The Old Man and the Sea - 12

The old man in The Old Man and the Sea has a lot of desirable characteristics about him. The old man is someone that I would like to try and like like, even though he is a man and I am a girl. The old man stands out above all other people and has traits that not very many people possess.

What stands out to me the most about the old man is that he does not care what others think of him. The old man does not live for the glory of others. What I mean by that is when he does things he does not do them with others in mind and wonder what people are going to think of him. Many people do this, and especially younger people. But the old man does not do this at all. In fact he is almost a complete outcast and he is not hurt by that. It does not bother him, it is perfectly OK. When the old man catches the big fish he does not bring it back and boast. He instead goes home and sleeps and thinks of fishing with the boy in the future. The other fishermen see the old man's fish and are very impressed, bu the old man did not catch the fish so that others would notice him. He does not need that to make himself feel good. He already is confident in himself and his abilities.

Another way I would like to be more like the old man is having his determination. The old man is extremely determined and nothing can stop him. Sometimes, especially as a girl, it is good to not always be as determined as the old man was, but I can still learn to be more determined. The old man did not back down and he did not stop until the end, and that is something that I can learn.

Who I also want to try to live like is the boy. The boy is so caring. The boy cares for the old man in his old age. Nobody asks the boy to care for the old man, yet he is a companion to him. The boy is very loyal to the old man and he takes care of him. The boy does things to help the old man even when the old man does not want him to. That is a very courteous thing of the boy to do and it shows of his great character.

Another thing about the boy that is very impressive to me is that he does not care of worldly things like so many other boys do. This boy is not worried about what the other kids will think about him for helping the old man, but instead is concerned with helping the old man. That is very mature of the boy to realize that not everything is about him and life is not all about serving himself, as many boys his age think.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 1996. Print.