What is Santiago's flaw?

Lesson Summary

A tragic hero is a character who faces a horrible downfall as a result of a fatal flaw. Santiago's flaw is his excessive pride and determination to keep going, even when it's too dangerous. While it leads to the greatest catch he could imagine, it also leaves him fighting for his life.

Is Santiago a tragic character?

Santiago is considered by many readers to be a tragic hero, in that his greatest strength—his pride—leads to his eventual downfall.

What are Santiago's character traits?

During the course of the novella Santiago is shown to be cheerful, determined, confident, brave, and optimistic. He hasn't caught a fish for eighty-four days but he is not in the slightest bit discouraged. Instead, he determines to go further out in the hopes of catching a large fish.

What are Santiago's values?

For Santiago, what matters most in life is to live with great fervor and nobility according to his beliefs, to use his skills and nature's gifts to the best of his ability, to struggle and endure and redeem his individual existence through his life's work, to accept inevitable destruction with dignity, and to pass on ...

Is The Old Man and the Sea tragic hero?

In the novel “The Old Man and the Sea” the main character, Santiago is a tragic hero with a tragic flaw. His hubris ultimately leads him to triumph for a few reasons. Santiago's hubris helps him to develop into a passionate, optimistic and determined individual, this is what ultimately helps lead him to his triumph.

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Who is Santiago's hero?

Even though Santiago experiences pain and suffering, he reminds himself that DiMaggio, his hero, does as well but persists through his pain.

How does Hemingway describe Santiago's eyes?

How does Hemingway describe Santiago's eyes? They are full of pain. They are blank with defeat. They betray the weariness of his soul.

Is Santiago a prideful man Why or why not?

No, Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea is not a prideful man, as prideful means overvaluing oneself and feeling superior to others. Santiago instead has a healthy pride, rooted in the confidence of knowing he is good at what he does.

What is the most tragic moment of Santiago's life?

Santiago's Fatal Flaw

He refuses to let his age slow him down or make him reliant upon others when it comes to continuing his work as a fisherman. This determination to keep going, even when he knows it may be too much to handle, is Santiago's fatal flaw.

How does Santiago change throughout the story?

Throughout his journey, Santiago matures through all the lessons he's learned and people he's met. His experiences give him a new outlook in life, and help him to see more clearly and enjoy life. Santiago also changes emotionally and becomes an overall happier person at the end of his journey.

What are Santiago's strongest qualities?

What does Santiago's heart tell him are the strongest qualities? His courage and enthusiasm.

What part of his body does Santiago not trust Why?

What part of his body does he not trust? His left hand because it had always been bad and a traitor. Why does Santiago mistrust the dullness of his back pain? His back should be hurting so that means something is wrong and his body is betraying him because it should be hurting and it is not.

Why is Santiago called boy?

Referring to Santiago as “the boy” makes him a mythic figure, just as Melchizedek attains mythic significance when Santiago forgets his name and starts thinking of him as “the old man.” In turn, The Alchemist acts less as a personal story about the adventures of one character and more as an allegorical fable with ...

What is Santiago's attitude in The Old Man and the Sea?

Santiago is both optimistic and stubborn in staying out in his boat long after it seems he has no chance of catching any fish. Once he hooks the marlin, this tenacity turns to obsession, as the sharks literally consume the fish and the impossible situation figuratively consumes his sanity.

What attribute of Santiago's helps him endure?

Santiago's pride is what enables him to endure, and it is perhaps endurance that matters most in Hemingway's conception of the world—a world in which death and destruction, as part of the natural order of things, are unavoidable.

How is the self confidence of Santiago increased?

The match lasts for a full day and ends when Santiago, in a burst of energy, wins the match. This memory helps to restore his confidence in his abilities, and he knows that as long as he holds out and does not try to force the marlin, he will be successful.

What was the saddest thing the old man ever saw?

What was the saddest thing the old man ever saw? Once he hooked the female of a pair of marlin. The male fish stayed close to her all the time. When Santiago and Manolin brought her aboard the boat, the male fish stayed by the side of the boat.

Why did Santiago feel unlucky and defeated?

In The Old Man and the Sea, Santiago is considered unlucky because he has failed to catch either the big fish. Part I of the novella is called "The Unlucky Boat" because he has gone 84 days without a fish to sell at market.

What kind of person is Santiago in The Alchemist?

Santiago, a shepherd boy from a small Andalusian town, is the protagonist of The Alchemist. He is determined, headstrong, and curious to learn all he can about the world.

How is Santiago prideful The Old Man and the Sea?

In fact, Santiago's pride is portrayed as the single motivating force that spurs him to greatness. It is his pride that pushes him to survive three grueling days at sea, battling the marlin and then the sharks. Yet it is important to recognize that Santiago's pride is of a particular, limited sort.

Is Santiago was a proud man?

Santiago is proud of his skills, proud of his accomplishments as a fisherman, but not so proud or arrogant that he won't accept help from Manolin or admit that he is getting too old. 7.

What are the main themes in The Old Man and the Sea?

What is Santiago's temptation What does he do?

With the sun hot on his back, Santiago briefly is tempted to nap, with a line around his toe to wake him if a fish bites. But he remembers that he has been trying to catch a fish for 85 days now and so "must fish the day well." At that moment, one of the green sticks take a sharp dip.