old man at the bridge , discuss how does the author portray the suffering of people without politics during war 400 words plz help
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Answer:
The story "Old Man at the Bridge" clearly portrays how war disrupts the life of ordinary people. They are forced to leave their homes, their comfort , belongings , pets and freedom. Some become homeless , some are separated from their families . There are destruction and sorrow (melancholy atmosphere) that pervades the atmosphere. All these incidents in the story shows about the horror and the consequences of the war . The poor and helpless people who are without any politics suffer the most . Since the old man is at the bridge he has two options - to cross over to the other side and go to Barcelona and live the rest of his life devoid of the company of animals and birds or to stay at home and share the fate of his animals and birds . The bridge symbolises the point of no return for the old man. The old man had to leave his native hometown ,San Carlos and his beloved various animals because of the enemy attack .He is fatigued to work 12 km and his age does not allow him to continue farther. The old man sits down thinking about his animals , neglecting that terrible situation in which he is . The old man is lucky in case "that the cats know how to look after themselves" . And as the dove cage was left unlocked so the pigeons would fly away but the goats are sacrificial animals
The old man is waiting for his impending death .
The bridge is symbolic of life that connects the birth and death . Perhaps the old man wants to cling to life and does not want to go to the other side , i.e. , his impending death. Death is imminent . The bridge is also symbolic of the need to give up war , to talk to each other and connect with each other through the bridges of faith, trust, brotherhood and humanity .
One of the main themes of the story is the pointless of War . The Spanish civil war forms the background to the story. Hemingway has depicted in the story how in Times Of War man acts inhumanly to his own race . WAR causes death and destruction and this is highlighted through the condition of the old man who can be seen as a symbol of civilian victims of War .The old man gives meaning to his life by taking care of his animals but war takes away everything from him .He now sits alone by the side of the road .He is as helpless as his goats we cannot escape and is too old and tired to save himself. Forced to flee his town , the old man now sits near the Ebro river . He surrenders to his fate and waits for his impending death .
The scene takes place in a typical war zone with the movement of vehicles and civilians rushing across the pontoon bridge to protect themselves from the impending attack by the enemy Troops . All these shows the suffering of people without politics during war including the old man .