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"The sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat." - This image gives us a picture of someone (in this case Santiago) who is always giving up and surrendering.

"his hands had the deep-creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of these scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert." - This description of Santiago's hands compares the age of his hands to a desert that has existed from the time before it had water to the present when the water is long gone.

"The shack was made of the tough budshields of the royal palm which are called guano and in it, there was a bed, a table, one chair, and a place on the dirt floor to cook with charcoal." - This description of Santiago's living conditions shows that he lives a simple life and that he is not financially well off.