Santiago Theme Of Loneliness

Loneliness is something that the old man, Santiago experienced throughout his life, one of the most painful things he must have felt was losing his wife. Having the reminder of her in his shack came to a point where he had to take down the picture because it made him more lonely, but he still kept the pieces that reminded him of her. As it says “On the brown walls of the flattened, overlapping leaves of the sturdy fibered guano there was a picture in color of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and another of the Virgin of Cobre. These were relics of his wife. Once there had been a tinted photograph of his wife on the wall but he had taken it down because it made him too lonely to see it and it was on the shelf in the corner under his clean shirt.” Before Santiago’s wife died he had someone in his life that he was close with and to spend time with even though he was fishing most of the time. Now he has the boy as his friend to keep him company and to help him.

When Santiago made his trip out on the sea he was so alone that he started to talk out loud and he didn't even realize it. It says, “He did not remember when he had first started to talk aloud when he was by himself. He had sung when he was by himself in the old days and he had sung at night sometimes when he was
alone steering on his watch in the smacks or in the turtle boats. He had probably started to talk aloud, when alone, when the boy had left. But he did not remember.” He was used to the company of the boy when they fished and when they didn't fish together he thought maybe that's when he started to talk out loud. He talked out loud like someone was there to listen and respond to him when there wasn’t. He then started to direct his questions and have a one sided conversation with the fish he was trying to catch.

On the third day of Santiago's trip on the sea, a bird landed on his skiff and he didn't notice till after the bird left that it kept him company for that little while it was there.
It says, “He looked around for the bird now because he would have liked him for company. The bird was gone.” He was so lonely on the boat that after wishing so many times the boy was there when the bird came he took it for granted. Suddenly after the bird came the boat shook from a sudden movement of the fish the bird left leaving Santiago alone again. Now he realizes that the bird was someone to talk to instead of talking to himself. Also it's someone to keep him company than being alone in a boat in the middle of the
sea.

After Santiago fought off the last shark that came to eat the fish he caught he realized that he was a little far out in the sea. He became a little worried that people back where he lived like the boy and the older fishermen were worried where he was. It says, “I cannot be too far out now, he thought. I hope no one has been too worried. There is only the boy to worry, of course. But I am sure he would have confidence. Many of the older fishermen will worry. Many others too, he thought. I live in a good town.” He realized that other people do worry about him and care for him and that even though he feels alone, he’s not. After when Santiago gets back to his town the boy tells him they looked for him in the sea and had no luck. This further shows that he might be strange but not as lonely as he thought he was.