Discuss if the story of The Old Man and the Sea can be properly regarded as a tragedy.

I certainly feel that there are some tragic elements in
Hemingway's novel, but I am not entirely convinced that it is a tragedy.  When I think
of a tragedy, I am inclined to consider works that present a narrative of disunity, lack
of totality, and fragmentation where answers are challenging to ascertain as part of the
definition of tragedy.  The idea of being "Destroyed, but not Defeated" is a reflection
of Santiago.  While the old man might have failed, he emerges as a unifying force, an
example of how to stand in the world.  The human predicament is shown to be one where
victory and triumph is present, even if not present in the final results.  I think that
this is why the work is not one of tragedy, but one where the unifying force of comedy
and totality is present.  With the ending of the work, the emergence of Santiago as a
force that asserts his own voice, and the idea that there is a positive force within
consciousness makes this work so comic in
nature:

Yet the struggle to achieve
one’s dreams is still worthwhile, for without dreams, a human remains a mere physical
presence in the universe, with no creative or spiritual dimension. And so at the end of
the story, Santiago, in spite of his great loss, physical pain, and exhaustion, is still
“dreaming about the lions”—the same ones he saw in Africa when he was younger and would
like to see again.