Santiago Character Sketch - the Old Man and the Sea

In Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, we meet the old man Santiago, who is a persistent, hardy, and prideful individual. He exemplifies these character traits in his struggles to earn back the respect and reputation among the local fisherman. To do this, he sails out much farther than the other fishermen, in hopes if finding a big fish to bring back – bigger than any of the fish they have caught. Overall, Santiago exhibited all of the traits of any great fisherman; persistence, hardiness, and pride. Perhaps though, one of his greatest traits was the persistence he always seemed to show.

Santiago showed great persistence throughout the story. Despite the fact he had not caught a fish in over eighty-four days, he continues to go out in hopes of coming in with a large catch. Day after day he would go out, and even after the fortieth day, when Manolin is forced by his father to abandon him, he would still go out. When he finally hooks the Marlin, and he battles with it for three days battling both his hunger and injuries at the same time. Through his persistence he wins this battle, but he soon faces another with the sharks who have come to attack his catch. Santiago's persistence showed again as he battled the sharks who were attacking the marlin he had caught. Time after time, he would fight off the sharks to save his prized catch. This shows his great amount of persistence, as well as his hardiness.

In addition to his persistence, Santiago was also quite a hardy individual. He was essentially living in poverty, with almost nothing to his name, yet he always seemed to find a way to endure, sometimes with Manolin's help, but more than often on his own. His hardiness allowed for him to sail out farther and farther and survive for his time out at sea. Santiago's hardy nature enabled him to endure the struggle with the marlin, and eventually win it. This same trait showed again in his battles with the sharks in his sail back to the island. Although his