Answer the following questions with reference to 'The Old Man at the Bridge
Yes," he said, "I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the im of an
Carlos."
He did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his pray
dusty face and his steel rimmed spectacles and said, "What animals were they?"
"Various animals," he said, and shook his head. "I had to leave them."
1) Explain why the narrator takes so much time to converse with the old man. U se details from the
story to support your answer. [3]
1) What statements from the story suggest that the old man is about to give up on life? Quote
specific statements to back your answer. [3]
1) What directions does the soldier give the old man? Do you think the old man willet to a sate
place? (3)
1) How does the story end on an ironic note? [3]
v) How does Hemingway show that war disrupts the lives of ordinary people is this portrayal
realistic? Explain why you think so. [4]
Answers
Answer:
“The Old Man at the Bridge”
by Ernest Hemingway
An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a
pontoon bridgeacross the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule-
drawn carts staggered up the steepbank from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the
wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading outof it all and the peasants plodded along in the ankle
deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving. He was too tired togo any farther.It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the
enemy had advanced. Idid this and returned over the bridge. There were not so many carts now and very
few people on foot, but the old man was stillthere."Where do you come from?" I asked him."From San Carlos," he said, and smiled.That was his native town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled."I was taking care of animals," he explained."Oh," I said, not quite understanding."Yes," he said, "I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San
Carlos."He did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray
dusty face and his steelrimmed spectacles and said, "What animals were they?""Various animals," he said, and shook his head. "I had to leave them."I was watching the bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long
now it would bebefore we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises that would
signal that ever mysterious eventcalled contact, and the old man still sat there."What animals were they?" I asked."There were three animals altogether," he explained. "There were two goats and a cat and then there were four pairs ofpigeons."And you had to leave them?" I asked."Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery.""And you have no family?" I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts were
hurrying down the slopeof the bank."No," he said, "only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself,
but I cannot thinkwhat will become of the others.""What politics have you?" I asked."I am without politics," he said. "I am seventy-six years old.