ClassIX ENGLISH LITERATURE From Treasure Trove Chapter 2

Class-IX ENGLISH (LITERATURE) From: Treasure Trove Chapter 2 - Old Man at the Bridge by Ernest Hemingway PPT prepared by Tasneem I. Hajoori

Title:

Author:

About the author:

People crossing a pontoon bridge:

Syllabus: To understand the story and to recognise the various symbolism and comprehend its significance in the story.

Scope of Syllabus: i) iii) iv) Tragedy of war Displacement Suffering of the innocent victims Usage of symbolism

Introduction: The Old Man at the Bridge, with its theme of war, violence, duty, kindness and the trauma of displacement is a short story wherein a tale of human suffering is laid out concisely in a short yet powerful narrative by Ernest Hemingway.

Background: Based on one of Hemingway's encounters during the Spanish Civil War, specifically in 1938"Old Man at the Bridge" reveals that with war comes loss. In "Old Man at the Bridge, " Ernest Hemingway uses imagery, irony, and symbolism to illustrate that war leads to loss.

Plot: The story “Old Man at the Bridge” by Earnest Hemingway is set in the backdrop of Spanish Civil War in 1938. It starts with the description of an old man who was sitting at a pontoon bridge, on the river, Ebro. It was a war-like situation as the Fascists forces were advancing towards Ebro. The narrator, a young nameless soldier, was in the charge to cross a pontoon bridge to check the advancement of the enemy forces who does the duty of a bridgehead. He saw that an old man with steel rimmed spectacles and dusty clothes was sitting beside the road at the bridge while carts, trucks and people were crossing the bridge to get to a safe distance from the enemies. The old man looked too tired to walk any further. Seeing the old man sitting there for a long time, the speaker went to him and asked him where he came from. The old man answered that he was coming from San Carlos, his native town, twelve kilometers away from there. The man smiled as it was a pleasure to him to mention his native land.

Plot (Contd. ) Then the speaker had a chat with that man and came to know that the seventy-six years old man had no one but pets — two goats, a cat and eight pigeons. They were his family and he spent his time looking after the animals. Now that the enemy forces were approaching, he was asked to leave the place by the Captain of the Army (Republican) due to the placement of artillery. So he was forced to leave his pets on their fate. The old man is not anxious about what would happen to his family — the animals. He thinks that the cat would be able to look after itself. But what about the pigeons and the goats? He asks the narrator to guess what would happen to his pets? The speaker consoles him that they will be fine.

Plot (Contd. . . ) He asks the old man if he left the dove cage unlocked. As the old man answers in the assertive, he suggests that they will fly. But he cannot throw light on the future of the goats. Then the narrator urged the man to get up and try to walk further as he would now leave. The man tried to walk but could not. He sat down again in the dust. The narrator mentions that it was Easter Sunday and a gray overcast day. He finishes his story by commenting that there was nothing in favour of the old man except the facts that the enemy planes were not up in the sky for the overcast weather and that the cats can look after themselves.

Title of the story: As the title “Old Man at the Bridge” suggests, the story revolves around the old man. This very short and simple story is a powerful depiction of how war affects the lives of common people who are “without politics”. The old man has nothing to do with the impending war. But still, he had to leave his home and his beloved pets whom he regards as his family.

Old man's love for his native town: The man’s love for his native town is expressed in his smile while uttering the name of San Carlos. Moreover, his innocence and love for the animals are quite evident in the story. But such an old man was forced to leave his native place and his pets — his only purpose of life. And he is now left on the hands of fate. The author has tried to draw our sympathy for the man by portraying the goodness in his character.

Irony: The irony of the situation is not lost upon the correspondent, who realizes that the animals for which the old man is so concerned have a greater chance of survival than their caretaker during the next crucial twenty-four hours. Unable to walk and barely able to stand, the old man's luck has run out, and he, too, seems resigned to his fate at the bridge.

Easter, Resurrection of Christ: The story takes place on an Easter Sunday in Spain which is a Christian country. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Christ, but on the day many more victims will lose their lives. Easter is the beginning of new life, but here it is the end of life for many. There is an irony here as in the time of celebration, an old man is about to die.

Themes: The themes present in the short story “Old Man at the Bridge” are*Suffering of common people in war/Tragedy of war *Sense of duty *Man’s love for animals *Love for one’s native place

Summary: "Old Man at the Bridge" is a short story written by Ernest Miller Hemingway an American novelist. The story is based upon an incident that took place during an Easter Sunday stopover at the Ebro River while Hemingway was a war correspondent covering the Spanish Civil War. The narrator is a young nameless soldier, who meets an old man at a pontoon bridge across the Ebro river. The old man, sitting by the road is too tired to move any further. The narrator asks the old man his whereabouts. The old man tells the narrator that he belongs to San Carlos and had to leave the town and animals because of the artillery fire by the enemy. The narrator tells the old man to walk up the road and catch a ride on truck to Barcelona.

Summary (Contd. ) The old man thank the narrator but expresses his concern for the fate of his animals - a cat, two goats and four pairs of pigeons. The narrator reassured him, saying that the animals would be fine. The old man tried to get up and walk. But he was too weak and tired and sank back to the ground. The narrator thought that the old man's only luck was that the cats could protect themselves and as the day was overcast, the Fascists would not launch their planes to attack the local people.

