Characteristics Of Santiago In The Old Man And The Sea

In the novella The Old Man and the Sea, the main character Santiago displays multiple character traits.Throughout these traits, his most predominant and represented characteristics is his pride. He was labeled as a fisherman that was incapable of hooking a fish. However, he did not let their opinions get to his head, the old man sailed into the sea by his lonesome so that he could catch a fish. Although it may seem like he did it to prove the others wrong, his reason was only to acquire wealth and to pursue the only career he has ever known. Santiago was stuck on the sea for many weeks while being dragged by a massive fish that he had not completely caught yet. His disappearance created turmoil in his town. People searched for the old man desperately

For many, continually fighting such a large fish and warding off sharks would be a traumatic experience. To Santiago, it was simply something that needed to be done. Such incredible strength and perseverance is something many would gloat about. However, the old man was latent about his pride and never once relished about his achievements. Santiago had great pride, conversely he never presented it in a repulsive way. Santiago showed his ego in an altruistic, humble manner. Though he did not display his pride often, it was still present within him. When speaking about his reasoning for fighting the fish at the expense of his health and well-being, the old man said “you killed him for pride.” Through his actions, one would not believe Santiago had much self-esteem, but he continues to possess and build on his confidence. His determination, strength, intelligence, and humbleness allowed him to hold tremendous pride.
Santiago was represented as a proud fishermen that never gave up and used his resources to resolve a problem. Commonly, most people in his situation would have surrendered and returned to shore. But the old man’s incredible traits helped him prevail and succeed in ways that gave him pride. Determination, intelligence, humbleness, and strength created Santiago and made him the character he