The Old Man And The Sea - why didn't Santiago cut up at least part of the Marlin, and stored them on board of the skiff?

Question

In *Hemingway's* book *The Old Man And The Sea*, after catching the mighty Marlin, and coming to the conclusion that the sharks are probably going to consume the entire Marlin - why didn't Santiago just cut up the fish and stored at least parts of it on the board of his skiff? I mean, it's stated that the weight of the Marlin was approximately 1,500 pounds and that it was as long as the boat, and possibly even longer, so there was no possibility to store the whole Marlin on the skiff. But, it was most definitely possible to store a few hundred pounds of it on board. I understand, of course, that Santiago extremely respected the Marlin and felt that it is just "right" that they "sail" home *together* - side by side, as equals - but after the first shark attack, the Marlin was mutilated and Santiago knew that there's a fair chance that there will be nothing left of it when he'll reach his home port. \nAt this point in time, he still had his knife, and the second shark attack, during which his knife was lost, came a few hours later.

Answer 1

Hemingway was a Naturalist, someone who saw Nature as something to become one with in order to conquer. The old man indeed saw the Marlin as his worthy companion, which is why he probably didn't cut it partially up and put the pieces in his boat, which would have been too much for him, as his energy was spent. He probably also was afraid of getting blood in the water and attracting sharks. In an ironic and pessimistic turn, sharks did come, as Hemingway saw that Nature always retaliated to take back its dominant turf, As Nature always got its revenge, so the old man came back with nothing to show for and from his clash with Nature, As Nature in the end is unbeatable and humiliating, though it is also the only worthy opponent a man can have.