Old Man at the Bridge

Ernest Hemingway

Assignments
Context Questions
I. (i) 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.

(ii) The old man is sitting by the side of the road at a pontoon bridge. The old man
was too tired to go any farther because he had already walked twelve kilometres
since he left his hometown,San Carlos.

(iii) 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.

(iv) The narrator asked the old man where did he come from. The old man replied,
“from San Carlos”, and he smiled because the mention of his native town gave him
pleasure.

(v) The old man was the last to leave because he was taking care of his animals.
The old man wore black dusty clothes and steel rimmed spectacles. His face was
also grey and dusty.

II. (i) Old man is ‘He’. He is in a weary condition as he has already walked twelve
kilometres and too tired to move farther.
(ii) 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.

(iii) He left the animals behind in his native town of San Carlos. The heavy firing
from the enemy forced him to do so.

(iv) He had already travelled twelve kilometres, so he was too tired to go any
farther. He was very weak. The old man had no family and he had left his animals
behind. He also felt helpless as he couldn’t save his animals; he surrendered
himself to his fate.

(v) Refer to Pointlessness of War, under Themes, Page 40.

III. (i) 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 kilometres to reflect the extent of his weariness.

(ii) 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.

(iii) The place referred to is a war zone at a pontoon bridge across the Ebro river.
This place is twelve kilometres from San Carlos in Spain. It was not advisable to
halt there because it was a war zone.
(iv) 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.

(v) The old man is old, weak and tired. He has no family and has left his animals
behind. It is the this state of helplessness that has forced him to surrender to his
fate. The old man’s fate is symbolic of the fate of liberal democracy in Spain that
lost out to dictators. It does not appear that the old man could have changed his fate
because he was too old, too tired and too lonely to do so. He no longer had the will
to live as he sat by the side of the road in the war zone.

IV. (i) 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 so
he had a blank look. Moreover, he was a seventy-six years old man who had
already travelled twelve kilometres 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.

(ii) 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.

(iii) Refer to Conflicts in the story, under Critical Appreciation, Page 45.

(iv) 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. Like his goats, he had no one to take
care of him and thus he surrendered himself to his fate.

(v) The narrator tries to engage in a conversation with the old man. He pites the
old man’s condition and inquires if he had left the dove cage unlocked. He tries to
reassure him (old man) 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 realises that
nothing can be done about him and moves on leaving him at the bridge.

V. (i) 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.

(ii) Refer to IV, (v).

(iii) The old man, like his goats, had no one to take care of him and thus he
surrendered to his fate. The narrator urges the man to get up and cross the bridge;
but fails. Thus the story ends with the old man’s concern for the goats and the
soldier’s concern for the man.

(iv) All the luck that he (old man) 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.
(v) Refer to Irony, under Style, Page 43.