? The Old Man and the Sea is a book written by Ernest hemingway about and old fisherman and his successes and failures. I think hemingway did a good job in portraying Santiago as a hero and not a failure in the book The Old Man and the Sea because of the way he showed that Santiago may have been old, yet with his hope, experience and patience he was able to bring home the finest catch of all even though not too much of it was left. One example of his great wisdom is this quote, “I have never seen or head of such a fish. But I must kill him ....