Question

What does Hemingway want to convey about the affects of war through the story?

Answer 1

The Old Man on the Bridge is a short story which clearly depicts the true destruction caused by war. Hemingway uses an old man and some animals to make us realize where the true destruction of war lies.

In most literary compositions regarding war, in order to heighten the pathos, stories revolve around young people. Very often it’s a young soldier corresponding with his lover or family, or a young wife mourning the loss of her lover who was a soldier, or it’s a retired soldier returning home only to find that his parents and loved ones have already died. But in this short story Ernest Hemingway has uniquely used an old man and his pets to convey the destruction caused by war in a deeper context. This short story brings us the experience of an individual and how war has affected him. It also makes us realize that old people too have similar needs and requirements as any other.

This story revolves around an old man who was forced to leave his hometown due to war. He didn’t have anyone to consider as family except a few pets. He was very attached to them. His whole world centred on them and his whole existence purely depended on them. Infact, he lived because of those animals.

But then came the war and he was asked to leave his hometown because of heavy artillery. The most difficult thing for him was leaving his animals. He was not that worried about his cat because he believed that cats could look after themselves. But he was constantly worried about the other animals. Since he was forced to leave and the other people were evacuating the city, he too had to leave the city. He walked twelve kilometres and stopped just before the bridge which carried them to the other side of the river which was considered as the safe area. But the old man refused to cross the bridge claiming to be tired. Crossing the bridge promised a physically safe life. But it failed to give him psychological happiness. Those who were with their families crossed because they had hope to keep their families safe and to live with them. But the old man was deprived of any hope.

He lost his hope the very moment he left his animals. Therefore we can say that he, psychologically and symbolically, died at the moment he left his animals. That is because he lost his hope and his whole reason for existence. In this respect Hemingway defines life as living with your loved ones and implies that a man can be considered as living only if he carries hope. The old man constantly mentions the symbolic death when he says that he’s tired.

Thus Hemingway subtly criticizes war and makes us realize that the least destruction that war can cause is destruction of physical property. But the maximum destruction is where people lose their hope as in the case of the old man. It also shows that even an old man can lose hope due to war.