The protagonist - an old fisherman named Santiago in Cuba.

In the words of the old man in the novel: "A person is not born to be defeated." "People can be destroyed, but they cannot be defeated." This is the idea of ??"The Old Man and the Sea" Revealed philosophy.

From the perspective of secular victory, the old fisherman was not the final winner, because although he defeated the big marlin at first, in the end the big marlin was eaten by the shark. He just took it with him. The white skeleton of the big marlin returned to the shore, which means that the shark is the winner. However, in the eyes of idealists, the old fisherman is the winner because he never compromised or surrendered to the sea, the big marlin, or the shark. As the music master Beethoven said, "I can be destroyed, but I cannot be conquered."