who is the "hero", traits, accomplishments, portrayal,representation

Santiago is a humble man who fishes alone in the grueling sea. He is on a streak of eighty-four days without catching a fish but on the eighty-fifth day he still gets up very early in the morning to get his gear ready for the day(Hemingway 25) and that is much part of one of his traits, perseverance. Eighty-four days without catching a fish would make the most reserve and sound-of-mind person go insane with boredom and disappointment but he keeps on doing it because he knows he has to to survive. Even though he does not catch fish, it takes a lot of courage for a man of his age to venture out into the bearing seas alone and becomes one of his traits as the story progresses.

Santiago is portrayed as a old man who is almost useless because he does not catch any fish. The other villagers believe him to be crazy because no one ever sees him eat and he talks to himself because the only other person he has to talk to is the boy, whose parents made him leave the old man because he never caught any fish(Hemingway 10). Santiago is a simple man but I believe he could be a representation of discipline. When fighting the marlin he does not do anything drastic but instead lets the marling kill himself, but he does what he must to ensure the marlin stays on the line (Hemingway 43)

The old man has no accomplishments in this book up to the eighty-fifth day because he does not catch any fish. On the eighty-fifth day of catching no fish, he does the same he does every morning except with the boys help. He decides to venture out farther than any of the other fisherman, which is an example of his courage and perseverance, and throws his lines out. He hooks a great marlin (Hemingway 43) and after days of struggling with the magnificent creature, he is able to haul him in. By the time he gets back to port the sharks have eaten all the meat of the marlin but people see the skeleton. The villagers respect him again and he has finally caught a fish of much pride.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.