Santiago is an old Cuban fisherman who has gone eighty-four days without a fish. The boy Manolin used to fish with him; his parents have made him join another boat, but the boy still cares for the old man and believes he will catch a great fish again.
Santiago is thin and gaunt, with deep creases in the back of his neck and hands scarred by fishing lines. His eyes are the color of the sea and remain "cheerful and undefeated." He has no luck—but he still goes out every day.
The boy brings him food and bait, talks baseball with him (the great DiMaggio), and refuses to believe the old man is salao—the worst form of unlucky. That faith is a kind of love. Santiago dreams of the lions he saw on the beaches of Africa when he was young—a sign that his spirit is still alive.
Belief from someone who loves us can hold us up when we have no catch. The boy's loyalty is part of what allows the old man to keep going.