50 point#
""OLD MAN AT THE BRIDGE""
by Ernest Hemingway .Explanation.
Answers
OLD MAN AT THE BRIDGE
- Ernest Hemingway.
Explanation:
An Old man wearing steel rimmed spectacles and with dusty clothes sits exhausted by the pontoon bridge.
The Soldier who's duty is to cross the bridge and check how far the enemies have advanced after completing his duty, he sees less number of trucks , carts people crossing the bridge he sees the Old man unmoved so he comes near the old man and knows that he is from San Carlos he was the last person to leave the town as sadi by the captain because of the artellery fire . he had been living their for many years , taking care of animals.
The narrator gives us idea that he doesn't like a shepherd nor herdsman .
The narrator asks him what animals he had been taking care , The old man replies that he had taking care of two goats , a cat and four fairs of doves.
The narrator asks him to catch up a truck to Barcelona as this place is unsafe. The old man smiles and says Thank you and tells i am worried about my animals , cats can take of themselves , pigeons can fly and goats? , The narrator tells that pigeons can fly if the old man unlocked its cage and advices the old man not to think of goats and urges him to move. The old man walks a little distance and sits down their telling that he is seventy six years old ,walked a 12 kilometers from his hometown and now too tired to walk further . He is destined and much worried about his animals than his own life. The narrator had nothing to do with old man as he is only the animal taker , he thinks that the only of the old man is that cats can look after themselves and reassure him that pigeons fly.
The enemies were unable to lauch their planes on that day as it was overcast and the life of old man extended to a day or more.
________________________
The story tells that how the common people get affected by the war
__________________________
Theme :
- Sense of the duty ( both the narrator and the old man)
Answer:
Explanation:
Ernest Hemingway's economical short story "Old Man at the Bridge" first appeared in Ken Magazine (Volume 1, Number 4, May 19, 1938) prior to its later publication in the book The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories, also published in 1938. The Fifth Column is Hemingway's only full-length play and also includes all of his previously published short stories.
At just two pages in length, "The Old Man at the Bridge" is one of Hemingway's shortest tales. It is based upon an Easter Sunday stopover at the Ebro River during his coverage of the Spanish Civil War in April 1938. Although employed by the North American Newspaper Association (NANA), Hemingway apparently decided to submit it to Ken Magazine as a short story instead of using it as a news article.
As Hemingway observes the movement of vehicles and civilians fleeing across the pontoon bridge from an anticipated enemy attack, he notices a solitary old man sitting at the edge of the structure. Upon questioning him, Hemingway determines that the old man has just walked the twelve kilometers from his home village of San Carlos, but fatigue forces him to halt at the bridge, for he can go no further. The last man to leave the village, the old man's duty is to take care of the animals left behind. It is obvious that he takes his obligation seriously, for he worries more about the cat, two goats, and eight pigeons that were under his care than for his own safety. Sadly, he explains, he was forced to leave them behind. The cat will be able to take care of itself, he adds, but the goats and pigeons will have to fend for themselves. The correspondent suggests that the displaced man cross the bridge to the next crossroads, where he can catch a truck toward Barcelona, but the man explains that "I know no one in that direction." Although the correspondent is curious, he is not particularly helpful, and when the old man is unable to proceed, the journalist decides that "there was nothing to do about him." The enemy would cross the bridge soon, and death appears imminent for the old man.
The irony of the situation is not lost upon the correspondent, who realizes that the animals for which the old man is so concerned have a greater chance of survival than their caretaker during the next crucial twenty-four hours. Unable to walk and barely able to stand, the old man's luck has run out, and he, too, seems resigned to his fate at the bridge.