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The old man Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea is a character seen in many perspectives, as a hero, an ordinary fisherman, an unlucky old man, and a wise man. Throughout the novella he is made out as a person of motivation, passion, and hope. Despite what others do or do not think he is a man of action, and not one consumed by regret. The young and old villagers view of Santiago is an important one, but not a differentiating one. The villagers are split into two groups. The older fishermen that respect Santiago and wish him luck, and the younger fishermen that see him as little more than bad luck. While neither group is particularly important to the plot, each of their views sets an ambiance of Santiagos forthcoming adventure. Without their views Santiago would be little more than a lucky old fisherman. Santiago has a resolute grip upon reality and lives by it. He sees himself as a man with little direction but enough determination and experience to live. He chose not to see what others thought but instead lived by how he perceived the world. His constant struggles and his persistent resolve to overcome the marlin and himself show his earnest desires to live and fish. The boy is a crucial element to Santiagos world. Manolin is always at the edge of Santiagos mind when he thinks of convenience. At times with the fish, Santiago thinks to the boy and then to his own lack of ability. He may deny it, but at times it is his relationship with the boy that both makes him realize he needs help, and compels him to go on. Christian imagery and concepts are important assets to the old fishermans personality. He is seen as a kind man, and although expresses his frustration towards certain points, only conveys his anger towards the evil representation of the sharks. His kind, infinite eyes, and he carrying his mast like Jesus and his cross only augment his Christ-like personage. His loneliness and greatness are both shown as Manolin is assigned a new boat after 40 days with Santiago, the same length of time as Christ spent in the wilderness. Santiagos change at the end of the novella turns him into almost a universal hero. By being at sea, his ventures were never limited and the events of the story just seemed to happen. After he rebukes himself for his arrogance with the marlin, Santiago goes home and dreams of the lions playing in Africa, signaling a cycle of a child-like rebirth through Manolin. Throughout the story many aspects can be found about Santiagos personality merely by the content of his 3-day fight with the marlin. The ideology that encompasses the story is only consumed by Santiagos pure will to persevere. Certainly Santiago is a man of many themes and personality traits. I believe that in the past three decades, the way society has treated he elderly has remained primarily the same. Some younger citizens have looked up to the elderly with respect, yet most continue to shun them and consider them useless and hopeless in a society such as ours. I think that the elderly population is continually losing respect from the new generations. Santiago, the elderly man in the novel The Old Man and the Sea, is respected by a young boy, Manolin, yet he is also looked down upon by many of the younger fishermen in the Cuban fishing village where he lives. This book is set in the late 1930s and, I as I see it, shows that societies all around the world have had a decline in respect for the older people in their environment since the beginning of the nineteenth century. An enormous number of issues have changed since Santiagos time, allowing the elderly to have the ability to do more in their old age and live in areas specifically designed for their needs. However, there is still an enormous lack of respect for the older people in society, and it is becoming worse every day. Younger citizens of our country make fun of older people, call them names, and believe that they are incapable of doing most things that the younger ones are capable of doing. When we believe they can no longer support themselves, we place our elderly relatives into retirement homes and “old folks homes“ as many call them. Sometimes they, themselves, do not wish to go to such a place, but we force them to, which many times is the wrong choice. Some younger people help the elderly, though, and try to support them, but few of these people can be found. It is a fact that when people get beyond a certain age, their memories begin depleting and they atrophy physically. However, as Santiago shows in the novel, older people have much knowledge about the world around them and enough strength to make it through hard situations if they are determined and have the will and courage to believe in a better tomorrow. In Santiagos community, it is shown that their is still a natural respect for elders, as is seen in Manolins support of the old man. He was one of the dying breed that truly
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