NOTES PREPARED BY
W . M . BHAT
TEACHER SCHOOL
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
JAMMU AND KASHMIR
Lesson No. 20
OLD MAN AT BRIDGE
(Ernest Miller Hemingway)
About the Author:- Ernest Miller Hemingway (1893-1961) an American novelist and short-story writer. Hemingway’s writings and his personal life exerted a profound influence on American writers of his time. Many of his works are regarded as classics of American Literature, and some have been made into motion pictures. His important works include, The sun also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms Sea (1952). In 1954 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
THINKING ABOUT THE TEXT:
Q.1) Why were the old man’s clothes dusty? Why did he not cross the bridge?
Ans. The old man’s clothes were dusty because he had travelled a long distance on foot. He was too tired to cross the bridge.
Q.2) Why did the old man leave San Carlo? Why did the old man want to go to Barcelona?
Q.3) “Oh I said not quite understanding …. “what was it about the old man’s statement, “ I was taking care of animals; what was it that the narrator did not understand?
Ans. The old man did not look like a shepherd or a herdsman. So the narrator could not judge how could he manage the animals.
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Q.4) Where did the narrator expect the approaching battle to take place?
Ans. He expected the approaching battle to take place at some place near the bridgehead.
Q.5) “It’s better not to think about the others”. What does the old man mean by “the others”? Why does he say so?
Ans. By “the others”, the old man means his two goats and five pairs of pigeons. He is sure that his cat will take care of itself but was worried about by others, that is why he says like this.
Q.6) Did the old man look upon his animals as his family? What made him worry about them? What did the old man fear would harm his animals?
Ans. Yes, the old man looked upon his animals as his family. The old man was worried because he had to leave them behind, and go himself to a safe area. He feared that the animals would be harmed with the artillery.
Q.7) The old man was a victim of the war, but he had no wish to play a part in it. How do you came to know of this in the story?
Ans. The old man says that he has no knowledge about politics. However, he knew little about the political affairs of his country. His only concern was his animals.
Q.8) Wars have an adverse effect on our lives. How does the story bring out this truth?
Ans. There is no denial in the fact that the wars have an adverse effect on our lives. During wars a country looses people and its economy gets damaged. So, all the people of San Carlos had to migrate. They had to take shelter in an alien land as refugees.
https://jkgovtschoolnotes.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-childs-prayer-class-9th-english.html
LANGUAGE WORK
Make sentence using the following words and expressions.
Artillery: Israel used heavy artillery against innocent Palestinians.
Coup: Musharraf succeeded in seizing power in a military coup.
Check-post: They will stop you at the check post.
Out-post : Soldiers were doing physical exercise at the out- post.
Come through: He was able to come through the hardships.
Stagger: Deesa was trying to stagger although being drunk.
Hurry: You must hurry up or the train will leave.
To take care of: He has to take care of everything.
Blankly: The old man was looking blankly at my face.
GRAMMAR:
Tenses / verb used:
(i) It was my business to cross the bridge. (Past simple)
(ii) Where do you come from? (Present simple)
(iii) I was watching the bridge (Past continuous).
(iv) What politics have you? (Present simple)
(v) Then they’ll fly. (Future simple)
Noun: Derived from Latin word ‘Nomen’ meaning ‘Name’ Noun is a naming word in nutshell. In other words, whatever exists in nature (material, concrete, abstract, idea, thing, person, place, happening, etc) and called by a name is a noun.
There are 5 kinds of noun:
(i) Proper (Narander Modi, Holy Quran, Monday, Taj Mahal, Shahid Afridi, etc)
(ii) Common: (Chair, Teacher, Pen, Food, School, etc.)
(iii) Material: (Gold, Iron, Copper, Wood, etc)
(iv) Collective: (Army, Furniture, Herd, Flock, etc.)
(v) Abstract: (Honesty, Selfishness, Business, spirituality etc).
Example from Text are:
Man,
Spectacles,
Clothes,
Road,
Bridge,
River,
Carts,
Trucks,
Men,
Children,
Wheels,
San
Carlos,
Politics,
Barcelona,
Easter
Sunday etc.
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