Explain why you think Ernest Heminingway included this story about arm wrestling. What purpose does it serve in the story?

Santiago's need to prove his worthiness is unique to each instance: "the thousand times he had proved it mean nothing. Now he was proving it again. Each time was a new time and he never thought about the past when he was doing it" (66). This can be read as a broad statement about nobility, one which holds that nobility is not a really a quality of character but of actions. The great arm-wrestling match he had at a tavern in Casablanca is an extension of this nobility he constantly seeks. Santiago recognizes his necessity of having one's worthiness recognized by others and by extension, validate his manhood.