Ernest Hemingway, born in Oak Park, Illinois, started his career after graduating from High School as a writer in a newspaper office in Kansas City at the age of seventeen. He tried to enlist in the army at 18 but was deferred because of poor vision and before the United States entered the First World War, he joined a volunteer ambulance unit in the Italian army. Serving at the front, he was wounded, and was awarded …showed first 75 words of 1175 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1175 total…sharks steal his prize fish, they cannot take away the fact that Santiago has done the unthinkable by catching a fish "bigger than he had ever heard of" (Hemingway 63). The old man has actually triumphed in spite of his loss. In spite unsuccessfully bringing the fish back, Santiago endures and successfully survives his supreme ordeal, fighting the timeless battle of man vs. fate, with honor by remaining resilient in the face of triumph and tragedy.