Santiago Perseverance Quotes

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Santiago is a man who surely has shown his dedication to his craft of fishing, which also shows his persistence. Throughout the entire novel he fights to overcome the various circumstances in his life and yet uses these struggles to grow as a person. Ultimately, Santiago is a great example in literature of perseverance no matter the circumstances. Santiago’s persistence is shown from the beginning where he does not give up on his passion for fishing even though he hasn’t caught anything for 84 days. This is quite serious to him as a fisherman considering the fact that an average fisherman would probably have caught many fish in a day. It also causes many in the town (like Manolin’s parents) to think little of him and his fishing ability. Santiago was a very dedicated fisherman and likewise he would take great offense to people doubting his ability. Not only does his perseverance have to do with fishing but also with his pride. From his perspective, it must have been devastating for him to know that he hadn’t caught a fish which must have greatly lowered his pride. However, despite the way he might have felt he decided to stay strong and continue to do what he loved.…show more content…
It is hard to fathom the intense physical demand that this would have placed on his body. We can see how he is willing to give such physical dedication to the fish as he says “’I’ll stay with you until I am dead” as each hour he is losing strength yet keeps fighting (Hemingway 52). The struggle with the fish also had a deep mental effect on him too. Think about how mentally drained he must have been while trying to catch the fish for all those hours and how it changed his mental state of mind. When he tells the fish “But I will kill you dead before the day ends”, it might not have only shown his dedication, but also how exhausted he was from fighting the fish for so long (Hemingway

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