Quote 58
"They beat me, Manolin," he said. "They truly beat me."
"He didn’t beat you. Not the fish."
"No. Truly. It was afterwards." (5.22-5.24)
The old man leaves us wondering who are the "they" that beat him – the sharks, or something more?
Quote 59
"I know how to care for them. In the night I spat something strange and felt something in my chest was broken." (5.44)
The old man is physically defeated by the end of the story, but his spirit is not broken, as he still dreams of the lions.
Quote 60
"But you went turtle-ing for years off the Mosquito Coast and your eyes are good."
"I am a strange old man." (1.46, 1.47)
The old man’s description of himself as "strange" identifies him as a unique character, different from others. Because he is so different from others, he is often alone.