Critical Appreciation of the Story:
Introduction:
The short story ‘Old Man at the Bridge’ written by Ernest Hemingway , published in 1988, is about a conversation between a soldier and an old man who has to leave his hometown during the Spanish Civil War. The story conveys the subsequent problems for helpless victims, especially old people. As Ernest Hemingway was in Spain during the Civil War, it is quite possible that he assimilates his experiences of this horrible time in this story.
 |
| Story Old Man at the Bridge: Critical Appreciation |
Plot of the Story:
Exposition:
The short story begins with an exposition introducing readers to the characters (the narrator and the old man) and the context of the events (a bridge across a river during war time). It is a war - like situation and the narrator's (who is an army soldier) duty is to check the advancement of the enemy forces and check the bridge head of a pontoon bridge across Ebro River. Several trucks, carts, men, women and children are crossing the bridge to get to a safe distance from the approaching enemy force.
Rising Action:
The middle of the story presents the rising action in the form of dialogue. The narrator presents the conversation between him and the old man on the bridge. Their conversation is simple and reveals gradually that the man has to leave his town and the animals he was taking care of. The narrator advises the old man to keep going, but the old man is not convinced and keeps thinking about his animals.
Climax:
The old man tells the narrator that he is an old man of seventy - six and has come twelve kilometers and is too tired to go further. Though the narrator tells him to walk up the road and catch a ride on a truck to Barcelona, but the narrator's advice cannot convince him in any way. The old man continues to express his concern over the fate of the animals. At one time, the old man tries to get to his feet, sways from side to side then sits down backwards in the dust. Here, at this point, the reader is forced to think about the fate of the old man He is inclined to think whether the old man will survive by reaching to a safe place with the help of the soldier or he will be killed by the enemy.
The Falling Action:
The story ends with the narrator's reflection on war and the old man. The falling action and resolution overlap. In the end, the narrator thinks that the old man's only luck is that cats can look after themselves and that the day is overcast, so the Fascists are not able to launch their planes.
Moral of the Story:
In the story, the writer conveys to us how the wars disrupt the lives of the innocent people who are caught up in the middle. He describes how during the war man shows inhumanity and cruelty to his own race. War brings devastation and mass killings. The inhuman nature of war is highlighted through the pitiable and miserable condition of the old man who can be seen as the symbol of civilian victims of war. The old man who has no family gives meaning to his life by taking care of his animals, but the impending war everything. He is forced to leave his home and animals.
Setting of the Story:
The story ‘Old Man at the Bridge’ is set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, as indicated by the reference to Ebro ( a river in Spain ) , to Fascists and to Barcelona . The events take place over a couple of hours, during Easter Sunday which is ironical, because instead of celebrating the resurrection of Christ, the people are preparing for war. The physical setting is the bridge over the river and its surroundings. The narrator conveys a gloomy atmosphere by constant references to dust and to colours like gray and black : ‘very dusty clothes’, ' ankle deep dust’, ‘black dusty clothes and his gray dusty face’, ‘a gray overcast day’. The physical setting is depicted in several instances and it helps the author to convey feelings like anxiety, pessimism, confusion and helplessness. The social setting illustrates aspects related to society in times of war, namely the Spanish Society during the Civil War. The Spanish Civil War took place from 1936 to 1939. The fight was between Republicans and Nationalists. The Republicans were oriented towards the left, including the extreme left, while the Nationalists were oriented towards the right and extreme right.
Appropriateness of the Title:
The title of the story is very appropriate because it revolves around the old man who leaves his hometown during the Spanish Civil War and arrives at the bridge for safety. The old man is so weak and tired that he cannot move, hence he sits by the side of the road near the bridge. The conversation between the narrator and the soldier also takes place at the bridge. The narrator tries to his best to convince the old man to go to the safe place by getting a ride on some vehicle because the enemy's attack is possible at any time, but the old man refuses to do so and remains at the bridge. It seems that the old man is submissive to his fate and prefers to sit near the bridge. Thus the title is wholly justified.
