C+Characters

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He is an old fisherman who has not caught anything for 84 days. He is poor and does not have much to eat. He has a pride that needs to be proven to the villagers who think that he has nothing left to him. Manolin used to be his apprentice, a helper who would go fish with Santiago. But his parents felt that his future could get very insecure, if he stayed with the old man. Even though people don't believe it anymore, Santiago is a very experienced fisherman. He knows where the fish will be and how to make sure that the fish do not throw the hook when they bite the bait. He loves the animals that do not interfere with his fishing, but detests those that do, like the Man of War, or the sharks. Santiago is a needy person who depends on Manolin to help him out during fishing because Manolin has been with with Santiago since the age of five. On the 85th day, Santiago goes and snags a huge marlin after much constant work but he has trouble catching it. Santiago is old and his strength is not as well as it should be, but he perseveres the sea to catch the marlin. He eventually catches the marlin, but is beaten in spirit by the sharks that eat the marlin up before Santiago can reach shore. =====

Manolin:
Manolin is a boy who loves Santiago very much. He loves him more than his own father because Santiago has taught him how to fish for a very long time. He takes care of Santiago while he is on land. He has faith in Santiago as a fisherman. When Santiago comes back from fishing, Manolin cries that the Santiago was unsuccessful and defeated on his trip.

Marlin:
The marlin is a fish that Santiago sees as a brother who needs to be killed for Santiago's pride and survival. The marlin is strong and pulls Santiago out to see for a long time. The marlin dies finally when Santiago drives a harpoon through his heart. The marlin is Santiago's goal that he is willing to die for, however it is eaten by the sharks that come when it smells its blood.

Esperanza:
She is a Mexican girl living in her new house on Mango Street in the city of Chicago. At first she wants boys to look at her, so she wants beautiful hips. She is sexually assaulted in the book a few times, which is where she starts to develop her feminism. She is a feminist who does not like girls that just go along with their sexual roles in life. In her narration of Mango Street, she talks a lot about women in the neighborhood who are having problems with husbands or are held back by men in their lives. Esperanza writes poetry to try to escape her stereotypical sex role. At one point in the book, she almost throws a brick at these boys who are making out with Sally. She is caring towards her younger sister Nenny and she will read to her crippled aunt, but sometimes she feels burdened by them. She wants to escape Mango Street and move somewhere else and be free of her bad life. She, however, wants to help out the people of Mango Street one day.

Sally:
Sally is Esperanza's friend who is very beautiful. She wheres mature clothing and makeup. Her father doesn't like how Sally acts or dresses. Her father at one point beat Sally because she was talking to a boy. She hangs out with boys who have sex with her and she lets them. Sally does not seem to think that men who use women for sex is a bad thing. At one point in the book, Sally lets Esperanza get sexually abused and doesn't say anything. Eventually, Sally marries a rich salesman at the age of fourteen. She is happy that her husband has all that money, but her husband is controlling of her. She is the opposite of Esperanza, who wants to abandon her sexual role, rather, Sally falls right in and follows it.

Lucy and Rachel:
Lucy and Rachel are Esperanza's best friends. They live across the street from Esperanza's house. They came to be friends when Esperanza, tired with her old friend agrees to buy a bicycle with them. She contributes $5 and next thing you know, they are best friends.

There are numerous other minor characters throughout this book. It won't be an unfair statement if I said that this book is solely based on different characters who are a part of Esperanza's life, one way or another. They are either related to her, friends with her, enemies with her, hate her, love her, or just know her in a way. A list of those numerous characters is as follows:

Carlos and Kiki Nenny Marin Alicia Meme Ortiz Louie Ruthie Geraldo Tito Uncle Nacho Aunt Lupe The Three Sisters**
 * Papa and Mama

There are many characters who are not mentioned in this list. Please don't let this small list stop you from reading this amazing story of life and its various phases of struggle and pleasure.