Character sketch of Santiago

Fiction- the old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway

Santiago is Hero in a common man. He possesses the qualities of
bravery, resolution, and endurance. He is self-sufficient when it
comes to dignified solitary. He is an experienced Fisherman with
honor. The entire fictional masterpiece literary story revolves around
the mind and temperament of Santiago. The deep cuts on his hands
are due to his old habit of handling big heavy fishes on the cords and
since all these creased scars are old it represents his experience at
work. He has a crisscross of wrinkles even at the back of his neck.
Except for his eyes everything about him is old and withered. His
eyes still have a shiny cheerful and undefeated look.
The mythological touch of the protagonist’s name can be seen.
Santiago in Spanish means Saint James. He was a fisherman and a
martyr. The similarities between the two characters. They were
lonely, poor, and unfortunate in their lives. Despite hard work, talent
and experience they struggled and failed in catching fortune. The
unfortunate level was so high that he was later named “salad”. This
term is the worst form of unfortunate/unlucky. This title was given to
him after he remained without catching a fish for a period of 84 days.
The level of optimism in Santiago is to salute for. Santiago had a
young boy named Manolin who accompanied him regularly but since
they failed to catch a single fish for 40 days this young boy’s parents
withdrew him from being with Santiago. Alone Santiago did not lose
his hopes. He spent another 44 days without catching a fish. But
despite this, he felt optimistic and full of energy on the 85th day. He
did catch a merlin, a giant fish. Unfortunately on his return, he was
attacked by sharks. They ate the marlin and left only the skeleton
with Santiago. Although Santiago gave every bit of bravery and
energy and tried to save the merlin, the poor old lad still failed. Still,
Santiago on this unfortunate eventful tough day had contentment
like no other. Throughout his life, he has had faith in God and
himself. He possessed practical wisdom, skill, experience, and
humility. He is a man of extraordinary determination and willpower.
Santiago’s entire journey is a struggle with nature. He is hopeful even
after 84 unsuccessful days. He thinks the sea to be a woman who
withholds food from him. So, there is a metaphorical attribute for his
survival as well as the conflict between the two sexes. Since Santiago
has a habit of carrying the mast of the boat on his shoulder there is a
symbolism of the crucifix and lies on his cot with outstretched arms,
and his hands bleed because of the struggle with the line after having
caught the marlin, Santiago is viewed as a Christ-figure. Manolin is
viewed as a disciple because he brings Santiago food and wants to
learn from the old man for his expertise. Santiago’s persistence
against the forces of nature and his hope presents the moral to never
surrender to adversity.
Santiago has a compassionate nature. He has tender feelings for fish,
birds, the sea, and fellow fishermen. He calls the fish his brother. He
loves it and admires its beauty, strength, and nobleness. He like
every common man prays although he calls himself not religious.
Santiago is a lean and thin old man with admirably strong physically
and psychologically. He is not a fatalist and dreamer. He is a true
realist. He acknowledges his strength as well as his weaknesses. He is
wise and intelligent. During his struggle against the sharks to protect
his merlin he shows great valor, wisdom, willpower, and endurance.
This scene shows his endurance of pain and struggles. He shows
nobility and grandeur even after being defeated. His suffering and a
great capacity for endurance make him a superhuman in the looks of
a common man. His physical pain leads him to sublime virtues of
endurance. The incidents of sufferings in his life resemble that of
Christ. Thus, Ernest Hemingway shows the finest example of a code
hero in his fictional masterpiece.