The Old Man and the Sea: Question 4

      Who is the "hero" in this book and what are some of his/her traits?  What does he/she accomplish, and how is he/she portrayed?  Does the hero represent an abstract idea such as goodness, truth, courage or evil? The hero of The Old Man and the Sea is the old man, Santiago. Santiago is so dedicated and determined to fishing, and more specifically the marlin.  He is also determined to get the fish because he knows he needs it and will benefit so much from catching the marlin. Through the journey of chasing the fish and bringing it home, we can see just home tough the old man is. He is beaten by the sharks that attack him for the fish and still gives every bit of energy he has to save the marlin (Hemingway 108-114). Although he does not end up bringing the marlin home, he still redeems himself. The other fishermen and townspeople see the remains of the fish and how big it was and are impressed by the old man. They see that even though he is an old man, he still has his skills and luck (Hemingway 122). He accomplishes getting the respect of the fishermen back, and he also gets the boy to come back to him. He repeatedly wished the boy was with him on his journey, and finally gets his wish at the end of the novel. In the novel he is portrayed as a weak old man by the townspeople and fishermen, which he is, but he also has so much life in him. He is able to make it through the grueling five days and be beaten up, but overall okay and in good health (Hemingway). The old man represents the abstract idea of strength. He is an old man, and most people put that together with weakness. He proves to everyone he has the greatest strength of all the fishermen.

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