The Old Man and the Sea MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature

The Old Man and the Sea MCQs
Updated on: October 28, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 19 min

The Old Man and the Sea MCQs

1. How long had Santiago fished without catching a fish when the novel begins?

A. 77 days
B. 84 days
C. 40 days
D. 87 days

B. 84 days.
Santiago, the old man, had gone eighty-four days without taking a fish in the skiff, leading others to call him salao.

2. What does the appearance of Santiago’s sail suggest?

A. Great strength
B. Permanent defeat
C. Recent victory
D. Great expense

B. Permanent defeat.
The sail was heavily patched with flour sacks, making it look like the flag of permanent defeat when furled around the mast.

3. What color were Santiago’s eyes, contrasting with his age?

A. Brown, like the earth
B. Blue, like the sky
C. The same color as the sea
D. Grey, like a fishless desert

C. The same color as the sea.
Everything about Santiago was old except his eyes, which were the same cheerful, undefeated color as the sea.

4. Why did the boy, Manolin, originally stop fishing with Santiago?

A. He doubted Santiago’s skill
B. His parents ordered him to leave
C. Santiago refused to take him
D. The boy became too busy

B. His parents ordered him to leave.
After forty days without a catch, the boy’s parents considered the old man unlucky (salao) and made the boy leave.
5. What did the fishermen call Santiago for his extreme bad luck?

A. Dentuso
B. Un viejo
C. Galanos
D. Salao

D. Salao.
Salao is defined as the worst form of unlucky. The boy’s parents believed Santiago was finally and definitely this.

6. How old was the boy when Santiago first took him fishing?

A. Seven
B. Twelve
C. Five
D. Ten

C. Five.
The old man recalled that the boy was only five years old when he first took him in a boat, nearly getting him killed by a large fish.

7. What action did Manolin perform to serve Santiago, since he couldn’t fish with him?

A. Lending money
B. Buying him a beer
C. Repairing his nets
D. Mending his shirt

B. Buying him a beer.
The boy bought Santiago a beer on the Terrace, which the old man acknowledged, saying, “You are already a man.”

8. What is the name of the boy who assists Santiago?

A. Pedrico
B. Rogelio
C. Manolin
D. Martin

C. Manolin.
The old man addresses the boy as “Manolin” as they talk about the day’s fishing and feeling confident.

9. What fabricated item do Santiago and the boy discuss every day?

A. A box of ice
B. A new jacket
C. A pot of yellow rice and fish
D. A lottery ticket

C. A pot of yellow rice and fish.
They kept up the fiction that Santiago had a pot of yellow rice and fish, even though the boy knew it was not true.
10. What item did Santiago keep under his bed?

A. His extra shoes
B. Yesterday’s paper
C. His fishing club
D. The Sacred Heart picture

B. Yesterday’s paper.
Santiago brought yesterday’s newspaper out from under the bed, explaining that Perico had given it to him at the bodega.

11. Who is Santiago’s favorite baseball player?

A. Dick Sisler
B. John J. McGraw
C. Joe DiMaggio
D. Luque

C. Joe DiMaggio.
Santiago instructs the boy to have faith in the Yankees and “Think of the great DiMaggio.” He admires him greatly.

12. What specific physical affliction of DiMaggio does Santiago often contemplate?

A. A broken ankle
B. The bone spur in his heel
C. A bad wrist
D. An injured eye

B. The bone spur in his heel.
Santiago often thought about the necessity of having confidence and being worthy of DiMaggio, who plays perfectly despite the pain of a bone spur.

13. What physical feature of Santiago was marked by brown blotches of benevolent skin cancer?

A. His hands
B. His neck
C. His cheeks and face
D. His shoulders

C. His cheeks and face.
The brown blotches, caused by sun reflection on the tropic sea, were visible on his cheeks and ran down the sides of his face.

