02: The Old Man At The Bridge By Earnest Hemmingway : Icse-x-english

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02: The Old Man at the Bridge by Earnest Hemmingway

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from Old Man At The Bridge by Ernest Hemingway

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Section : I
Read the extract and answer the following questions:
An old man with steel-rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing it. The mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping push against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the peasants plodded along in the ankle-deep dust.

Qstn #1
What is the Pontoon Bridge? Why has it been made?
Ans : A Pontoon Bridge is a temporary floating platform built across several boats or hollow structures or we can say it's a floating bridge. It was the time when Spanish Civil war broke out and the scene was a typical war zone when the civilians were fleeing and the vehicles were moving across the bridge to protect themselves from the enemy's attack. The scene was 12 kilometres away from the town of the San Carlos and the temporary bridge had been made to help the people move out of the war zone.

Qstn #2
What did the narrator observe while doing his duty?
Ans : The narrator who was a soldier was on his duty to find out how far the enemy had advanced. When the soldier crossed the Pontoon bridge near the Ebro River towards the enemy, he observed an old man sitting at the bridge while everybody else was fleeing from the place. When he returned back, he again saw the same old man sitting at the same place whereas there were not so many carts now and very few people on foot. This aroused his curiosity.

Qstn #3
Who was sitting by the roadside? In which condition was he sitting?
Ans : An old man was sitting by the roadside. He was wearing steel-rimmed spectacles and his clothes were very dusty. He was sitting by the roadside near a Pontoon bridge across the river. The situation was chaotic as the civilians were fleeing from the place due to unexpected anytime attack of the enemy somewhere from beyond the bridge. The old man seemed to be totally exhausted and was looking somewhat confused and worried.

Qstn #4
Why was there chaos on the bridge?
Ans : There was a lot of chaos on the Pontoon bridge which stood across the river. The carts, trucks, men, women and children were crossing the bridge. The mule-drawn carts were pushed by the soldiers against the spokes of the wheels as they staggered up the steep bank from the bridge. It was all due to anytime approach of the enemy from beyond the bridge as the Civil War had taken place in Spain and everyone was fleeing to save their lives.

Qstn #5
Which business is the narrator talking about? Is it actually a business?
Ans : The narrator is talking about his job in the above extract. Being a soldier, it's his duty which he calls as a business, to maintain peace and security in the country. As the story is set up during the Spanish Civil War, and the enemies are approaching fast, the narrator is exploring the bridgehead beyond to find out to what point the enemy has advanced. He is watching the bridge and the African looking country Ebro Delta, listening to the voices for the signal.

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Section : II
I was watching the bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long now it would be before we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises that would signal that ever mysterious event called 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 of pigeons."

Qstn #1
What did the narrator ask the old man and how did he react to the question? OR
To which place did the old man belong to? What was his occupation?
Ans : The narrator was following his duty of observing the approach of the enemy beyond the bridge. The atmosphere was much tensed due to the heavy firing from the enemy side. When everybody was rushing to save their lives, an old man was noticed by the soldier who didn't seem to try to flee from the place. Out of curiosity, the narrator asked him, "Where do you come from"? To this, the old man replied that he had come from San Carlos and it gave him a pleasure to mention it and he smiled. His occupation was to take care of a few animals which included goats, cats and pigeons.

Qstn #2
On being questioned by the narrator, what did old man tell about himself?
Ans : The old man did not move a bit from the roadside even after such a critical situation and chaos. While doing his duty, when the narrator saw him again and again at the same place, he became anxious about his safety and made an enquiry about his whereabouts. The old man told that he came from San Carlos, his native town and was taking care of the animals he was in charge of. But he didn't look like a shepherd or a herdsman to the narrator as they generally don't wear steel-rimmed spectacles. His clothes and face were dusty.

Qstn #3
Which animals was he in charge of and what were his feelings for them? OR
Which animals he was taking care of and how was he attached to them?
Ans : The old man was sitting by the side of the road. He looked too tired to move further even after knowing that the enemy was advancing towards them. On being questioned by the narrator, he told that he was from San Carlos and was taking care of the animals. So the narrator asked him "Which animals were they?" And then he told that they were three animals altogether which included two goats, a cat and four pairs of pigeons. From his appearance, he did not seem to be a shepherd or a herdsman but he had a great sense of duty towards his animals. He was anxious for the safety of the animals than his own safety.

Qstn #4
Why was he worried too much about the animals?
Ans : The old man was in charge of various animals. Those animals were two goats, a cat and four pairs of pigeons. He had to leave them due to the untimely war and the captain had asked him to leave because of the artillery. The old man had no family and was without politics. Only those animals were his family. He did not want to leave his animals unattended. Still, he was less worried about the safety of the cat as it could look after itself and the pigeons which would fly away from the unlocked cage but he lamented the fate of the two goats.

Qstn #5
What do you learn from the above extract about the consequences of the war?
Ans : The story had taken place during the Spanish Civil War at a pontoon bridge across the Ebro Delta. It is Easter Sunday but there is a lot of disturbance everywhere instead of celebrations. The enemy troops are firing heavily. People are fleeing leaving their homes and things. They all are frightened and worried. The old man who is the main character of the story seems to be worried about the animals he has left behind in his town. This indicates that the poor, helpless birds and animals are not left behind from becoming the victims of war besides human beings.

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Section : III
"What politics have you?" I asked. "I am without politics", he said. "I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometres now and I think now I can go no further." "This is not a good place to stop", I said. "If you can make it, there are trucks up the road where it forks for Tortosa." "I will wait a while", he said, "and then I will go. Where do the trucks go ?" "Towards Barcelona," I told him.

Qstn #1
Who asked, "What politics have you" and what did he mean by this?
Ans : This question has been asked by the narrator to the old man when he was on his duty to look for the advancement of the enemy from across the bridge. While going to and fro he observed an unusual scene. When everybody was fleeing to save their lives, an old man was sitting carelessly at the same place on the roadside. This made the narrator anxious. And he couldn't refrain himself from asking the old man about his political views to which the old man replied, "I am without politics".