The main character in The Old Man and the Sea is an old man named Santiago, who is a fisherman in Cuba. Santiago hasn't had any luck at sea for 84 days. He's poor and looked down on by the younger and much luckier fisherman.
He would be completely alone were it not for a young boy named Manolin. Manolin used to be Santiago's apprentice and still believes in him, even though Manolin's family wishes he wouldn't.
Even though Manolin now works for a more successful fisherman, he continues to spend time with Santiago, bringing him fresh bait and food. Santiago humbly accepts these gifts and enjoys talking with the boy.
As a fan of the Yankees and of 'the great DiMaggio', whose father was a fisherman, Santiago likes talking about baseball with Manolin. Santiago seems to admire baseball legend Joe DiMaggio as much as Manolin admires Santiago. Manolin even declares that Santiago is the greatest fisherman. Santiago is touched by this.
That night he has a recurring dream in which he sees lions playing on an African beach, which is something he saw as a child. This may seem random right now, but it's actually significant and we'll come back to it.