The Old Man and the Sea is a thin book, but is nevertheless one of Ernest Hemingway's most famous short stories. In it, Hemingway creates a beautifully minimalistic story in terms of scene, character, and dialogue. The "Old Man," Santiago, is an elderly but strong fisherman facing nearly three months of bad luck in his profession. His helper, a boy named Manolin, is his only friend and care-taker. Even in the midst of the Old Man's misfortune, the boy never stops taking care of him. After 84 days of fruitless fishing ventures, the Old Man sets out to find and catch a great fish - and find one he does. The fish, a large Marlin, becomes the third character in the book. Essentially, the entire story revolves from this point on between an intense power struggle between the fish and the man. Both are strong and proud, with an unbreakable hold on the other, fighting off pain and weakness in favor of proving the other wrong. The fish, it seems, becomes an extension of Santiago - once it is hooked they feel the same pain and endure the same struggles, and even after the fish has given up Santiago has a connection to it. In the end, the destruction of the fish by sharks as Santiago sails back home mirrors a similar destruction the Old Man feels in losing the enormous catch. Hemingway seamlessly creates a dynamic struggle between two very strong characters. In the end, only one wins, and even though Santiago loses his fish to marauding sharks, the great skeleton of the thing reflects the respect he finds within himself to accomplish sucha great feat.