TOMATS - Manolin and Loyalty

In The Old Man and the Sea, a character was born who carries a good solid value.  This simple yet complex value is loyalty.  Being loyal to another person can be easy, but also quite difficult depending on the circumstances and what might happen to be in your way.  Manolin, the little boy that fished with Santiago.  He was his partner.  His helper and always a helping hand to the physically weak and unlucky old man.  Manolin did have an obstacle to tackle down though.  The old man happy to be unlucky. The most unlucky of unlucky.  A salao.  This did not really quite go down well on Manolin's home front.  His parents knew that the old man was at a dry spell and really severely unlucky as a skilled fisherman.  So like and parent, Manolin's parents forced their child to do something. They forced him to go fish on another boat and leave the old man behind.  This was devastation for Manolin, and was sure to be a conflict for him and for Manolin.  Manolin did what was in his power to stay true to the old man though.  He came back to him and helped him out, offered to give him bait, and did that showed he had values of a strong character and a caring friend(Hemingway 23)
Yes," the old man said. He was holding his glass and thinking of many years ago.
"Can I go out to get sardines for you for tomorrow?" 
"No. Go and play baseball. I can still row and Rogelio will throw the net." 
"I would like to go. If I cannot fish with you. I would like to serve in some way(Hemingway 20)."
The old man has a lot of gratitude for the little boy because he is so loyal to him.  It surprises him because he has so much luck yet still wants to be with the old man despite being a salao. Its true friendship.

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003. Print.