Speaker
The speaker provides the reader with insight on the life and death of his grandfather. He has mixed feelings about the man. On one hand, he criticizes his grandfather for being so closed off during his life, pointing out that this made it difficult for him to form close relationships with his loved ones. Yet, he views his grandfather as someone who was incredibly strong and in touch with nature, and he admires the way his grandfather faced death unflinchingly. We can glean little from the poem about the speaker himself; his use of rhetorical language and vivid imagery, and his criticism of his grandfather for being so reticent, suggest that the speaker aspires to live differently, expressing his feelings openly.
Grandfather
The grandfather is described as a reticent man who did not form a close attachment to any other family members during his living years. He was a strong man in his youth and had a close relationship with nature. As he aged, he lost his physical strength and ability to see, but he retained his love for the natural world. He was prideful as a young man, but he never mentioned his pride or any other emotion out loud. He enters death without fear, recalling the waves that he had heard crashing throughout the night as a child.
