Santiago's Tragic Hero

The character Santiago from the novel The Old Man and the Sea, written By Earnest Hemmingway, encounters many ordeals, overcomes great tasks, and survives terrible tragedies, while still having a will that is not defeated but rather presses on. Santiago may be an elderly skilled fisherman, brittle and battered physically by the elements of nature, the people around him, and his life profession, but his spirit remains undefeated, a true testament to the theme of this novel being “A man can be destroyed but not defeated ” (103). He forges through life’s struggles and fights the great fight. He is an optimist at its purest as his personality embodies characteristic traits of bravery, determination, faith and endurance while faced with life’s

Santiago shows a vast amount of determination throughout the novel, vividly displayed during his three long grueling days of battling the marlin, even though his hands ache, cramp and bleed and his shoulders burn with pain (83), he is determined not to slacken the line or let the fish defeat him (87). Santiago claims that “pain does not matter to a man” (84), a man may to be challenged to overcome his own limitation, including physical pain in order to reach for success like the “great Joe DiMaggio who does all things perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel” (68). Life is not about who wins or loses, but how well you played the

Santiago shows us that defeat lies only in refusing the battle, not losing the fight. The ultimate test to humanity is not only to show bravery, courage, confidence and optimism towards life’s struggles but maintain grace under pressure even if the battle is lost; your defining actions are what matters. Life is a learning experience and it’s through experiences we learn. Life no doubt can be challenging, but how we face and overcome such challenges speaks volume to our character as a person. I am a country girl with big dreams and a person who is willing to take big steps to achieve such. I will strive to carry valued experience learned as I face life’s ongoing journey, sure I am going to screw up because life is a learning experience. However, with my goals and values I place, believing in myself, and support from family and friends, I will reach my goals and dreams in life. As I continue to have an optimist outlook on life, my glass will always be half-full. Life’s success is measured by appreciating what we have rather than constantly searching for what we don’t