In Santiago's childhood, he sailed on ships to Africa where he had seen lions playing on the beach. His dreams were based on past events and memories. The symbolic meaning of the lions is the youth of Santiago. When Santiago dreamed of the carefree lions playing on the beach, he gained the strength and endurance he needed to keep going. "After that he began to dream of the long yellow beach and he saw the first of the lions descend on it in the early morning, then the other lions came... he waited to see if there would be more lions and he was happy” (Hemingway 81). Lions also symbolize peace and harmony When the young lions were playing on the beach, they were very happy and peaceful. This also helped Santiago to relax. lions as he loved Manolin. “He only dreamed of places now and lions on the beach They played like young cats at dusk and he loved them as he loved the boy” (Hemingway 25). dreamed of lions, it reminded him of his youth and