Santiago, the old fisherman, is not only the last tragic hero created by Hemingway, but also the final summary of the tough man's character in his life. The fate of the poor and unlucky old fisherman Santiago is sad, but he is a failed hero. "the undefeated loser". 

     Hemingway's hard man's character clings to the character of Santiago like an elf. this is the symbol of the Hemingway "tough man" spirit, whether he intentionally or unintentionally, whether consciously or unconsciously. As a powerful embodiment of Hemingway's "iceberg principle".Santiago is an "old man fishing alone in a small boat in the Gulfstream." The torture of life and years on the old man made him "have deep wrinkles on his back neck, thin and haggard", "every part of his body appears old", but his eyes are "as blue as the sea, happy and undepressed". At the beginning of the work, the old man was catching up with "bad luck (that's the worst word for bad image)." For 84, for 84 days, he had not even caught a single fish, which could not have been too bad for a fisherman who made a living by fishing. Even a child who had been with him for a long time had to leave him on the fortieth day.The old man had no luck catching fish for eighty-four days, and as he sat in his seaside hotel, all the fishermen around him laughed at him or took pity on him. Santiago in order to prove that he is a "strange old man", or to prove that he is strong courage and perseverance, for the completion of their own that others can not replace the completion of the task, for the glory and dignity of the widower, Santiago must catch a big fish.

     At first, I went to sea every day, but I didn't catch a fish for 40 days in a row. This kind of failure is enough "bad luck". Later, the departure of the child Mallolin made the old man's treatment even more bleak, and the final encounter was even more miserable, but it was this kind of situation that "from failure is still to failure". Santiago perfectly reflected Hemingway's tough man's character: when his big fish was eaten by sharks with only a pair of bones left, he asked himself, "but what beat you?" "nothing. I went too far. " The old man bravely admitted his failure, but absolutely believed in his own power. Believe that even if he fails, he is still brave, and believes that he has not lost to the shark in spirit, because it is the shark, not himself, that has been wiped out, and it is based on the courage and undiscouraging spirit of dealing with failure, Santiago realized: "once defeated, things will be easy to do." So "now all you have to do is drive the ship as well and skillfully as possible to its own port." When the battle is a thing of the past and glory is gone, Santiago is so serene and calm to complete the rest of the work, an excellent embodiment of the "elegant demeanor under the pressure."

     If life is an arena, nature is the background of life. Santiago was now beyond nature, beyond the trials and triumphs and successes and failures of his life.