22. SANTIAGO AS A CODE HERO / SANTIAGO’S CHARACTER SKETCH
Q. Discuss Santiago as a code hero of the novel. OR What are the qualities that Santiago possesses?
Answer: A code hero is a hero who leads his life gracefully with honour, courage and steadfastness and has the ability to show grace under pressure when the circumstances are against him. Following the definition given above, we can say that Santiago is truly a code hero. Let’s see how Santiago has made a common and ordinary fisherman the code hero of his novel.
Santiago is a poor but contented person. He has to face hunger sometimes but he is not ready to lose his self-respect before others. He is definitely a man of courage also. What can you say about a person who has been unable to catch a fish for 84 days but he is a man of strong faith and does not lose heart? He is ready to go to the sea to catch a big fish. “My big fish must be somewhere.” Courage and optimism can be observed again when we see him that he is ready to go on a longer voyage when he has already been defeated by the sharks. This struggle brings all the qualities of a code hero before us i.e. inexhaustible stamina, steadfastness, patience, the spirit to show grace under pressure and perseverance.
In short, Santiago possesses all the qualities of a code hero. He is truly a code hero of the novel. (Words: 221)
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