What can we learn from Stantiago in The Old Man and the Sea?

I think one of the definite lessons that we can learn from
the character of Santiago is the way that he is determined to continue fishing, in spite
of his crushing and massive disappointment at having lost the big fish that he caught.
Although he is shown to have given up so much and sacrificed almost everything to
capture this fish, and in spite of his every efforts, he cannot save the fish from being
eaten by the sharks that surround him. Yet Santiago is not overwhelmed by this failure.
When he gets back, after some encouagement from Manolin, he begins to talk again about
going out the next day. The very last line of the novel is very significant, as it
indicates how Santiago, in spite of his failure, has not abandoned his
dreams:

The
old man was dreaming about the
lions.

The lions refers to a
dream that Santiago has had to go to Africa and see the lions. The fact that the novel
ends on this sentence is very significant as it indicates that Santiago has transcended
his failure and is not crushed by it. If anything, he is even more determined to go out
and fish again. This is a lesson we can all learn from.

Yet
the struggle to achieve one’s dreams is still worthwhile, for without dreams, a human
remains a mere physical presence in the universe, with no creative or spiritual
dimension. And so at the end of the story, Santiago, in spite of his great loss,
physical pain, and exhaustion, is still “dreaming about the lions”—the same ones he saw
in Africa when he was younger and would like to see again.