La Martiniere College, Lucknow

Digital Academic Services

Class: 9 Subject: English Literature

Name/Number of Chapter: The Old Man at the Bridge (Prose)

Module Number: 1
Dates From: 13 April, 2021 To: 19April, 2021

Recapitulation Guidelines
Reference to context:

“I know no one in that direction”, he said, “but thank you very much. Thank you very much again.”

A1. On seeing an old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sitting by the side of the road near
a pontoon bridge, the soldier advised him to get up and move along a little further to a road which forked for
Tortosa where trucks were moving and could take him to safety as the enemy was fast approaching and if the
old man stayed he would definitely be in a lot of danger.
No, the old man did not follow the advice of the soldier as he was seventy six years old and had walked about
twelve kilometres therefore being too tired to continue any further.

A2. In my opinion the old man thanked the soldier because:

(a) Firstly, the soldier had shown care and concern to the old man and had given him good advice as he
wanted the old man to be safe.
(b) Secondly, the soldier had taken out time from his duty and spent it with the old man in that time of crisis
showing his empathy towards the old man.

A3. In my opinion, the cause for the old man’s depression was the fact that he had to leave his animals unattended
which comprised of a cat, two goats and four pairs of pigeons in his hometown because of the heavy artillery.
These animals were like his family and he was depressed leaving them like that not knowing what would
become of them.

A4. The old man got up and sat down in the dust again because he was fatigued and tired as he was seventy six
years old and had walked twelve kilometres from his hometown.
He had walked twelve kilometres from his hometown of San Carlos.
This action of his reveals an important part of his character and that is, that he was tired, depressed and had
resigned himself to his fate and his impending death when the enemy forces would arrive.

A5. By this line the narrator means that old man was beyond any help that the narrator could offer. The narrator
realised that the old man had resigned himself to his fate and that nothing could be done for him as the old
man was very tired and was unwilling to go on any further even if it meant to save himself. The only hope the
narrator could offer was that the sky was grey and overcast that day and therefore the enemy planes were not
up in the sky and also that cats could look after themselves in most situations.
“I was taking care of animals,” he said dully, but no longer to me. “I was only taking care of animals”

A1. The old man hailed from a place called San Carlos which was his native town.
He left his hometown under the instructions of the captain, who told him to leave because of the heavy
artillery.

A2. The old man possessed a cat, two goats and four pairs of pigeons who he considered to be his family.
He was apprehensive about their safety because of the heavy artillery and the approaching enemy army. He
did not know what would become of them. He knew that the cat could take care of itself, but he was very
worried about the goats and the pigeons.

A3. To alleviate the old man’s concern for his animals the narrator comforted him by saying that the cat would
take care of itself. He then asked the old man if he has left the cage of the pigeons open and if he had done
that, he reassured the old man that they would fly off and would take care of themselves. As for the others
(i.e., the goats), the narrator urged the old man not to think about them as he felt that there was nothing that
either one of them could do to help the goats so there was no point thinking about them.

A4. The planes of the fascists couldn’t fly because that day the sky was gray and overcast with a low ceiling (i.e.
the clouds were very low) providing for very low visibility and therefore the planes couldn’t take off.
This situation proved to be a blessing in disguise for the old man as he would have a chance to move on
further to safety and therefore escape the oncoming army.

A5. The old man did not leave as he was very old and was too tired to go on further because he had walked twelve
kilometres from his hometown to reach that place.

In my opinion the following things had happened to him:

(a) Physical fatigue: As he was old and had walked twelve kilometres he was too tired to go on.

(b) Mental and emotional fatigue: The old man had lost all hope of escape due to his age, fatigue and had
therefore resigned himself to his fate. Furthermore, he was in a depressed state as he had left, in his
hometown, his animals who were akin to his family.
Both these factors contributed to the old man’s acceptance of his impending death.

The narrator had pity on the old man because there was nothing that he could do to help him. One can help
someone only if they want help and in this case the old man was beyond all help that could be offered. The
narrator pitied him because being a soldier he knew that the enemy forces would not spare him. He knew that
the old man would definitely be killed and therefore he was staring at a doomed man and that stirred a feeling
of pity inside his heart towards the old man.