Character Sketch 1: The Old man: The old man, with steel rimmed spectacles, wearing dusty clothes and having dust covered face, who is about 76 years old was sitting on the pontoon bridge on the rriver Ebro, is the story’s central character, has fled his hometown, San Carlos, walking 12 kilometres to escape the encroaching violence of the Spanish Civil War. Throughout the story, he is sitting by the side of the road, exhausted from attempting to travel to safety and feeling that he can no longer go on. When the narrator (a nameless soldier) stops to try to convince him to move along to a safer place, the old man reveals that he was reluctant to leave his hometown (the very mention of which is the only thing in the story that makes him happy) because he was the caretaker for a number of animals who might not survive without him. The Army (Republican) Captain ordered him to evacuate because of artillery fire. The old man says that he has no family, doesn’t know anyone in Barcelona (where the fleeing masses are heading), and has no politics, and therefore no stake in the war. Without his animals, he has no great reason to live, and he tries and fails to walk again when the narrator urges him to keep moving towards safety. Feeling that he cannot help the man, the narrator moves on, concluding that the only luck the old man would ever have was that his cat, at least, was likely to survive, and that the enemy planes had not taken off yet. Presumably, the old man is left to die.

Character Sketch 2: The Narrator: The narrator is a namelesd soldier for the Republican (left-wing) side in the Spanish Civil War. When carrying out his duties of a bridgehead, he was determining the extent of the enemy advance, he finds an old man who is sitting by the side of the road in the enemy’s path. He talks with the old man, trying to convince him to flee to safety, but he is constantly distracted by thoughts of the enemy’s advancement. His responses to the man are often dismissive, such as when the man earnestly and emotionally inquires about whether the animals he left behind might survive, and the narrator simply answers, “Why not? ” While the narrator does encourage the man to flee, he never tries to understand who the man is or what might motivate him, and he fairly quickly decides that, since there is “nothing to do about” the old man, he must leave. The reader concludes that the old man will die.

Animals Symbol Analysis The old man’s beloved animals symbolize innocent victims of war. The cat, which “can look out for itself, ” is the most resilient creature 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, precisely 4 pairs of pigeons, 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 uncaged doves may appear to be a symbol of hope, but their fate is both uncertain and irrelevant to the story’s dark ending.

Animals Symbol Analysis (Contd. ) Finally, the goats can 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 it [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.

Conclusion: The old man was the reflection of the war who lost everything in his life as the effect of the war. Hemingway felt sorry for the old man and the people like him who were mentally-broken by the Civil War. That is why Hemingway portrays the devastating effects of war through this story.

Analysis:

WORKSHEET 1: Q. 1) Name the author of the story. Which river is mentioned in the story? Q. 2) What is a pontoon bridge? Why are many people crossing the bridge? Q. 3) Why are many people crossing the bridge? Q. 4) Who is the narrator? What duty is given to him? Q. 5) Describe the old man’s appearance. Q. 6) What was the Old Man doing in San Carlos? Why is he tired? Q. 7) The narrator says “ This is not a good place to stop. ” Which place is he referring to? Why is it not advisable to halt there? Q. 8) Define the figure of speech 'symbolism'.

Answers for worksheet 1 Ans. 1) The name of the author is Ernest Hemingway. The river Ebro is mentioned in the story. Ans. 2) A bridge that is temporary that is made of large hollow containers filled with air is called a pontoon bridge. Ans. 3) The story is set during the Spanish Civil war and people are crossing the bridge to protect themselves from the impending attack by the enemy troops. Ans. 4) The narrator is a young, nameless soldier probably from the Republican Army. His duty is of a bridgehead on the pontoon bridge and find out to what point the enemy had advanced.

Answers for worksheet 1 (Contd. ) Ans. 5) The old man wore steel rimmed spectacles; his clothes were black and dusty and his face had turned grey from dust. He was 76 years old and was extremely exhausted. Ans. 6) In San Carlos, he was taking care of his animals. He was very tired as he has walked 12 kilometres from his home town San Carlos. Ans. 7) The place referred to is a war zone at a pontoon bridge across the Ebro river. The place is 12 kilometers away from San Carlos in Spain. It was not advisable to halt there due to the impending war and the Fascist Army can arrive any time. Ans. 8) Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. An action, person, place, word, or object can all have a symbolic meaning.

WORKSHEET 2: Q. 1) What all animals did the Old Man own? What kind of relationship did he share with them? Q. 2) What advise does the narrator give to the old man? What reply does the old man give? Q. 3) Why doesn’t the old man cross the bridge and escape to a safer place? Q. 4) What do the doves symbolise? Q. 5) What are themes of the story "Old Man at the Bridge"? Q. 6) Write a brief summary of the story, "Old Man at the Bridge”.

Answer for worksheet 2 Ans. 1) He had two goats, a cat and four pairs of pigeons. The animals were his family; he loved them and cared for them so much that separating from them made him feel that he had lost his reason for existence. Ans. 2) The narrator advised the old man to cross the bridge and catch a truck towards Barcelona. But the old man replied that he did not know anyone there. Ans. 3) He had already traveled twelvekilometers, so he was too tired to go any further. He was weak, the old man had no family and he had left his animals behind, he felt helpless as he couldn’t save his animals; he surrendered himself to his fate. Ans. 4) 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. They stand for peace. The 4 pairs of pigeons symbolize new hope. Ans. 5) themes present in the short story “Old Man at the Bridge” are — *Suffering of common people in war/ Tragedy of war *Man’s love for animals *Love for one’s native place

Answers for the worksheet 2: ( Contd. ) Ans. 6) "Old Man at the Bridge" is a short story written by Ernest Miller Hemingway an American novelist. The story is based upon an incident that took place during an Easter Sunday stopover at the Ebro River while Hemingway was a war correspondent covering the Spanish Civil War. The narrator is a young, nameless soldier posted as a bridgehead at the pontoon bridge on the river Ebro. "Old Man at the Bridge " demonstrates the power of narrative arts Hemingway takes a small, ordinary detail in a situation and through the art of story -telling transforms it into a powerful story about the tragedy of war. The old man becomes a symbol of the countless civilian victims of war - those "without politics". Displaced, disoriented and alone, he is faced with the inevitability of death.

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