"I tried to make a real old man, a real boy, a real sea and a real fish and real sharks. But if I made them good and true enough they would mean many things.".
-Ernest Hemingway.
Friendships aren't unusual or rare occurrences. It's been said that friendships are one of the leading causes of happiness during ones lifetime. You can stereotype how a friendship should begin or the people that should be involved in different friendship relationships, yet these recipes for perfect companionship are often not followed. A very strong and far from stereotypical friendship is seen in the novella The Old Man and the Sea. Santiago and Manolin were able to bond over the time that Manolin was the apprentice of the old man's boat and form a friendship based on their common interest in fishing. .
Santiago had been taking Manolin out on the water since Manolin was only five years old, so over a long period of time the two. Do to the bad luck that Santiago had been experiencing with his fishing Manolin's parents, or as Santiago calls them salao "the worst form of unlucky", Manolin was forced to find work on a more successful fishing boat. Despite that the two are separated by their different jobs, they remain friends and are able to spend time together. Each night Manolin helps the old man with his gear and offers him company and discussion on Joe DiMaggio, Santiago's hero. Their relationship was one of a win-win status as "The old man taught the boy to fish and the boy loved him.".
Manolin is able to learn much about fishing from Santiago since he has a large amount of experience on the sea regardless of the catch lately. There was more to learn from the aged man than just fishing techniques. By caring for the man he gained knowledge of responsibility and due to the fact that the boy could not spend all day with his mentor he needed to learn about the importance of friendship as more than just a colleague.