14. What are the walls of Santiago’s shack made from?

A. Sheets of tin
B. Wood planks
C. Budshields of the royal palm
D. Coral rock

C. Budshields of the royal palm.
The shack was constructed from the tough budshields of the royal palm, which are called guano, showing his poverty.
15. What religious items are present in Santiago’s shack?

A. Crucifix and bible
B. Picture of the Sacred Heart and the Virgin of Cobre
C. Statue of St. Peter
D. Rosary beads

B. Picture of the Sacred Heart and the Virgin of Cobre.
On the walls were pictures in color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Virgin of Cobre, relics of his deceased wife.

16. Why did Santiago take down the tinted photograph of his wife?

A. It was damaged by the sun
B. It made him too lonely to see it
C. The boy asked him to remove it
D. It was too valuable to leave exposed

B. It made him too lonely to see it.
Santiago had taken down the photograph because seeing it made him feel too lonely, and he stored it under his clean shirt.
17. What item did Santiago carry on his shoulder when walking with the boy?

A. The coiled lines
B. The mast with the furled sail
C. The heavy cooler box
D. The gaff and harpoon

B. The mast with the furled sail.
As they walked, the old man carried the mast on his shoulder, and the boy carried the box and the other fishing gear.

18. What food does Santiago eat in May to be strong for the big fish in September and October?

A. Salt fish
B. Raw turtle eggs
C. Fried bananas
D. Yellow rice

B. Raw turtle eggs.
Santiago ate the white turtle eggs all through May to ensure he was strong enough during the months when the truly big fish arrived.

19. What liquid did Santiago drink daily for health, despite the taste?

A. Armagnac
B. Black coffee
C. Shark liver oil
D. Hatuey beer

C. Shark liver oil.
He drank a cup of shark liver oil each day, which was very good against colds and good for the eyes.
20. When talking about the sea, which term, meaning “feminine,” did the old man always use?

A. El mar
B. La mar
C. Tiburon
D. Agua mala

B. La mar.
The old man always thought of the sea as la mar, which is what Spanish speakers call her when they love her.

21. Where did Santiago learn to fish, remembering lions on the beaches?

A. The Canary Islands
B. The Mosquito Coast
C. Africa
D. Havana Harbor

C. Africa.
Santiago recalled being before the mast on a square rigged ship that ran to Africa, where he had seen lions on the beaches.

22. What item gave Santiago three forty-fathom reserve coils of line?

A. The anchor rope
B. The mast
C. The green-sapped sticks
D. The gaff

C. The green-sapped sticks.
Each line was looped onto a green-sapped stick, and each line had two forty-fathom coils of reserve line attached.

23. What phrase describes Santiago’s approach to fishing precision?

A. It is better to be lucky
B. I would rather be exact
C. Age is my alarm clock
D. Everything is right until it’s wrong

B. I would rather be exact.
Santiago thinks that while luck is good, he would rather be exact, because being exact ensures readiness when luck arrives.

24. What are the small, delicate dark birds that Santiago pities called?

A. Seagulls
B. Sea swallows
C. Albatrosses
D. Pelicans

B. Sea swallows.
Santiago felt sorry for the birds, specifically the small, delicate dark terns, which he called “sea swallows.”
25. What type of creature is the “agua mala”?

A. A sea turtle
B. A Portuguese man-of-war
C. A dolphin
D. A small shark

B. A Portuguese man-of-war.
The “agua mala” is the purple, iridescent, gelatinous bladder of a Portuguese man-of-war, which stings badly.

26. What was the first fish Santiago caught on the day he hooked the marlin?

A. A blue runner
B. A flying fish
C. A small tuna
D. A yellow jack

C. A small tuna .
Santiago hooked a small tuna, which he identified as an albacore, weighing about ten pounds, to use for fresh bait.

27. Why did Santiago begin talking aloud to himself after the boy left?

A. He was becoming confused
B. He missed the boy’s company
C. He was trying to call the fish
D. He was rehearsing prayers

B. He missed the boy’s company.
Santiago notes that he probably started talking aloud when alone after the boy had left, having previously sung to himself.

