Santiago compares himself to the big sailfish called marlin, which sustains an intense fight with him as Santiago sustains him with the adversities that he has had to face all his life, such as bad luck when it comes to fishing. that caught little or no fish. Similarly Santiago faces a group of hungry sharks that practically devoured the big fish, but he was able to kill five of them. Although he could only rescue the skeleton of the great fish, his perseverance made other people admire him before the feat performed.