In his work and in his own life, Hemingway is obsessed with man's survival in a world of immorality. In his work, he strives to create a hero of the times. His characters are not heroes in the traditional sense. They did not perform noble deeds or save others. They basically save themselves from destruction. Their struggle is with their own endurance and survival.

The code by which Hemingway's heroes must live (Philip Young termed them "code heroes") is contingent on the qualities of courage, self-control, and "grace under pressure." The typical Hemingway hero as a man "who is wounded but bears his wounds in silence, who is defeated but finds a remnant of dignity in an honest confrontation of defeat." Furthermore, the hero's great desire must be to "salvage from the collapse of social life a version of stoicism that can make suffering

In The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway's hero is an old Cuban fisherman named Santiago ("Spanish for St. James, the fisherman, apostle and martyr") (Lewis, 200). Unlike Hemingway's other heroes, Santiago is very old and weak. Santiago faces death when he risks his life by going too far out to sea to catch a big fish.

In 1952, Hemingway made a literary comeback with The Old Man and the Sea. The book was a huge success and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953. In 1954, he also won the Nobel Prize for literature for The Old man and the Sea (Contemporary Authors, 34:195).

Man's fate is to love and respect the very things that he must kill. They are joined together by a line and they suffer greatly together-both of these old, male fighters. The marlin's courage and strength is glory to Santiago and he is sorry he has to kill him but his pride outweighs the injustice (Lewis, 201).

As a boy, he shared his father's enthusiasm for hunting and fishing. As an adult, Hemingway traveled the world looking for greater adventure and new material to write about. His interests like bullfighting, big-game hunting and deep sea fishing inspired his writing.

His closest friend is a young boy named Manolin. Their companionship shows their respect for one another. Manolin has faith in Santiago because he taught him to fish. Manolin's parents will not let him fish with the old man anymore because he has not caught any fish and they need the money. Manolin loves the old man because he does not treat him like a child. His love gives Santiago a reason to live. The relationship between the old man and the boy is not competitive and is based on trust, respect and loyalty. The boy accepts the old man with all of his weaknesses and bad luck. Santiago thinks about the boy and wishes he was with him many times during his ordeal at sea. He wished he was there to see him catch the fish, he needed him there to rub the cramp out of his hand and he wished he was there when he was lonely. When Santiago returns, the boy cries when he sees his torn hands and he is more concerned with the health of the old man than his catch. Loyalty is another element of the hero code and although Hemingway's characters are very masculine, they all have a sensitive and caring side (Lewis, 210).

It is this moral victory that sets him apart from other Hemingway heroes. He does not end up with a trophy or an animal head to mount or even the marlin; nothing but his dignity and the self-satisfaction that he did what he set out to do. This is the difference that makes him Hemingway's ultimate hero. In all of his characters, Hemingway searches for absolute values and finally achieves his goal with Santiago (Baker, 158).

Santiago also has faith in his religion. He often prays and speaks out loud to God. Some analysts

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Approximate Word count = 1887
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)