Santiago is an old, experienced fisherman but he has not brought in a catch for months. All the other fisherman …show more content…
His parents had forbidden him from fishing with the old man. While Santiago suffers starvation and being poor, other boats from his village keep on catching and bringing in good fish every day. Anyone can have luck but not everyone one can has the skills that may be needed. Santiago knows this and believes in his ability. “To hell with luck,” he thinks. “I’ll bring the luck with me.” He says in the book. Santiago represents honor and pride. Pride can motivate a man to greatness and the old man accomplishes greatness. He knows he has pride so he would not let the villagers defeat him, and definitely he was not giving up on the boat when struggling with the marlin for so long. Even though the old man is not the most liked by everyone, and may not catch fish everyday he still has hope and confidence. That is what keeps him going everyday,
Even though Santiago didn’t end up catching a fish he still had confidence and hope of catching a fish. He went a very long time without catching one and when he finally did he lost it. Not every fisher is going to be lucky like others. The point is he never gave up, and that is all that matters. "But a man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated." (pg 103) You have to keep trying until you achieve your goal. You may fail but you must keep going. Confidence is the