the great well as a fishing spot

The great well as a fishing spot is a specific, named location in the Gulf Stream, a sudden deep of seven hundred fathoms where the ocean floor drops sharply and the current swirls against steep underwater walls. The fishermen of Havana call it "the great well" because it concentrates marine life: shrimp, bait fish, and sometimes schools of squid gather in the deepest holes, rising close to the surface at night, where all the wandering fish feed on them. It is the place Santiago chooses to fish on the eighty-fifth day of his unlucky streak, rowing far out from the harbor and leaving the smell of the land behind, because he knows that here, if anywhere, a truly big fish might be found.

Santiago's Strategy and the Hooking of the Marlin

Santiago rows to the great well deliberately, having worked the deep wells for a week without success. On this day, he sets his baits with precision: one at forty fathoms, a second at seventy-five, and the third and fourth at one hundred and one hundred and twenty-five fathoms, each bait hung head down with the hook covered in fresh sardines. He keeps his lines straighter than anyone else, so that at each level in the darkness of the stream there is a bait waiting exactly where he wishes it to be. It is here, one hundred fathoms down, that a marlin begins to eat the sardines covering the hook. The old man feels the light, delicate pulling, then a harder pull, and finally the unbelievably heavy weight of the fish. He lets the line slip down, down, down, unrolling off the first of the two reserve coils, and knows he is fast to the biggest fish he has ever seen.

The Great Well as a Site of Abundance and Danger

The great well is not merely a fishing spot; it is a place of concentrated life and, therefore, of concentrated danger. The same currents that draw the bait fish and the squid also draw the marlin, and later, the sharks. After Santiago kills the marlin and lashes it to his skiff, the blood from the fish's heart spreads like a cloud in the mile-deep water, creating a trail that the sharks follow. The first shark, a huge Mako, comes up from deep down in the water as the dark cloud of blood settles and disperses. The great well, which had been the site of Santiago's greatest triumph, becomes the starting point of his greatest loss, as the sharks follow the scent and strip the marlin's carcass down to its skeleton.

The Great Well as a Symbol of Santiago's Isolation and Resolve

The great well is also a symbol of Santiago's isolation and his willingness to go beyond the limits of other fishermen. He knows he is going far out, leaving the other boats behind, and he accepts the solitude that comes with it. When he hooks the marlin, he is alone, out of sight of land, and he must rely entirely on his own strength, skill, and endurance. The great well, with its sudden depth and hidden currents, represents the unknown and the unpredictable, the place where a man must prove himself against forces he cannot fully control. It is here that Santiago makes his stand, saying, "I'll stay with you until I am dead," and it is here that he learns the true cost of going "too far out."

The Great Well in the Context of the Fishermen's Community

The great well is a known landmark among the fishermen of Havana, a place they speak of with respect and understanding. On the Terrace, the older fishermen talk politely about the current and the depths they have drifted their lines at, and the great well is part of that shared knowledge. Santiago's decision to fish there is a calculated one, based on his experience and his understanding of the ocean's rhythms. It is a place that demands skill and courage, and it is a place that can reward a fisherman with a catch that will feed many people and bring a high price in the market. But it is also a place that can destroy a man, as Santiago himself acknowledges when he says, "I shouldn't have gone out so far, fish. Neither for you nor for me."