Quote 124
The old man’s head was clear and good now and he was full of resolution but he had little hope. It was too good to last, he thought. He took one look at the great fish as he watched the shark close in. It might as well have been a dream, he thought. I cannot keep him from hitting me but maybe I can get him. Dentuso, he thought. Bad luck to your mother. (4.86)
The old man uses bad luck as his final weapon and last resort.
Quote 125
He lay in the stern and steered and watched for the glow to come in the sky. I have half of him, he thought. Maybe I’ll have the luck to bring the forward half in. I should have some luck. No, he said. You violated your luck when you went too far outside. (4.154)
The old man imposes a system of reward and punishment on his notion of luck.
Quote 126
"Don’t be silly," he said aloud. "And keep awake and steer. You may have much luck yet."
"I’d like to buy some if there’s any place they sell it," he said.
What could I buy it with? he asked himself. Could I buy it with a lost harpoon and a broken knife and two bad hands?
"You might," he said. "You tried to buy it with eighty-four days at sea. They nearly sold it to you too." (4.155-4.158)
The old man imposes a system of reward and punishment on his notion of luck.