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Yet this is only half the battle. Struggling to fight the force, one’s will eventually overpowers them. Santiago, an old fisherman who has not caught anything for eighty-four days, struggles to fight his pride. A tragic hero is a respectable character who is destined to downfall. Santiago is compared to a tragic hero; his hardships force him to face reality in its cruelest sense. Following Santiago and his hubris throughout the novella, Hemingway depicts hubris to lead to Santiago’s eventual downfall. Through the glowing streets of Havana, the city of gold, a wistful wind blows on a humble shack. It is small but a lugubrious atmosphere hangs over like the clouds do on a rainy day. Inhabiting the shack, Santiago looms inside. Manolin, a young boy who practically worships Santiago, comes to help him with his needs on every occasion. Manolin is the only person who talks to him because “… [younger] fishermen made fun of the old man […] older fishermen looked at him and were sad” (Hemingway 11). Santiago is looked down upon by society, but he does not care because he knows one day he will catch his “marlin”. Santiago’s pride shows that he may be old man but he is not a defeated
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Santiago’s pride has carried him out to sea, which he realizes as his tragic flaw. But even after giving up on himself, the old man is somewhat hopeful. He relies on the town and trusts the town, which made him who he was, to accept him now. Santiago makes the statement “I live in a good town” (Hemingway 115). He says this out loud not only to the boy but also to himself as well because he wants to believe and he is now hopeful that the town will accept him for who he is after only bringing home only the skeleton. He is hopeful in the sense that people will sympathize with him and not be judgmental that the fish as a whole was not brought to town. Santiago’s new respect throughout the community shows that even though his pride brought him down his self-respect brought him back
Santiago’s pride has carried him out to sea, which he realizes as his tragic flaw. But even after giving up on himself, the old man is somewhat hopeful. He relies on the town and trusts the town, which made him who he was, to accept him now. Santiago makes the statement “I live in a good town” (Hemingway 115). He says this out loud not only to the boy but also to himself as well because he wants to believe and he is now hopeful that the town will accept him for who he is after only bringing home only the skeleton. He is hopeful in the sense that people will sympathize with him and not be judgmental that the fish as a whole was not brought to town. Santiago’s new respect throughout the community shows that even though his pride brought him down his self-respect brought him back