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He no longer dreamed of storms, nor of women, nor of great occurrences, nor of great fish, nor fights, nor contests of strength, nor of his wife. He only dreamed of places now and of the lions on the beach. They played like young cats in the dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy.
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This passage, which describes Santiago’s dreams on the night before he sets out for his fishing expedition (the first day that the narrative covers), simultaneously confirms and moves beyond Hemingway’s immediately recognizable vision of the universe. Hemingway made his career telling stories about “great occurrences,” “great fish,” and “contests of strength.” The fact that Santiago no longer dreams of any of these makes him unique among Hemingway’s heroes. Of course, by dreaming of lions he is still in a recognizably “Hemingwayesque” world, but the lions here are at play and thus suggest a time of youth and ease. They are also linked explicitly to Manolin, a connection that is made apparent at the end of the novel as the boy watches over his aged friend as Santiago’s dream of the lions returns.
