Does the old man exhibit strength?

Strength is personified in both Santiago's old body and his spirit. Both are emblems of Hemingway's interpretation of manhood. Santiago struggles to fight the great marlin even though his old body is failing him. His hands cramp and his muscles ache,"I wonder why he jumped, the old man thought. He jumped almost as though to show me how big he was. I know now, anyway, he thought. I wish I could show him what sort of man I am. But then he would see the cramped hand." Santiago's strength and heroism requires continuous labor for essentially ephemeral ends. What the hero does is to face adversity with dignity and grace. Santiago recalls the strength of his youth and channels it to his battle with the marlin. Santiago put a mythic strength on the famous Joe DiMaggio and channels this as well. His cramped hand begins to relax, and in his exhaustion, Santiago thinks about Joe DiMaggio and his bone spur. In facing the great Marlin, Santiago uses his sense of myth to personify his internal strength.