The Old Man and the Sea

I read Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea this week. Some of the passages were great, especially where the old man, the fish and the themes of the novel (as I perceive them) came in unison and tend to go beyond the simple tale of an old man's quest in an inhospitable sea, trying to kill the biggest fish, he has ever seen. It is quite satisfying once we start to feel for the fish the same way, we felt for the old man -a virile and heroic character fighting to survival. Their tussle, a sense of understanding of each others situation and the dignity shown towords each other signify about the man-nature balance left in mercy of each other . I found this passage quite moving and somehow it left me longing for more such simple magics throughout the novel.

Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought. Never have I had such a strong fish nor one who acted so strangely. Perhaps he is too wise to jump. he could ruin me by jumping or by a wild rush. But perhaps he has been hooked many times before and he knows that this is how he should make his fight. He cannot know that it is only one man against him, nor that it is an old man. But what a great fish he is and what he will bring in the market if the flesh is good. He took the bait like a male and he pulls like a male and his fight has no panic in it. I wonder if he has any plans or if he is just as desperate as I am ?
[...]
His choice had been to to stay in the deep dark water far out beyond all the snares and traps and treacheries. My choice was to go there to find him beyond all people. Beyond all people in the world. Now we are joined together and have been since noon. And no one to help either of us.