Do you think that the sea is also a character in the novel The Old Man and the Sea?

Do you think that the sea is also a character in the novel The Old Man and the Sea? 

The oldman and sea

 

Ans: In fact, the sea is a main character of the novel with its all-time presence and power. The sea makes boats float on its surface, keeps the world of fish under it, gives food to birds, water vapour to the sky and causes rain to bring the greatest blessing of God down. It provides food to fishes, fishes to sailors like the old man and takes them to distant shores and new lands. For the old man, it is representative of all that Nature can be at its best.
The old man looked at the sea as the base of all creation or the universe. First, he looked down into the dark blue water of the sea to watch the plants and animals underneath. Then he felt the rays of the sun hitting the sea. He looked upward at the birds and then his eyes rested on the “clouds over the land" He compared the bread ti and depth of the sea to the vastness u. the sun, the atmosphere and the sky. He saw the sea as part of the circumambient (surrounding, enclosing) universe, but alone.
In Its greatness and majesty. He, In the end and in his mind, connected the loneliness of the sea with his loneliness and perhaps felt one with it. To him, it was a living body, a forceful existence and a dependable companion.
The sea, then, as a character of the novel helps the main action proceed to a happy as well as an unhappy conclusion; It enables the old sailor to prove his might (power) in killing or defeating the huge Marlin. It also shows the helplessness of the sailor to overcome or hold the sharks in check that ate up the flesh of the Marlin. Thus, the sea helps unfold the two aspects (facts) of human existence - defeat in victory, sadness in joy and death in life.