Characterization:
The central character of the story is an old man who is seventy - six years old. He is a war refugee who has been uprooted and displaced by the war. He is without politics. His little world of animals is destroyed. He is disoriented, confused and disconnected. He has retreated into his isolated world in which he can cling to his obsessive thoughts about his animals and is too tired to go any further. He is sure to die at the bridge, so he is another nameless innocent victim of war.
Another character of the story is the narrator who is a soldier in army. He creates the story of the old man at the bridge. Through his telling of the story, he gradually articulates who the old man is and what he represents. The soldier at the beginning is the impersonal narrator who sees the old man and decides to engage him in conversation. By asking the old man questions about himself, the soldier gradually understands the situation of the old man. At the beginning, he thinks that the old man is just resting so he encourages him to move on. In the course of his conversation he realises the old man is disoriented, displaced and that he will not be able to move one, but that he will likely die at the bridge. The soldier who begins as a detached observer comes to the painful realisation that ‘there was nothing to do about him’. And he ends with the bitterly ironic observation about Easter Sunday and the old man's luck, which is no luck. The old man will soon cross that final bridge.
Irony in the Story:
Ironical situation of the day is very evident when it is mentioned in the story that it was Easter Sunday (when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after he was crucified). Easter is usually considered to be a time of rebirth and renewal, whereas for the old man and his animals it is a time of inevitable death with the approaching enemy artillery forces.
The Use of Symbols and Imagery:
The story takes place on a bridge. This setting symbolises an obstacle to overcome, in this case the border between life and death. If the old man could manage to get over the bridge, he might have a chance of survival. There are other symbols in the story, such as the animals. The cat symbolises the survivors, as cats are associated with the thought of having nine lives and generally being independent creatures. The pigeons symbolise the ones that are able to flee the war. The fact that the pigeons are later being called doves may give the old man a minor hope , as doves are symbol of peace and could therefore symbolise the hope and peace during warfare , or may be petty hope that the Fascists are not going to hurt him . It could also symbolise his death, where he may obtain peace at last. The goat, however, is a sacrificial animal which symbolises the death of the old man and the numerous other innocent victims of war. The story takes place on an Easter Sunday, which was the day of resurrection for Jesus. In this story it symbolises the changes in society that happen as war unravels; the hope from both of the war that their victory will lead to a resurrection of a better society. The four repetitions of the old man's words: ‘I was only taking care of animals’. His last repetitions: ‘I was only taking care of animals’, ‘I was only taking care of animals’ become the eloquent symbolic expression of all those voiceless innocent men, women and children who are the victims of wars. They neither support nor understand. Without politics, they are only living in their everyday world - taking care of animals - which is destroyed by forces beyond their ability to comprehend.
The dominant image in the story is of the dust. The old man wears clothes that are dusty, presumably from the dry soil in this land. The terrain reminds the narrator of Africa and we are told it is ankle deep in dust. The dust symbolises the dry despair of the situation. It is also an image of death. Ironically, the day is Easter Sunday, but there is no sign of resurrection, only a sense of ashes to ashes and dust to dust, for the old man seems resigned to return to the earth from whence he came. Both the old man and the narrator share a sense of blank despair over a situation they are helpless to change.
Narrative Technique:
A first person narrator tells the story through careful description, reportage of dialogue and insight commentary about the old man. The narrator makes the reader see the old man. His engagement with him suddenly brings the old man into focus. He emerges out of the faceless, voiceless crowd. The narrator's consciousness of the approaching enemy ‘contact’ is used to create the dramatic tension between the immobility of the old man and the coming destruction as he constantly observes the movement of carts across the bridge while talking . The narrator's conversation allows the old man to have a voice. As he speaks to the scout, we along with the scout gradually understand his plight and what the war has done to him. The voiceless victims speak through the old man.
