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| Old Man At The Bridge - Evergreen Publication |
COMPREHENSION (UNSOLVED PASSAGES)
Passage 1
(i) San Carlos was the old man's native town. He was a shepherd who took care of his animals.
(ii) The old man did not look like a shepherd or a herdsmen. He was an old man with a gray dusty face. He wore black dusty clothes and rimmed spectacles on his face.
(iii) The old man left his home town during the Spanish civil war. He left his hometown because a captain had told him to leave the town and his animals because of the artillery fire. He left it unwillingly because he did not want to leave his animals behind as he was worried about the safety of animals.
(iv) The old man took care of two goats and a cat, four pairs of pigeons and several other animals. During the war he was worried about safety of the animals.
(V) The old man had no family but he expressed his concern about what would happen to his animals. He said that the cat could take care of itself because cats could take care of themselves, but he did not know what would happen to his other animals.
Passage 2
(1) The old man is 76 and he has walked 12 kilometers to reach the bridge. He is too tired to walk any further. When the soldier tells him to catch a ride on a truck and leave this place to save his life from the enemies he refuses to do so because of fatigue.
(ii) The old man without politics is 76 years old. His old age affects him physically. He gets so tired after walking twelve kilometers from his hometown to the bridge that he cannot walk any farther.
(iii) The narrator tells the old man that it is not a safe place to stop there because the enemy planes can hit this place any time. There is a danger to his life.
(iv) The narrator asks the old man to leave the place because it is not safe. The enemy planes can hit the place any time.
(v) The narrator asks the old man to go to a safer place. He advises him to catch a ride on a truck to Barcelona and save his life. No, the old man thanks the soldier for showing his concern for his safety. He prefers to stay there.
Passage 3
(1) The old man is worried about the fate of his animals that he had left behind in his hometown during the war. He is worried about them because they could be killed by the artillery fire in the war.
(ii) The narrator tries to console the old man by saying that nothing will happen to his animals. He tells him that the pigeons will fly and save themselves. It does not affect the old man positively because he is obsessed with the thought of the safety of his animals.
(ii) The old man was asked to go to his hometown because there was a danger to his life because of artillery fire. He was the last man to leave because he was reluctant to leave his animals behind. He was worried about the safety of his animals and therefore did not want to leave his hometown.
(iv) The old man is not worried about the pigeons because they can fly and save themselves.
He is less worried about the cats because they can look after themselves.
(v) He expresses his worry about his two goats because the goats cannot fly and save themselves.
Passage 4
(1) The narrator urged the old man to catch a ride on a truck to Barcelona and leave that place to save his life as there were the enemy planes that could hit that place any time. No, he did not accept his advice. He told him that he was too tired to walk any farther.
(ii) The narrator had asked the old man to catch a ride on a truck to Barcelona and save his life from the enemies. He thanked him for showing his concern about his life.
(iii) The old man had walked 12 kilometers to reach the bridge. He was too tired to walk any farther. He tried to walk but could not do so due to fatigue. So he sat down again in the dust. His action shows that he is a fatalist who has resigned himself to his fate.
(iv) The old man says that he was taking care of his animals in San Carlos and he was quite happy there. But the captain had asked him to leave the place for fear of the artillery. The old man did not want to leave his animals behind.
(v) The old man was obsessed with the thought of the safety of his animals. He was scared of the impending death of his animals. He was worried more about the safety of his animals than his own safety. This thought makes him dull and sad.
Passage 5
(i) The old man was completely obsessed with the thought of the safety of his animals. The narrator had asked him to leave the place and go to Barcelona. But the old man was thinking only of his animals. He was ready to face the artillery. So the narrator thought that there was nothing to do about him as he had resigned himself to his fate.
(ii) The planes of the fascists could not fly as the weather was inclement and the sky was overcast. This could avert the danger of the old man being killed. The enemy planes would fail to strike that place.
(iii) The old man says that he need not worry about a cat because cats can look after themselves. But he is more worried about the goats because they are helpless during the artillery fire. They cannot protect themselves in the war.
(iv) The old man was a fatalist. He was more worried about the safety of his animals than his own safety. Though he was advised to catch a ride in a truck to Barcelona, he was not willing to do so. He was too tired to move any farther.
(v) The soldier bemoans the impending death of the old man. The soldier thinks that the old man's luck is that the day is overcast and consequently the fascists are not able to launch their planes. He feels pity for the old man whose mind is gripped by the thought of the death of the animals.
LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS
ASSIGNMENT Develop the following hints into your own answers:
1. Hints
- old man—the fatalistic hero of the story
- concerned more about the safety of his own animals
- not worried about himself
- fears neither the artillery fire nor the planes launching their attack
- the fate of his animals obsesses his mind
- resigned to his fate
2. Hints
- There was nothing to do about the old man
- Old man's fatalism and resignation despairs the narrator
- The narrator's help not availed of by the old man
- The old man concerned about the safety of his animals
- unmindful of the danger to his life in case the enemy planes hit the place
- the old man's attitude reveals his desperation
3. Hints
- The story abounds in symbols and metaphors
- bridge—a symbol of uncertainty and dangers
- pigeons symbolise peace and harmony
- They are like the refugees who flee from the war to a safer place
- cat a symbol of independence and needs no one's help to survive
- goat symbol of sacrificial animal and represents the old man who reconciles himself with his impending death
- the old man symbolizes the men and women who have to leave their homes as victims of war
4. Hints
- war impacts all
- spreads panic and anxiety and scare of death all around
- confusion and chaos prevail everywhere
- worried about the fate of his animals
- old man suffers from depression
- war impacts even the soldier who is worried about the fellow soldiers
- war shatters the confidence of the old man
5. Hints
- deals with the themes of depression, resignation and impending death
- depicts impact of war on the old man
- the old man gripped by panic, anxiety and depression
- concerned not about himself but about his animals
- the soldier feels pity for the old man
