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The Old Man
The narrator is a soldier for the Republican (left-wing) side in the Spanish Civil War. When carrying out his duties of 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 perfunctory or 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.
The narrator Quotes in Old Man at the Bridge
The Old Man at the Bridge quotes below are all either spoken by The narrator or refer to The narrator. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Old Man at the Bridge Quotes
“And you have no family?” I asked, watching the far end of the bridge where a few last carts were hurrying down the slope of the bank.
“No,” he said, “only the animals I stated. The cat, of course, will be all right. A cat can look out for itself, but I cannot think what will become of the others.”
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The old man tells the narrator that he has no family members or close ties besides his animals, while the narrator watches the other evacuees make their escape and leave the old man behind. The evacuees crossing the bridge are like the cat who can look out for itself, blessed with the means to save themselves but blind to the needs of others. The old man cannot bear to think of what will happen to the animals who will not surely “be all right,” those “other” creatures less suited to survival than the cat. He belongs with the “others,” as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corru
“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.
“I know no one in that direction,” he said, “but thank you very much. Thank you again very much.”
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The narrator talks around the fact that the old man will be killed if he doesn’t keep moving. Neither he nor the old man ever directly mention death, but it hangs heavily over the whole scene. The old man still wants to try to keep going, but he is discouraged to hear that the trucks would take him away to where he doesn’t know anyone, which gestures to how important connecting with others is to him. With his animals gone, his hometown consumed by war, and no family or friends to take him in, the man seems to have lost Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perfere
He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, then said, having to share his worry with some one, “The cat will be all right. I am sure. . . But the others. Now what do you think about the others?”
“Why they’ll probably come through it all right.”
“You think so?”
“Why not,” I said, watching the far bank where now there were no
carts.
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The old man attracts the reader’s sympathy in this quote, which captures exactly how exhausted and lonely he feels. He does not know the narrator at all, but no one else can be bothered to talk to him, and he desperately needs “to share his worry with some one.” The narrator responds to the old man breezily, brushing off his concern. He is more preoccupied with the disappearance of the evacuees, which signals the coming danger and leaves him with no one to hand over the old man to. The old man is firmly the narrator’s problem and his alone Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commo
“Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then they’ll fly.”
“Yes, certainly they’ll fly. But the others. It’s better not to think about the others,” he said.
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The old man asks the narrator what he thinks will happen to the animals that aren’t as self-sufficient as a cat, and the narrator says that if the birds are free to fly away, they will fly to safety. The old man agrees, and says that it’s better not to speculate about the “others,” the other animals being the goats whom the narrator did not bring up. He also understands that their survival is doubtful, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. The old man’s opinion that it’s better not to think about the doomed goats also applies to himself, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore
There was nothing to do about him. It was Easter Sunday and the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro. It was a gray overcast day with a low ceiling so their planes were not up. That and the fact that cats know how to look after themselves was all the good luck that old man would ever have.
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These thoughts of the narrator conclude the story. In typical Hemingway style, meaning is conveyed starkly, with as little embellishment as possible, even in the final lines of a narrative where most other writers would prefer to end with a flourish. Frustratingly to the reader, the narrator doesn’t elaborate on any of the critical statements he makes just before the story ends. Can’t something be done for the poor old man? How does the narrator feel about the horrors of war sullying such a holy day? His shortage of words indicates a great fatigue, a defeated withdrawal from the futile Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. V
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The narrator Character Timeline in Old Man at the Bridge
The timeline below shows where the character The narrator appears in Old Man at the Bridge. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Old Man at the Bridge
...push the carts up the banks. The old man sits, too tired to move. The narrator, a soldier, crosses the bridge in the other direction to see how far the enemy...
(full context)
The narrator approaches the old man, who says proudly that he has come from his native town...
(full context)
The narrator asks the old man if he has any family, and the old man says he...
(full context)
The narrator asks the old man what his political opinions are. The old man answers that he...
(full context)
The old man can’t help but share his concerns for his animals with the narrator. He repeats that the cat will surely be fine, but asks the narrator what he...
(full context)
The narrator urges the old man to try to get up and walk. The old man manages...
(full context)
The narrator observes that it is Easter Sunday and the Fascists are advancing towards the Ebro River,...
(full context)
