Old Man at the Bridge
Extract
I
1.
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There
was a pontoon bridge across the river…..he was too tired to go any further.
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1.
What is a pontoon bridge? Why are many people
crossing the bridge?
A bridge that is made of large
hollow containers filled with air is called a pontoon bridge.
The story is
set during the Spanish Civil war and people are crossing the bridge to
protect themselves from the impending attack by the enemy troops.
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2.
Where is the old man sitting? Unlike others, why
doesn’t he move?
The old man
was too tired to go any farther because he had already walked twelve kilometers since he left his hometown, San Carlos.
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3.
Who is the speaker in the above extract? Why is he
there?
The unnamed
narrator, who is an army scout is the speaker. He was on a mission to cross
the bridge and find out how far the enemy had advanced.
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4.
What is the first question that the narrator asks
the old man? What does he answer? Why does the old man smile?
The narrator
asked the old man where he came from. The old man replied, “ San Carlos”, and
he smiled because the mention of his native town gave him pleasure.
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5.
Why is the old man the last one to leave his town?
Describe his physical appearance.
The old man
was the last to leave because he was taking care of his animals. The old man
wore dusty clothes and steel rimmed spectacles. His face was grey and dusty.
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Extract
II
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He
did not look like a shepherd…. “What animals were they?”
|
1.
Who is referred to as He in the extract above? In
what condition is he?
Old man is He.
He is in a weary condition as he has already walked twelve kilometers and too
tired to move further. Moreover his
clothes are dusty and his face has turned grey.
|
2.
What all animals did he own? What kind of
relationship did he share with them?
He had two
goats, a cat and four pairs of pigeons. The animals were his family; he loved
them and cared for them so much that separating from them made him feel that
he had lost his reason for existence.
|
3.
What did he do with the animals? What forced him
to do so?
He left the
animals behind in his native town of San Carlos. They heavy firing from the
enemy forced him to do so.
|
4.
Why doesn’t the old man cross the bridge and
escape to a safer place?
He had already traveled twelve kilometers, so he was too tired to go any further. He was
weak, the old man had no family and he had left his animals behind, he felt
helpless as he couldn’t save his animals; he surrendered himself to his fate.
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5.
What do the incidents in the story show about the
consequences of the war.
The Spanish
civil war forms the background to the story and Hemingway depicts that how in
times of war man acts inhumanly to his own race. War causes and death and
destruction, and this is highlighted through the condition of the old man who
can be seen as the symbol of civilian victims of war. The old man gives
meaning to his life by taking care of his animals, but the war takes away
everything from him. He sits alone by the side of the road; he is as helpless
as his goats; he cannot escape and is too old and tired to save himself.
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Extract
III
|
“
I am without politics…..forks for Tortosa.
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1.
What does the old man mean when he states, “ I am
without politics”? Why does he mention his age?
Like other
innocent civilians what matters to the old man is his home and animals rather
than politics. He mentions his age along with the fact that he had already
walked twelve kilometers to reflect the extent of his weariness.
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2.
Describe the old man’s appearance. What was he
doing in San Carlos?
The old man
wore steel rimmed spectacles; his clothes were black and dusty and his face
had turned grey from dust. In San Carlos, he was taking care of his animals.
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3.
The narrator says “ This is not a good place to
stop.” Which place is he referring to? Why is it not advisable to halt there?
The place
referred to is a war zone at a pontoon bridge across the Ebro river. The
place is 12 kilometers from San Carlos in Spain.
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4.
What does
the narrator give to the old man? How does the old man react to it?
The narrator
advised the old man to cross the bridge and catch a truck towards Barcelona.
But the old man replied that he did not
know anyone there. However, he thanked the narrator for his suggestion
and continued to express his concern for the fate of the animals he had left
behind.
|
5.
Explain why the old man finally resigns to his
fate.
The Spanish
civil war forms the background to the story and Hemingway depicts that how in
times of war man acts inhumanly to his own race. War causes and death and
destruction, and this is highlighted through the condition of the old man who
can be seen as the symbol of civilian victims of war. The old man gives
meaning to his life by taking care of his animals, but the war takes away
everything from him. He sits alone by the side of the road; he is as helpless
as his goats; he cannot escape and is too old and tired to save himself.
