an alternative ending for the story old man at the bridge in 500 words
Answers
The story “Old Man at the Bridge” by Earnest Hemingway is set in the backdrop of Spanish Civil War in 1938. It starts with the description of an old man who was sitting at a bridge. It was a war-like situation as the Fascists forces were advancing towards Ebro. Our narrator, a news reporter, was in the charge to cross a pontoon bridge to check the advancement of the enemy forces. He saw that an old man with steel rimmed spectacles and dusty clothes was sitting beside the road at the bridge while carts, trucks and people were crossing the bridge to get to a safe distance from the enemies. The old man looked too tired to walk any further.
Seeing the old man sitting there for a long time, the speaker went to him and asked him where he came from. The old man answered that he was coming from San Carlos, his native town, twelve kilometers away from there. The man smiled as it was a pleasure to him to mention his native land.
Then the speaker had a chat with that man and came to know that the seventy-six years old man had no one but pets — two goats, a cat and eight pigeons. They were his family and he spent his time looking after the animals. Now that the enemy forces were approaching, he was asked to leave the place. So he was forced to leave his pets on their fate. The old man is not anxious about what would happen to his family — the animals. He thinks that the cat would be able to look after itself. But what about the pigeons and the goats? He asks the narrator to guess what would happen to his pets? The speaker consoles him that they will be fine.
He asks the old man if he left the dove cage unlocked. As the old man answers in the assertive, he suggests that they will fly. But he cannot throw light on the future of the goats.
Then our narrator urged the man to get up and try to walk further as he would now leave. The man tried to walk but could not. He sat down again in the dust.
The narrator mentions that it was Easter Sunday and a gray overcast day. He finishes his story by commenting that there was nothing in favour of the old man except the facts that the enemy planes were not up in the sky for the overcast weather and that the cats can look after themselves.
hope it helps
Answer:
I returned to my job of checking on the enemy. I kept thinking about the old man and his rotten luck. The man kept sitting there probably thinking about his beloved animals and hoping for their survival which was not likely. As the sun went down the old man started walking away from the bridge probably towards San Carlos, I ran after him and said “The bridge is the other way sir.” He laughed and spoke “Thank you for talking to me if you get a chance please take care of my animals. The cat and the birds might have left” and he down walked the road. I watched him go and as he looked back I waved my hand to say goodbye. A few weeks later, when the war situation had cooled down, I decided to go and check whether the old man survived or not. I reached the place where I last saw him and the next sight filled my heart with sorrow. What I saw was a body covered in a piece of cloth lying beside a tree. I couldn’t help but open and see the corpse. I unwrapped the body and saw the old man and his cold dry eyes closed through his dusty spectacles. The cloth was covered with a lot of blood. On looking closely I found that the old man was shot in the stomach and in the legs. He was probably killed by a enemy solider. He had suffered the same destiny his goats might have. I paid my respects and had a moment of silence for him. I went back to my camp and hopped into a truck leaving for San Carlos. As soon as I reached San Carlos I started to inquire about the old man. The people guided me towards his house. When I opened the door, I saw that both the goats were shot dead by the enemy. As I walked up the stairs, I saw that the dove cages were open and they had escaped just like the old man had predicted. As far as the cat is concerned I searched a lot but couldn’t find it. The cat probably survived the war and had escaped. As I returned to my house with my mind and heart filled with despair I thought about the fatal consequences of war and if it was a solution to anything at all.