Honor, perseverance, and courage are some traits that are demonstrated by Santiago, the main character in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Santiago has been down on his luck, so to speak, because has has not caught a fish in 84 days. Everyone has given up on him, even the family of his assistant/aide, Manolin. Santiago shows the traits of a real hero by never giving up.This perseverance finally pays off when he catches a huge fish. Santiago’s struggle with the fish is a metaphor for life. His determination is something we should try to insert into our life. Manolin shows us that it’s always important to have people that support us. Honor refers to high respect or esteem. In this novella, honor refers to Santiago’s honoring of the fish. Santiago sees the fish as his equal. At some points, he sees the fish as being noble. He says “Never have I seen a greater or more beautiful, or a calmer or more noble thing than you, brother. Come on and kill me. I do not care who kills who.” (Hemingway 92). …show more content…
Santiago shows courage by not backing down from such a huge fish. He wants the fish to jump. He says “God, let him jump.” “I have enough line to handle him.” (Hemingway 53). He also shows no fear when battling sharks. He “must let the first one get a good hold and hit him on the point of the nose…” (Hemingway 113). Santiago refuses to show fear during any of these encounters with sharks even when he’s ran out of weapons. At one point, when his knife has been broken, and the rest of his weapons have been taken, he says “I will try it as long as I have the oars and the short club and the tiller.” (Hemingway