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The old man may be tragic, but I don't think he's heroic. He kills a magnificent creature for no reason--he knows he can't possibly get it home. All his supposed love for his "brother" is a lot of hokum. I can accept intellectually that this impoverished man might need to fish to survive, but let him just go do it, without the pretense of loving the fish he's trying to kill, not to mention the collateral damage--the raw fish he eats and the sharks he kills.
The magnificent fish being caught only to be destroyed in the process of getting it home reminded me of something but I couldn't put my finger on it until today--it's the unicorn hunting scene in The Once and Future King. Morgause's sons catch and kill the gentle unicorn and try to drag it home to her, but ruin its beauty and finally only the head is left; instead of being pleased with their gift, Morgause whips them.
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