Question

symbolic poem on pigeons, cat.
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Answer 1

Answer:

The old man’s beloved animals symbolize innocent victims of war. The cat, which “can look out for itself,” is the most resilient creature because it is autonomous and does not depend on others to survive. It is also a solitary animal, and in an ugly conflict where people must fend for themselves, the cat represents someone who can stay alive but won’t necessarily help others. The flock of birds, first called pigeons by the old man and later called doves by the narrator, can escape from the unlocked cage and fly away from the artillery. The fact that the narrator refers to them as “doves” (a symbol of peace) after the old man spoke of them as pigeons reveals his longing for the war to end. The uncaged doves may appear to be a symbol of hope, but their fate is both uncertain and irrelevant to the story’s dark ending. Finally, the goats come to be associated with the narrator himself, as they have no chance of surviving with nobody to care for them, just as the old man himself will likely die without family or friends to help him escape. Likewise, just as the old man says that it’s “better not to think about [the fate of the goats],” the narrator comes to believe that it’s better to move along and not think too much about the old man.

Animals Quotes in Old Man at the Bridge

The Old Man at the Bridge quotes below all refer to the symbol of Animals. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: Life, Death, and War Theme Icon). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Scribner edition of Old Man at the Bridge published in 1987.

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