Old Man and the Sea- Characters

In the book The Old Man and the Sea, there are only two characters introduced. The old man and the young boy are the two main characters discussed. At the beginning of this book, the old man is a weak, poor, lonely person who is not having the best luck. Naturally, I felt bad for the old man as I read about his circumstances, but throughout the book we see him completely transform. The old man endures a lot of pain and goes through a lot of work all for the satisfaction of catching a giant marlin. The old man is portrayed as a role model to this young boy even though the young boy no longer goes fishing with the old man. The young boy sees the old man as a role model because for many years the old man and the young boy spent everyday with each other fishing. The young boy is only in the story briefly at the beginning and end of the book, but the old man often thinks about him as he fights against the biggest fish of his career. The old man and the young boy have a special relationship, and the young boy cares for the old man frequently. One day, the old man goes out at sea in an attempt to break his unlucky streak and ends up being physically and emotionally pushed to extremes. During this three day struggle against this giant marlin, we see the old man transform from weak to strong. The old man shows great determination and skill as he finally defeats the biggest fish of his career. The old man battled against this large fish for three days, and during those three days the young boy worried about the old man. Every morning the young boy went to the old man's shack to see if he had returned, and this shows just how much the young boy cared for the old man. The young boy also cared for the old man by bringing him fresh bait, and sometimes he brought him food from a cafe. The young boy and the old man both care about each other very much.

Bibliography

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.