When a person faces a problem in life they have to deal with the consequences that they run into in making their decisions. If there decision are chosen well then the consequences will be good. But if the decision is not right or affects someone in a negative way then the consequences can be bad. The choices that the old man in the story that had great consequences were, his decision to not allow the boy come fishing with him when he offered, the mans decision to keep hold of the fish after he was no longer in sight of the island of Cuba, and the old mans choice not to pull the great fish into the boat after the first shark had attacked. Each of these choices had an outcome that was not to his advantage.
The old mans first choice, not to let Mandalin come out fishing with him, was his first mistake. If the old man had had the boy with him went he had gone out then the boy could have helped the old man catch the fish and the old man would not have been to stressed by him self when the great fish was pulling him. “I wish I had the boy,” he said aloud and settled himself against the rounded planks of the bow” here the old man even admits to himself that it was wrong of him not to have the boy come with him. But now that he had already made that decision he had to deal with the consequences which were that he had to fight and kill this fish alone, which would be hard, but the old man was determined.
When the old man made the choice not to let go of the fish when he could no longer see the island, he made a bad decision which affected him negatively in the long run. By holding on to the fish and letting it pull him into the middle of the gulf of Mexico. This made it harder for him to get back home if he did catch the fish because there was the chance that he might get lost. But it also made it a long trip home with such a huge fish. A he probably knew that a few sharks were going to visit him in the long run. “ then he looked behind him and saw that no land was visible.”(46) the old man was starting to think about letting go here, but he didn’t, because he thought about how great the fish was. The old man knew he would be able to find his way back. But he had no idea how far out the fish was going to take him in the end.
After the first shark had attacked the boat the old man made the decision not to pull the great fish into the boat. By not pulling it into the boat the old mans great fish was brutally torn away from him by the sharks, and all the man was left with was the sword off the head of his lucky catch. His bad decision not to pull the fish into the boat led to the old man only coming back with a story of his lucky catch. “ they were up on the bow now and driving in one after another together, tearing off pieces of meat that showed glowing below the sea as they turned to come once more.”(118)the sharks were ripping apart the fish and as they were they were ripping apart the mans luck, hopes and dreams. The sharks came and took what the old man had worked so hard for, and now it was all gone. This was the consequence for going out too for and for not pulling the fish onto the boat. The old man probably felt foolish.
All the old mans decisions above ended with a negative effect towards the old man. But not all decisions end with a negative outcome, in fact 50% of decisions you make end up in a positive way. That is why u are given a choice, because you are supposed to make the right decision and if the decision is the wrong one then you must suffer the consequences. that’s also why you should keep a positive out look on everything.
