The Hand Game

The Hand Game is a flashback memory that Santiago summons during his solitary battle with the great marlin, a recollection of his youth when he defeated the strongest man on the docks in an arm-wrestling match that lasted more than a full day and night. The memory serves as a crucial source of psychological strength, reminding him—and the reader—that he possesses a proven capacity for endurance and victory against overwhelming odds. It is one of the few moments in the narrative where Santiago's past greatness is explicitly documented, and it directly informs his present determination to prove himself again.

The Match and Its Setting

The contest took place in a tavern in Casablanca, where Santiago, then known as Santiago El Campeon, faced the great negro from Cienfuegos, who was recognized as the strongest man on the docks. The two men placed their elbows on a chalk line drawn on the table, their forearms straight up, and their hands gripped tightly together. The match began on a Sunday morning and did not conclude until the following Monday morning. The room was lit by kerosene lamps, and the walls were painted bright blue. The bettors moved in and out of the room, sitting on high chairs against the wall, and the odds shifted back and forth throughout the night. The referees were changed every four hours after the first eight so that they could sleep. The negro's shadow, cast by the lamps, was huge and moved on the wall as the breeze stirred the lamps.

The Course of the Struggle

Both men suffered physically during the prolonged contest. Blood came out from under the fingernails of both Santiago's and the negro's hands. The negro was fed rum and had cigarettes lit for him by his supporters, and after drinking, he made a tremendous effort that once nearly pulled Santiago three inches off balance. But Santiago raised his hand back to dead even. At that moment, Santiago became certain that he had the negro beaten, recognizing him as a fine man and a great athlete. By daylight, the bettors were asking for a draw because they had to go to work on the docks loading sacks of sugar or at the Havana Coal Company, and the referee was shaking his head. But Santiago unleashed his effort and forced the negro's hand down until it rested on the wood, finishing the match before anyone had to go to work.

Aftermath and Significance

For a long time after that victory, everyone called Santiago The Champion. A return match was held in the spring, but little money was bet, and Santiago won it quite easily because he had broken the confidence of the negro from Cienfuegos in the first match. After that, Santiago had a few more matches and then stopped. He decided that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough, but he also concluded that the arm-wrestling was bad for his right hand for fishing. He tried a few practice matches with his left hand, but his left hand had always been a traitor and would not do what he called on it to do, and he did not trust it. The memory of this event surfaces during his struggle with the marlin, as he thinks of the great DiMaggio playing with the pain of a bone spur in his heel, and he uses the recollection to give himself more confidence. The Hand Game establishes Santiago's identity as a man of extraordinary will and physical strength, a champion who has proven himself in a contest of pure endurance, and it underscores the theme that true defeat is a matter of the will, not of circumstance. The memory also foreshadows his later struggle with the marlin, where he again must draw on his deepest reserves of strength and resolution, and it reinforces his belief that a man can be destroyed but not defeated.