Discuss.

The novel begins with the motif of luck. Santiago is an unlucky man: he has not caught a fish in eighty-five days. Santiago's luck changes or does it? The motif of luck becomes a nefarious term. Santiago believes he can outsmart luck or rather bad luck can be outsmarted by being prepared yet he still relies on luck to explain his success and failure. Santago does catch the Marlin but then sharks eat it. Luck becomes a dichotomy forever in flux in the old man's life. He uses luck to make sense of his world in a context he can understand.