Immediately after reading this, I debated between 3-4 stars, upon further reflection now I'm debating between 4 and 5 stars! So for now, I'll put it at 4.5 but it may go up. 
 The Old Man and the Sea is a great little story that I'm sure can mean many different things to many people especially depending on where you are in life when you read it. The prose is simple but provokes deep thoughts. There are a lot of themes including the power in friendship, how determination can pay off, how heroes can motivate and how sharks (human or fish) can circle to undermine your efforts. My favorites though were how the story showed that strength and dignity can still be tapped when past one's prime, and the bridges and legacies that can be forged through generations. 
 American culture values youth more than anything and too often marginalizes people as they age. This story gives power to the struggles that the aging face. For me, there were three main characters in the book. Santiago who represented old age, Manolin who represented adolescence, and Joe Dimaggio who represented middle age. 
 I consider Joe DiMaggio a character because he is Santiago's hero and inspiration. He thinks of him and baseball throughout his ordeal. People wrote off Joe DiMaggio because of his debilitating bone spurs but he came back and was instrumental to the Yankees winning the pennant. In baseball (and many other occupations) your career is over at a young age. Joe DiMaggio's struggle was similar to what Santiago is experiencing and Santiago thinks of him through his aches and pains. 
 Santiago our aged hero is left to fish alone after his young apprentice, Manolin, is pressured to join another boat because Santiago's "luck" has worn out. Luck here represents youth. Santiago sets out by himself and goes out farther than he has before in his determination to catch a fish. He hooks a huge Marlin but can't reel him in and the fish pulls him out farther and farther to sea. Santiago has a lot of respect for the fish and supposes him to be old also because he is wiser and more determined than the other fish he's dealt with. Being wise and determined himself, he is sure that this struggle will end in the death of at least one of them. 
 Manolin is the character who represents adolescence. He is Santiago's apprentice. While adults have become successfully conditioned to see less value in those past their prime, Manolin sees much value in Santiago as a teacher and a friend. Baseball is one of the many things that bridges their age gap. They truly enjoy each other's company. 
 The way Hemingway inserted Joe DiMaggio into this story is what made it really pop for me. You don't have to be elderly to be considered washed up in many careers, but that doesn't mean you've lost your value, and the use of DiMaggio really hits that home. His legacy lives on as does Santiago's on a smaller scale through Manolin. We can't all be a DiMaggio, but we can all create legacies. That was my take away from this great little story.