Santiago Vs. Himself

To continue or to not continue? That is the question. The first of the two conflicts that I detected in The Old Man and the Sea was that of Santiago versus himself. So, basically, a man vs. internal sort of conflict. Throughout the novel, the old man has to continually think to himself "should I keep going and pursuing this fish, or cut the cord and go home empty handed?" Due to his pride and determination to catch the marlin, Santiago holds out and manages to catch the fish, despite conflicts within himself.
Like I have said, if I were in Santiago's position, I do not think I would have been able to stay holding onto an extremely large and heavy fish for more than a day. I probably would have said "forget it" and cut the cord and hoped for better luck next time. I would have let my "gut feeling" win in the conflict and then I would have to deal with the consequences. However, Santiago really wanted to catch this fish, so much that he himself starts to go a little bit insane over it, or so I think. Santiago begins talking to himself, the ocean, and even some of the wildlife. Those scenes in the book reminded me a bit of when Jack Sparrow is stranded in Davy Jones' Locker in the third Pirates of The Caribbean movie: At World's End. I could almost see Santiago there talking to himself and the bird that landed on his skiff. But because of his determination, the old man does not give up and wins the internal battle going on between him and himself to continue or not continue. Ultimately, he chooses to wait the fish's death out, or wait until the fish tires out and not once does he consider giving up. Therefore, Santiago manages to catch the fish and kill it, and starts on his long journey back home while being hunted by hungry sharks.