28. How far down did the marlin first take the bait?

A. Forty fathoms
B. Seventy-five fathoms
C. One hundred fathoms
D. Six hundred feet

C. One hundred fathoms.
Santiago knew the fish was one hundred fathoms down when it began eating the sardines covering the hook.

29. What type of bait did the marlin take on the deepest line?

A. Sardines
B. Flying fish
C. Small tuna
D. Yellow jack

C. Small tuna .
The great fish was eating the sardines covering the hook that was embedded in the head of a small tuna (albacore).
30. After the fish was hooked, what action did the fish take that worried Santiago most?

A. He jumped wildly
B. He ate more bait
C. He moved away slowly, towing the boat
D. He broke the boat’s thwart

C. He moved away slowly, towing the boat.
Nothing happened when Santiago struck; the fish simply moved away slowly, towing the skiff steadily toward the north-west.

31. How long did the fish tow the skiff before Santiago saw him for the first time?

A. Four hours
B. Eight hours
C. The entire first night and day
D. Until noon the next day

C. The entire first night and day.
Santiago was hooked at noon. The fish towed the skiff through the first night and day before Santiago saw him.

32. What does Santiago use to cushion the fishing line across his back and shoulders?

A. A piece of canvas
B. His shirt
C. The patched sail
D. A sack from the bait box

D. A sack from the bait box.
After the sun set, Santiago tied the sack that had covered the bait box around his neck to cushion the line.

33. What creature does Santiago refer to as his “brother”?

A. The small bird
B. The dolphin
C. The great marlin
D. The sharks

C. The great marlin.
Santiago often refers to the marlin as his brother, noting that he must kill him even though he loves and respects him.

34. What injury did Santiago sustain early in the night fight?

A. A cut on his knee
B. A deep gash in his shoulder
C. A cut below his eye
D. A broken finger

C. A cut below his eye.
When the fish made a surge in the dark, Santiago was pulled down, resulting in a cut below his eye.
35. The small bird that landed on Santiago’s line was identified as what type of bird?

A. Tern
B. Pigeon
C. Warbler
D. Hawk

C. Warbler.
A small bird came toward the skiff from the north and Santiago identified it as a warbler, which was very tired.

36. What caused Santiago’s left hand to become useless for a time?

A. Line burn
B. Cramp
C. A hammer blow
D. Arthritis

B. Cramp .
His left hand drew up tight in a cramp (calambre), making it stiff and unusable for pulling the line.

37. What did Santiago eat, cutting strips of dark red meat from the back of its head to its tail?

A. The yellow jack
B. The bonito
C. Flying fish
D. Dorado

B. The bonito.
Santiago killed the small tuna he had caught earlier (bonito) and ate strips of its raw, strong full-blooded meat to regain strength.

38. What does Santiago promise to do if he catches the fish, despite not being religious?

A. Stop drinking alcohol
B. Say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys and make a pilgrimage
C. Buy a new boat for the boy
D. Never fish alone again

B. Say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys and make a pilgrimage.
Santiago promised to say ten Our Fathers and ten Hail Marys, and make a pilgrimage to the Virgin of Cobre.

39. Santiago refers to his body’s betrayal by calling a cramp what?

A. A terrible burden
B. A treachery
C. An enemy
D. A secret sorrow

B. A treachery.
He thought of a cramp as a humiliating treachery of one’s own body, especially when one is alone at sea.
40. What type of animal does Santiago often dream of?

A. Deer
B. Porpoises
C. Lions
D. Sharks

C. Lions.
Santiago often dreamed of Africa, specifically the lions playing like young cats on the long golden beaches in the dusk.

41. Why did Santiago want the great fish to jump?

A. To scare the sharks away
B. To fill its air sacs, preventing it from sounding deep to die
C. To show him how big it was
D. To confirm it was a marlin

B. To fill its air sacs, preventing it from sounding deep to die.
He thought that if the fish jumped, it would fill the air sacs along its backbone, meaning it could not go down deep to die.

