Characters: The Boy

Even though Manolin is not one of the main characters in the book, I believe he is still vital to the story line. When the old man is out at sea he thinks about one person, and that is the boy, saying how he wishes he had the boy because it would be so much easier to catch this fish with the boy(Hemingway,30 ). When he is at home the boy is the only person to care for the old man. He brings him food, coffee, and helps him with his fishing gear by carrying heavy items or getting the old man bait for the next day(Hemingway,early story ).

The boy misses the days of fishing with the old man because even though they did not catch fish, he learned a lot about fishing and he loved their talks about baseball and if the yankees won or not. His parents decide that he is not to fish with the old man anymore and he is saddened by this which shows his loyalty(Hemingway, 10) . After the boy leaves he knows that he is on a better boat but is not sure that this is the right thing for him and his parents do not understand that everyone has to march to their own drummer.

The boy has many good qualities about him and his loyalty is one of them. He is also very caring in the fact that he is the only person to check on and help the old man. He shows love and devotion for the old man, who does not seem to have any other friends because everyone thinks that he is a joke because he does not catch any fish. But the boy knows who the old man really is and in the end of the book rejoins him in his boat because he knows it is the right thing to do. He knows that they may not catch many fish but he is back with the person he loves even if it goes against his own father.

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