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The old man’s beloved animals symbolize innocent victims of war. The cat, which “can look out for itself,” is the most resilient creature because it is autonomous 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, 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 fact that the narrator refers to them as “doves” (a symbol of peace) after the old man spoke of them as pigeons reveals his longing for the war to end. 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. Finally, the goats come to 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 [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.
Animals Quotes in Old Man at the Bridge
The Old Man at the Bridge quotes below all refer to the symbol of Animals. 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:
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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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Animals Symbol Timeline in Old Man at the Bridge
The timeline below shows where the symbol Animals 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
...He was the last person to leave San Carlos because he was taking care of animals there (goats, pigeons, and a cat), but he eventually had to flee from the artillery...
(full context)
...has any family, and the old man says he does not have anybody, only the animals. He says that the cat will be alright because it can look out for itself,...
(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...
(full context)
...so he sits back down. He says to himself, “I was only taking care of animals.” The narrator thinks that there is “nothing to do about him.”
(full context)
...with the heavy cloud cover. He concludes that the weather and the fact that the cat can take care of itself are “all the good luck that the old man would...
(full context)