42. How much longer than the skiff did Santiago estimate the marlin to be when it first jumped?

A. Six feet
B. Two feet
C. Five feet
D. Four feet

B. Two feet.
After the fish jumped, the old man estimated the marlin’s size, stating, “He is two feet longer than the skiff.”
43. What did Santiago do just before lying down for his brief, cramped sleep?

A. Rigged the oars as a drag
B. Gutted a dorado and ate a flying fish
C. Said his hundred Hail Marys
D. Cut all the remaining reserve lines

B. Gutted a dorado and ate a flying fish.
After determining he needed rest, he worked his way to the stern to gut the dolphin and ate the fillets and a flying fish for nourishment.

44. What was the size of the dark shadow Santiago first saw when the fish began circling?

A. As long as a ship
B. Too long to believe its length
C. Shorter than the boat
D. Half a mile long

B. Too long to believe its length.
On the third turn of the circle, Santiago saw the dark shadow of the marlin and noted that he “could not believe its length.”
45. Where did Santiago finally harpoon the marlin?

A. Directly in the head
B. In the side, just behind the chest fin
C. In the base of the tail
D. Through the dorsal fin

B. In the side, just behind the chest fin.
He drove the harpoon down with all his strength into the fish’s side, specifically just behind the great chest fin, hitting the heart.

46. What type of shark was the first one to attack the marlin?

A. A shovel-nose shark
B. A tiger shark
C. A Mako shark
D. A hammerhead

C. A Mako shark.
The first shark to attack was a huge, fast-swimming Mako shark, which Santiago addressed internally as “Dentuso.”
47. What did Santiago use to kill the first shark?

A. The short club
B. The harpoon
C. The rudder
D. The gaff

B. The harpoon.
Santiago killed the Mako by driving the harpoon down onto the shark’s brain, hitting it with resolution and complete malignancy.

48. What did Santiago say about defeat after the first shark attack?

A. A man can be defeated but not destroyed
B. A man can be destroyed but not defeated
C. A man is not made for sorrow
D. A man is always alone at sea

B. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.
After the loss of the harpoon and meat, Santiago proclaimed, “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”

49. What was Santiago’s final weapon after the knife snapped and the harpoon was lost?

A. His bare hands
B. The tiller, the two oars, and the short club
C. A piece of whale bone
D. The skiff’s anchor

B. The tiller, the two oars, and the short club.
After the knife broke, Santiago resigned himself to using the gaff, the two oars, the tiller, and the short club to fight the remaining sharks.
50. What were the tourists discussing when they saw the marlin skeleton?

A. The immense size of the head
B. The surprising beauty of the shark’s tail
C. The skill of the old man
D. The broken tiller in the skiff

B. The surprising beauty of the shark’s tail.
A woman saw the spine and tail and remarked that she did not know sharks (which the waiter claimed it was) had such handsome, beautifully formed tails.

Brief Overview

The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway and published in 1952. The novel is about Santiago, an old fisherman. He has fished alone for 84 days. He caught no fish in all that time. A young boy, Manolin, loves him. The boy was told to leave because Santiago was unlucky.

On the 85th day, Santiago rows far out to sea. He hooks a giant fish. It is a marlin, bigger than his boat. The fish pulls the ship for two full days.

Santiago endures great pain. He eats raw fish to stay strong. He respects this great fish. On the third day, the fish circles and tires. Santiago harpoons the marlin. He ties the giant dead fish to his skiff.

The marlin’s blood brings many sharks. A massive Mako shark attacks first. Santiago kills it, but he loses his harpoon. Other sharks follow. Santiago fights them using a club and a knife on an oar. The sharks eat all the marlin’s meat.

Santiago sails home with only the great skeleton. He is exhausted. The boy finds him and cries. Manolin promises they will fish together again. Santiago rests and dreams of lions.

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