. But he could see the prisms in the deep dark water and the line stretching ahead and the strange undulation of the calm. The clouds were building up now for the trade wind and he looked ahead and saw a flight of wild ducks etching themselves against the sky over the water, then blurring, then etching again and he knew no man was ever alone on the sea. (3.49)

The old man takes comfort in the presence of the creatures of the sea, despite the fact that there are no other men in sight.

"I told the boy I was a strange old man," he said. "Now is when I must prove it." (3.76)

The old man is strange in his individuality, in his isolation from others; it is in solitude that he must prove his individuality, his unique and admirable nature.

If you’re not tired, fish," he said aloud, "you must be very strange." 

He felt very tired now and he knew the night would come soon and he tried to think of other things. (3.83, 3.84)

The old man recognizes his own strange individuality in the fish.

An airplane passed overhead on its course to Miami and he watched its shadow scaring up the schools of flying fish…

[...]The boat moved ahead slowly and he watched the airplane until he could no longer see it.

It must be very strange in an airplane, he thought. I wonder what the sea looks like from that height? They should be able to see the fish well if they do not fly too high. (3.93-3.95)

In his isolation, the closest the old man gets to other people is a glance at a passing plane.

It was dark now as it becomes dark quickly after the sun sets in September. He lay against the worn wood of the bow and rested all that he could. The first stars were out. He did not know the name of Rigel but he saw it and knew soon they would all be out and he would have all his distant friends. 

"The fish is my friend too," he said aloud. "I have never seen or heard of such a fish. But I must kill him. I am glad we do not have to try to kill the stars." (3.105, 3.106)

The old man feels uneasy at having to kill the fish, as it will push him further into isolation on the sea.

If the boy was here he would wet the coils of line, he thought. Yes. If the boy were here. If the boy were here. (4.4)

The old man needs the boy not only for companionship, but for assistance in fighting the marlin.

I cannot be too far out now, he thought. I hope no one has been too worried. There is only the boy to worry, of course. But I am sure he would have confidence. Many of the older fishermen will worry. Many others too, he thought. I live in a good town. (4.146)

Although the old man is isolated from others, he never feels completely alone.

When he sailed into the little harbour the lights of the Terrace were out and he knew everyone was in bed. The breeze had risen steadily and was blowing strongly now. It was quiet in the harbour though and he sailed up onto the little patch of shingle below the rocks. There was no one to help him so he pulled the boat up as far as he could. Then he stepped out and made her fast to a rock. (4.173)

Even when he returns to land, the old man is still alone.

"Did they search for me?" 

"Of course. With coast guard and with planes." 

"The ocean is very big and a skiff is small and hard to see," the old man said. He noticed how pleasant it was to have someone to talk to instead of speaking only to himself and to the sea. "I missed you," he said. "What did you catch?" "One the first day. One the second and two the third." (5.30-5.32)

The old man’s love for the boy is largely based on the companionship the boy provides for him.