Forced to flee his town the old man sits
near the Ebro river; he surrenders to his fate and waits for his
impending death.
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Extract
IV
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He
looked at me very blankly….think about others?
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1.
Why does the old man look blank and tired? How can
you say that the old man needed someone to talk to?
The man was
forced to flee from his native town, leaving behind his only family i.e. his
animals. He was concerned for them but did not know what to do. It made him
blank. Moreover, he was 76 years old man who had already traveled twelve kilometers so he was tired.
The manner in
which the old man engaged in a conversation with the narrator and told him
about his village and animals shows that he needed someone to talk to.
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2.
What is the cause of old man’s worry and guilt?
The old man
believed that he must watch over the cat, the goats and the pigeons in San
Carlos. The man was not able to fulfill his responsibilities so was guilty and
wondered what would the animals do in his absence.
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3.
Explain how the story brings out the conflict
between man and his inner self.
The story has
two levels of conflicts. One of the conflicts is that between man and his
inner self which is seen in the character of the old man. The old man is
guilty of leaving his animals behind for the fear of fire by the artillery.
Man against another
man is the other conflict in the story. In times of war, a man causes pain
and suffering to another man. He fights with his own race for a seemingly
greater good.
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4.
The old man seems to have given up on his life. Do
you agree? Why ?
Yes, it seemed
that the old man had given up on his life:
He was not
concerned for his safety. He sat by the side of the road at a pontoon bridge
in the war zone. Despite repeated insistence from the narrator to save his
life and to catch a truck to Barcelona, the old man paid no heed. He was
preoccupied only with the fate of his animals he had left behind in San
Carlos.
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5.
How does the narrator try to relieve the old man
of his worries? Does he prove successful? Support your answer with instances
from the story.
The Narrator tries to engage in a conversation and inquires if he had
left the dove cage unlocked. He tries to reassure him that the animals would
be fine. At regular intervals, he reminds him to cross the bridge. The narrator
becomes a friend in need for the old man but he is not able to relieve him of
his worries. The old man surrenders to
his fate and till the end he only thinks of his animals. The narrator thus realizes that nothing can be done about him and moves on leaving him at the
bridge.
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Extract
V
|
“
I was taking care of animals……would ever have.
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1.
Why does
the narrator note that the old man spoke ‘dully’
The old man
had lost all hope and was filled with guilt for not being able to look after
his animals. War thus does not only
cause physical destruction but also psychological destruction.
|
2.
What makes the narrator feel that “ there was
nothing to do about him?”
The Narrator tries
to engage in a conversation and inquires if he had left the dove cage
unlocked. He tries to reassure him that the animals would be fine. At regular
intervals, he reminds him to cross the bridge. The narrator becomes a friend
in need for the old man but he is not able to relieve him of his worries. The
old man surrenders to his fate and
till the end he only thinks of his animals. The narrator thus realizes that nothing can be done about him and moves on leaving him at the
bridge.
|
3.
State how both the narrator and the old man are depicted
as helpless by the end.
The old man
loved his animals so much that separating from them made him feel that he had
lost his reason for existence. The old man, like his goats, had no one to
take care of him and thus he surrendered to his fate.
The narrator
lends a kind ear to the old man and urges the man to get up and cross the
bridge; the man tries but fails. The soldier feels sorry for him. Thus the
story ends with the old man’s concern for the goats and the soldier’s concern for the man.
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4.
What is “all the good luck that old man would ever
have?”
All the luck
that he would have is that the cats could protect themselves and as the day
was overcast, the Fascists would not
launch their planes to attack the local people.
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5.
The story is set on an Easter Sunday, which
symbolically shows renewal and peace. How is it ironical with reference to
the events in the story?
The Old Man at
the Bridge, the action of the story is set on Easter Sunday, the day when
Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day after he was crucified. Thus,
Easter is symbolically viewed as a welcome time of rebirth, renewal and
possible change. However, for the old man at the bridge, this day meant
inevitable death and the destruction of that was meaningful to him.
The image of
resurrected Christ is like the image of the old man’s doves being released
from their cage, both being symbols of hope and peace. The soldier , however,
is not hopeful about the old man’s fate-he bitterly remarks that ‘all the
good luck that old man would ever have’ was the fact that the artillery
planes of the enemy could not fly that
day.
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