There are times when people are made helpless by situations beyond their control justify the statement according to the story the old man at the bridge
Answers
This story shows a setting in San Carlos during the Spanish Civil war. The author’s mission was to cross the bridge daily to check the advancement of the army into their territory.
On one such occasion, the author happened to come across an old man sitting near the bridge at the Ebro river. Although he knew the army had reached really close, the old man would not listen to the author’s plea of moving from there. He could not bear to part with the animals and birds he loved the most.
The author was prepared to help the old man to get out from there. However, the old man refuses to move from there, which makes the poet feel helpless.
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Answer:
There are times when people are made helpless by situations beyond their control. ‘Old Man at the Bridge’ by Ernest Miller Hemingway is such a story.
The story deals with the theme of resignation, depression and impending death. The old man with steel-rimmed glasses from San Carlos was just a common man without politics but was displaced by the Spanish Civil War. He had no idea why the war was being fought. All he had were his animals- two goats, a cat and four pairs of doves. The captain told him to leave his town because of the artillery but he did not want to leave his animals. But ultimately he had to leave his home and his animals. That was his greatest regret. He was seventy-six years old and had walked twelve miles to the bridge over the Ebro River. He was a fatalist and resigned to his destiny.
The narrator got in conversation with the old man. He came to know that the old man was only worried about the animals he had left behind. He kept praying for their safety and was least bothered about his own life. He was clueless, disoriented and exhausted by the war. All he kept saying was that the cat would be alright because it would be able to look out for itself, but he could not think of what would happen to the other animals.
This shows the plight and helplessness of the common man in war. The common man has no idea as to what the war is being fought over, but he is the worst sufferer at the hands of war. The old man told the narrator that he was too tired to walk across the bridge and catch a truck to Barcelona. He thanked the narrator for his concern and safety but continued to express his concern over the fate of the animals he had left behind. In the end the narrator felt pity for him and said “There was nothing to do about him.” The old man was helpless because of the war and could not get over the trauma of having left his animals behind.
The narrator had to watch the bridge where refugees fled from the advance of the fascist army. Everyone but the old man was in a hurry to leave the town. He was too tired and could not help himself. His only hope was that the sky was overcast with clouds and so the fascists could not launch their planes.
Hence the story is about how people may get helpless because of situations that are beyond their control. Faced with war, both the old man and the narrator were helpless in their own ways- the old man because he had to leave his home and animals behind, and the narrator because he couldn’t help the old man.
Explanation: