I am not sure if you can call the fish an important character because he is just that, a fish. But the story seems to develop itself around him and Santiago so I will consider him an important character. The Marlin is a good guy and a bad guy because of many reasons. If Santiago loses the battle then he will return to his village after many days without a fish, and since the Marlin is in conflict with the main character that makes him the antagonist of this story. The Marlin is also a magnificent creature of such beauty and grace that the old man begins to feel bad about hooking him and he wishes that he could just let him go(Hemingway, 84). The Marlin is also a good guy because of that reason. As the reader, we want the old man to catch the fish so that he can feel good about himself again and so that people will not make jokes about him, but we also feel bad for the Marlin. His life and his future has been snatched from him in the blink of an eye or the open and close of his mouth and this can be sad for the reader.
During their battle, the Marlin is in the same position as Santiago. They must outlast the other and not lose the fight. To lose this fight means death. The Marlin does all that he can do to ensure that he does not go easily. It is not like the Marlin thought he was going to die, he very much believed that he could get this hook out of his mouth somehow or that he was strong enough to just pull that boat floating above him forever. We are happy for Santiago because he catches the great fish and that he can return to the village a true fisherman but we also feel bad for the graceful yet powerful fish. He was the perfect opponent for Santiago and he fought valiantly.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.
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