Eighty four days pass and still Santiago has not caught a fish in the familiar waters of the Gulf of Mexico north of his seacoast village in Cuba. Has old age robbed him of his once great skill? Is he just having bad luck? Will his scarred hands ever again pull in a prize catch? The Old Man and the Sea tells the story of an old fisherman, Santiago, his long struggle isn't so much over one fish, but the act of living living fully, actively, robustly. It is also a story of friendship between Santiago and his young friend Manolin.The Last major work by Ernest Hemingway that came out in his lifetime. The Old Man and the Sea has proved itself to be one of the enduring works of American fiction.