Old Man and the Sea: Character Descriptions

The old man, Santiago, is a very determined man.   He is a very old Cuban fisherman with eighty-four days of bad luck when fishing. He has been knocked down many times, but he never gives up.  He never loses hope and focuses on what he wants, then will do anything to get it!  He knows that his name is not respected very much around his village anymore, but he does not mind what others think of him. He knows what he is, so he will not let the others change that.  He is also a very humble old man.  He does not like to be in debt to people.  One example of that is when the boy asks to buy him some beer.  At first the old man rejects his offer, but then he accepts when the boy persists.  He only agreed after the boy told him it was a gift from a shop keeper.  While I do not think this is true, the man still seems reluctant to accept help.  He says that he will give the shop keeper the belly meat of a fish in return.  This shows his pride in himself and his talents, and it shows that he believes his bad luck will be over.

The marlin may not seem like an important character, but it is the second most important character in the book! The marlin is strong and graceful.  It seems like it is supposed to be the bad guy in the book, but it is portrayed as Santiago's equal opponent.  The marlin teaches Santiago more about himself than he knew.  The marlin gave the old man a new perspective on life.  It represents the ending of Santiago's bad luck and the beginning of a new battle.  The marlin symbolizes a part of Santiago, and when the fish is destroyed by the sharks, the old man feels destroyed as well.

The boy, Manolin, is a strong and loyal friend to the old man.  He seems almost like a son the way he cares for the old man.  In my opinion, the boy was a symbol to the old man as well.  The boy symbolized that the old man still had something to look forward to when he came home empty handed, and that was the boy.  The boy was missed during the old man's whole fishing trip.  The boy was also a very important character in the novel.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1952. Print.