Well Ford can't much help that, the worrying. He feels like he's made of it, like it's sunk so deep into his bones that he's never going to be rid of it. He wonders if this is how their mother felt, that time when they were eight and they both came down with that bad case of pneumonia. He remembers how she hovered, floating in and out of their room with a mug of coffee in her hand, how she'd comb their hair back with her long, painted nails and feel their foreheads to make sure they weren't running a fever.
Ford can't help but wish that she was here - logically he knows there's nothing their mother could do that he, as a grown ass man, can't - but still. There's no running from that feeling, that deep-seeded conviction that one's mother can magically make everything better, even when you're at a complete loss.
He licks his lips, turning his eyes back to the road as he switches lanes, heading towards those bright, welcoming lights in the distance.
"You're right, that's what it's about. The title's pretty self-explanatory, huh? But there's more to it than that, there's a message, a - see, the main character Santiago, he's an old fisherman, right? And he's gone a long time without catching any fish, so he's feeling pretty down on himself. He lives alone, he's poor, he's facing his own mortality - it's not a good time for him. But Santiago, he doesn't give up, he doesn't let all those things get to him. He goes out and he takes his boat far out into the ocean, because he's gonna make it, he's gonna break his unlucky streak. He just - he knows it in his heart, he knows this is something he's got to do."
"So he goes out, and he finally catches a fish - a marlin, the biggest one anyone's ever caught. It's so big he can't even drag it up into the boat, so for three days it drags him around, but he never lets go. He ruins his hands and his back, and he starts getting delirious from lack of sleep, but he holds on. He holds on, and eventually he wins, he beats the marlin."
"But Santiago, he just can't catch a break. He has to fight off a swarm of sharks that want to steal his catch, and by the time he makes it back home the marlin's mostly just a skeleton. He went through all that trouble to catch it, but in the end he doesn't have anything to show for it, he can't make any money off it."
He glances over at Stan again, checking to see if he's following along, or if he's fallen asleep.
"That's the thing, though, it was never about the money. It was about Santiago proving himself, it was about him struggling against adversity until he overcame it, despite all the odds stacked against him. He accomplished this great, big thing even though everyone thought he couldn't."
"It's...I don't know. Inspiring? Thinking about a guy like that, I mean. Thinking you could be like that, with enough determination. Even though he doesn't really win in the end, you can't help but admire him."
Oh would you lookie here, character parallels
Well Ford can't much help that, the worrying. He feels like he's made of it, like it's sunk so deep into his bones that he's never going to be rid of it. He wonders if this is how their mother felt, that time when they were eight and they both came down with that bad case of pneumonia. He remembers how she hovered, floating in and out of their room with a mug of coffee in her hand, how she'd comb their hair back with her long, painted nails and feel their foreheads to make sure they weren't running a fever.
Ford can't help but wish that she was here - logically he knows there's nothing their mother could do that he, as a grown ass man, can't - but still. There's no running from that feeling, that deep-seeded conviction that one's mother can magically make everything better, even when you're at a complete loss.
He licks his lips, turning his eyes back to the road as he switches lanes, heading towards those bright, welcoming lights in the distance.
"You're right, that's what it's about. The title's pretty self-explanatory, huh? But there's more to it than that, there's a message, a - see, the main character Santiago, he's an old fisherman, right? And he's gone a long time without catching any fish, so he's feeling pretty down on himself. He lives alone, he's poor, he's facing his own mortality - it's not a good time for him. But Santiago, he doesn't give up, he doesn't let all those things get to him. He goes out and he takes his boat far out into the ocean, because he's gonna make it, he's gonna break his unlucky streak. He just - he knows it in his heart, he knows this is something he's got to do."
"So he goes out, and he finally catches a fish - a marlin, the biggest one anyone's ever caught. It's so big he can't even drag it up into the boat, so for three days it drags him around, but he never lets go. He ruins his hands and his back, and he starts getting delirious from lack of sleep, but he holds on. He holds on, and eventually he wins, he beats the marlin."
"But Santiago, he just can't catch a break. He has to fight off a swarm of sharks that want to steal his catch, and by the time he makes it back home the marlin's mostly just a skeleton. He went through all that trouble to catch it, but in the end he doesn't have anything to show for it, he can't make any money off it."
He glances over at Stan again, checking to see if he's following along, or if he's fallen asleep.
"That's the thing, though, it was never about the money. It was about Santiago proving himself, it was about him struggling against adversity until he overcame it, despite all the odds stacked against him. He accomplished this great, big thing even though everyone thought he couldn't."
"It's...I don't know. Inspiring? Thinking about a guy like that, I mean. Thinking you could be like that, with enough determination. Even though he doesn't really win in the end, you can't help but admire him."