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   amy-lepore Teacher
   High School - 12th Grade

   eNotes Editor

   I will take the most obvious character:  Santiago.  We learn about him through both indirect and direct characterization.  Both of these include what the character does, thinks, says, how he/she looks, and what others say about him/her.

   Through direct characterization (what the author tells us outright), we know that Santiago is older, that he has been a fisherman forever and that up until now he has been a respected, even highly renown expert in his field.  We also know that he has not caught a fish in several days.  Because of this, people are beginning to call him "unlucky" and the parents of Manolin have even encouraged him to work with someone else because of Santiago's failure.

   We also know that Santiago has not given up and that he has "clear and determined" eyes.  He has resolve to catch a fish and restore his reputation as an expert fisherman.

   He loves baseball and admires Joe Dimaggio.  His wife is dead and he has taken down her photo.

   Through indirect characterization (what we have to read between the lines to figure out), we know that Santiago has deep feelings for his wife but seeing her photo every day makes him sad.  He is determined to succeed in life and not succumb to sadness or others' opinions of him.  When he does catch his great fish, he loses almost all of it to sharks, but is triumphant without any outside help.  He is eager to fish again, even though he loses almost everything.

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   Posted by amy-lepore on Wednesday November 28, 2007 at 9:11 AM