This man, Santiago, characterizes the meaning of Hemingway's life as writer. He is very humble despite a past of glorious fishing and being "El champion" of the village. Santiago is no longer interested in glories which are pushed out with the coming of old age and true wisdom; he is content with life as it is and dreaming of lions and reading about baseball. The old man is unlucky, he hasn't caught a fish in eighty-four days and he is poor that he must rely on a boy to provide for him his necessities of life. The boy is attached to the man but his parents will not let

him fish with the man because he has become so unlucky. So the man goes alone on his skiff out to the sea, doing the most he possibly can with his weathered and deteriorating body. The man going alone with no help from the boy is an important factor in the story which is based upon independence of spirit and the drive of one man against nature.

This book is trails and tribulations of life, it is the beginning and the end of what is meaningful to a man and his soul. The battle between love and life has taken a toll on the man and the Marlin. This old man and his insight has finally realized he is dying, like everyone is dying. He has become independent from a wife who has passed away, a boy who is his only friend, and a village in which he was honored. It is a parallel of life, a metaphor on what the meaning of life really is. Hemingway uses his book as a commentary on what is real and what is important. Experiences dwindle to memories, and frustration turns to exhaustion and all we have left are the things we hold close to our soul like baseball, lions on the beach and the

Some common words found in the essay are:
, deteriorating body, experiences humble, past future, el champion,
Approximate Word count = 728
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)