Manolin is essental, I think, to The Old Man and
the Sea. Whenever you have a story about an old man, you must have a young
boy as counterbalance. As such, he is a foil for Santiago
in that the boy is a younger version of the old man. Like Santiago, he is loyal,
patient, and selfless--all the qualities of an aspiring fisherman. More, he is the only
one on Santiago's side. Whereas the young, arrogant fishermen make sport of the
vocation--fishing for money--Manolin is learning to fish out of love, honor, and a duty
to nature.
As the saying goes, "If you give a man a fish,
he will eat for a day; if you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime."
Manolin's other role is to be a disciple to Santiago, the
Christ-figure. In part I of the novella, we see Santiago continuing to be a mentor to
the boy even though the old man has gone 84 days without catching a fish. His resolve
to continue fishing despite his bad luck is a valuable lesson learned for the boy. In
the end, after Santiago returns with the marlin carcass, we know that boy will be the
one--like Christ's disciples--to spread the gospel about Santiago's epic catch. We also
know that Manolin will grow up to be a fisherman in the mold of the old
man.
On a literal level, Manolin is there to be a
receiver for and believer in
Santiago. In part I, Santiago must have someone to talk to. He can't talk to his
daughter or the other fisherman; they don't listen or care. But, the boy looks up the
old man: he still believes in the mythos of the young Santiago, the one of arm wrestling
and fishing greatness. So, the boy is there for balance: Hemingway cannot have the old
man talking to himself for the entire novel. Santiago talks to the boy in the first
half and to himself in the second. Still, Santiago is speaking to the boy the whole
time, if not literally, then spiritually. When he is alone on the boat, Santiago wishes
the boy were there, and he even speaks out loud to him as if he
were.
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