Santiago

I believe Santiago is a kindhearted, gentle man. He is elderly and unfortunately withered, yet he continues to fish out in the rough seas. For his occupation, I believe he is too nice. Being a fisherman involves killing fish but he is kind and brittle. Although he does not seem well suited to be a fisherman, I believe he has the tolerance and patience to do this. Without a lot of patience and tolerance, one cannot make a living as a fisherman.

I often felt sympathy for the fisherman throughout the novel. He seemed to have a rough and almost fruitless life. This life is discouraging because he seems like he would deserve much more than he has received. His companion, Manolin, seems to adore the old man. He respects him and is always looking out for Santiago. I believe the fisherman treated the companion quite well and he should be commended for his kind behavior.

When Santiago struggled to catch the marlin, I felt a lot of sympathy toward him. He surly deserves to catch this one large fish. By catching this fish, he would gain a strong reputation and many would respect him. He could also gain the self confidence he needed to make a sturdy living as a fisherman. When speaking of his reputation, it brought me to the topic of him being taunted quite often. I do not agree with other people discouraging Santiago. He is old and somewhat naïve, yet he sets his mind to accomplish great things. Even though Santiago did not catch the marlin alive, he succeeded in his goal at catching a large fish. People began to respect him more for his strong valiance.

One aspect of Santiago I seem to respect is his ability to interact with several animals throughout the trip. Santiago interacted with birds as well as the marlin. This interaction gave the novel a slight whimsical feel to it. I believe Hemingway successfully created a likeable and courageous protagonist.