"The Old Man of the Sea" Analysis

The short story “The Old Man of the Sea” by Maeve Brennan tells about an old beggar who comes to the Brennan home selling apples. Mrs. Brennan feels sorry for the old man and buys two dozen apples. Maeve’s uncle Matt warns Mrs. Brennan that “now that [you’ve] encouraged him, he’ll be on [your] back for the rest of [your] life” (22). Maeve silently agrees that the beggar could be similar to the Old Man of the Sea. Maeve alludes to the story of Sinbad the Sailor, who allowed an old man to stay on his back. However, the old man grew stronger and heavier, and Sinbad could not get rid of him. The old man becomes progressively evil and he continues taking advantage of Sinbad. The beggar comes back once a week and every week Mrs. Brennan cannot bring herself to take fewer apples from the man. Maeve continues to look for signs of evil in the man, yet finds nothing each time. One day, Mrs. Brennan decides she will not answer the door, and the family hides from the old man. However, a neighbor spots the family in the garden, saying the old man told her that “he comes regularly and he knows [you’re] depending on him” (27). Mrs. Brennan gives the man less money than usual, and after that he never returns.

            One afternoon, Uncle Matt returns and says that he saw the old man wearing an expensive suit and not carrying any apples. Mrs. Brennan does not believe him, but Maeve believes her uncle and realizes the man had been taking advantage of her family the whole time. The end of this story is similar to the allusion to Sinbad. Maeve’s story shows the corruption and deceit in Dublin. The old man was pretending to be poor, but in actuality he is a wealthy con man. Maeve learns that things are not always as they seem.