William Handy states “In the portrayal of Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea there is no. . . uncertainty of being, no confusion of self and values. The old man is presented from beginning to end as one who has achieved true existence. ” (Handy 2). This can be defended through the showing of the old man’s values determination, strength, and courage. The old man’s determination never changes throughout the novel. One way Hemingway shows this is that the old man never gives up on catching a fish, even after a streak of 84 days without catching a fish. This is shown by the old man saying “Eighty-five is a lucky number”(Hemingway16). This is a long time to not catch a fish especially since his money comes from what he catches. You also have to have a lot of faith in yourself to keep on trying to catch a fish after eighty four days. A second way Hemingway showed the old man’s determination is that the old man never gave up on the marlin. This is impressive because he has to handle the cut on his hand. This is also impressive because he has to sit in a small boat where he does not change positions very often. A third way Hemingway shows the old man’s determination in the novel is the fact that the old man never gave up on bringing the marlin home, even when sharks come to eat the remains of the marlin. The sharks come relentlessly, one …show more content…
One way this is shown is that the old man goes up against the sharks trying to protect the marlin. One reason why this is courageous is that he does really have anything to defend with. He does have his knife but that broke after the first shark. A second reason is that he has to put himself in danger to attack the shark. A second way the old man shows courage is that he goes out fishing alone. This could be dangerous. Another person could help him catch the fish or help him with water or food. Any way another person could help is beneficial. A final