The Old Man and the Sea - The old man

The old man is the main character in this story. In a way he is a hero. He caught a huge fish that even younger men could not imagine catching. Santiago took on a huge task and many people would have not gone that long and would have given up. The old man was very committed and was a great fishermen. The story follows his struggles. But in a way he is not a hero but instead he is the protagonist. The fish had as much strength and commitment as the old man did but the old man killed the fish. In a way the man is the bad guy. He killed such a marvelous creature. The fish tried hard and was beautiful but the old man killed it. But, the old man was honored for killing and bring the fish back to the island. He was sad though that the fish was eaten by the sharks and he understood what the fish was going through. While he was trying to catch the fish he kept thinking about how the fish was going down there. The old man was a very good person. He hurt for the fish and wished it didn't have to end that way. He thought that the fish was amazing. "Then he began to pity the great fish that he had hooked. He is wonderful and strange and who knows how old he is, he thought." (Hemingway 48) You could tell that the old man had a good heart from those sentences from the book. He also loved the younger boy, who used to help him fish. He would think about and worry about the younger boy. He didn't want the boy to worry about him. The old man also wished more than once that the younger boy was with him on the great adventure. Even though the old man did kill the great fish he did have a good heart. He was a good person and always tried to do what was right for himself and others.