The old man, Santiago, had not caught a fish in 84 days do to his crave of catching a much larger fish, the marlin. He is very old but a very experienced fisherman so therefore he has a lot of talent and a lot of wisdom to catch the marlin. Santiago catches the marlin and to his pleasure he eats off of this large fish for many days.
Romanticism, which valued the individual, subjectivity, creativity, and nature, was a response to rationalism. Rationalism was based in logic and down to earth thinking. Rationalists thought the world should be approached with intellect, not emotions.
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Most appropriate salutation is Dear or their title like Sir, mr, mrs, and ms
