The document analyzes Ernest Hemingway's short story "Old Man at the Bridge." It discusses how the story reflects the effects of the Spanish Civil War through its characters. The old man in the story, who is displaced from his hometown of San Carlos, represents the helpless victims of the war. Through conversations with the narrator, a soldier, the old man expresses disorientation and obsession over the fate of the animals he left behind. The analysis concludes that the characters in the story serve as reflections of the human impacts of the Spanish Civil War.

1. THE EFFECT OF WAR AS REFLECTED
IN ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S OLD MAN
AT THE BRIDGE
ANNISA RAHMI PRATIWI

2. Abstract
In this paper the writer tried to analyze “Old Man At The Bridge”
by Ernest Hemingway. The purpose of this writing is to analyze
characters as intrinsic element and the effect of war as the extrensic
element. The writer found that this short story was based on the author
trip as war correspondent during The Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. To
conclude, the characters are the reflection of the effect of The Spanish
Civil War at that time.
Keywords: Old Man At The Bridge, Ernest Hemingway, Spanish Civil
War, Characters, Efffect of War

3. 1. Introduction
The short story “Old Man at The Bridge” written by Ernest Hemingway,
published 1938, is about a conversation between a soldier and an old
man who had to leave his hometown during the Spanish Civil War. The
story conveys the subsequent problems for helpless victims, especially
old people. It is based upon an Easter Sunday stopover at the Ebro River
during his coverage of the Spanish Civil War in April 1938. This short
story first appeared in Ken Magazine (Volume 1, Number 4, May 19,
1938). He was writing for the North American Newspaper Assosiation
at that time. Instead of submitted the news to be an article, he apparently
submitted it to Ken Magazine as a short story. Through this story,
Hemingway tried to share his story while he was covering the news.

4. 2. Methodology
• Analyzing the characters in “Old Man At The Bridge”
• Analyzing the effect of war in “Old Man At The Bridge”
3. Research Object
The object of research are sorted into a material and formal object. Material
object in this study is Old Man At The Bridge by Ernest Hemingway.

5. 4. Biography and The Story
4.1 Biography
Ernest Hemingway, famous author and journalist, was born in the affluent
Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, on July 21, 1899. Ernest Hemingway began
work as a journalist upon moving to Paris in the early 1920s, but he still found time
to write. He was at his most prolific in the 20s and 30s. His first short story
collection, aptly titled “Three Stories and Ten Poems,” was published in 1923. His
next short story collection, “In Our Time,” published in 1925, was the formal
introduction of the vaunted Hemingway style to the rest of the world, and
considered one of the most important works of 20th century prose. He would then
go on to write some of the most famous works of the 20th century, including “A
Farewell to Arms,” “The Sun Also Rises,” “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” and “The Old
Man and the Sea.” He also won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. Two days
later, on July 2, 1961, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the mouth with a
twelve-gauge shotgun. He was a few weeks short of his 62nd birthday. This wound
up being a recurring trend in his family; his father, as well as his brother and sister,
also died by committing suicide. The legend of Hemingway looms large, and his
writing style is so unique that it left a legacy in literature that will endure forever.

6. 4.2 The Story
“The Old Man at the Bridge”
by Ernest Hemingway
An old man with steel rimmed spectacles and very dusty clothes sat by the side of the road. There
was a pontoon bridge across the river and carts, trucks, and men, women and children were crossing
it. The mule-drawn carts staggered up the steep bank from the bridge with soldiers helping push
against the spokes of the wheels. The trucks ground up and away heading out of it all and the
peasants plodded along in the ankle deep dust. But the old man sat there without moving. He was too
tired to go any farther.
It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the
enemy had advanced. I did this and returned over the bridge. There were not so many carts now and
very few people on foot, but the old man was still there.
"Where do you come from?" I asked him.
"From San Carlos," he said, and smiled.
That was his native town and so it gave him pleasure to mention it and he smiled.
"I was taking care of animals," he explained.
"Oh," I said, not quite understanding.
"Yes," he said, "I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San
Carlos."

7. He did not look like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray dusty face and his steel rimmed
spectacles and said, "What animals were they?"
"Various animals," he said, and shook his head. "I had to leave them."
I was watching the bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long now it would be before we
would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises that would signal that ever mysterious event called contact, and the
old man still sat there.
"What animals were they?" I asked.
"There were three animals altogether," he explained. "There were two goats and a cat and then there were four pairs of pigeons."
And you had to leave them?" I asked.
"Yes. Because of the artillery. The captain told me to go because of the artillery."
"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."
"What politics have you?" I asked.
"I am without politics," he said. "I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think now I can go no further."
"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."

8. He looked at me very blankly and tiredly, and then said, having to share his worry with someone,
"The cat will be all right, I am sure. There is no need to be unquiet about the cat. 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.
"But what will they do under the artillery when I was told to leave because of the artillery?"
"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.
"If you are rested I would go," I urged. "Get up and try to walk now."
"Thank you," he said and got to his feet, swayed from side to side and then sat down backwards in
the dust.
"I was taking care of animals," he said dully, but no longer to me. "I was only taking care of
animals."
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.

9. 5. Discussion
5.1. Characters
The old man
The main character in this story is the old man. He was 76 years old.
"I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think now I can go no further."
In this story, the narrator met the old man at the bridge. He was a war refugee who has been uprooted and
displaced by the war. The old man was from San Carlos and only taking care of his animals. He got no family
except the animals.
"I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San Carlos." He did not look
like a shepherd nor a herdsman and I looked at his black dusty clothes and his gray dusty face and his steel
rimmed spectacles and said, "What animals were they?"
"Various animals," he said, and shook his head.
He is disoriented, confused and disconnected. He has retreated into his isolated world in which he can only
cling to his obsessive thoughts about his animals, and is too tired to go any further.

10. The Narrator
This story was told by a narrator. The narrator was a soldier of war that watching the bridge, exploring the
bridge beyondm and listening to the enemy’s signal to find out the advance of the enemy.
” It was my business to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond and find out to what point the enemy
had advanced.”
“I was watching the bridge and the African looking country of the Ebro Delta and wondering how long now it
would be before we would see the enemy, and listening all the while for the first noises that would signal that
ever mysterious event called contact, and the old man still sat there.”
Through telling his story, the narrator asked the old man some questions about himself. He understood the
condition of the old man. At the beginning, he thought the old man only resting so he encouraged him to move
on.
“But the old man sat there without moving. He was too tired to go any farther.”
From their conversation he realized the old man was disoriented, displaced and that he was not be able to move
on. Seemed like he would die at the bridge. The narrator came to the painful realization that "there was nothing
to do about him." In the end of the story, the narrator only wished the old man a luck that he would never had.
“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.”

11. 5.2 The Effect of War
Through “Old Man At The Bridge”, Ernest Hemingway wants to share his experience while he was
covering the news during the war. As we know before, the background of the story was based upon
an Easter Sunday stopover at the Ebro River during his coverage of the Spanish Civil War in April
1938.
The old man was a reflection of a war victim. The story explained that the old man had only animals
and he was 76 years old. He could not go any further because of his age.
"I am seventy-six years old. I have come twelve kilometers now and I think now I can go no further."
The war has affected his mind and destroyed the love of him. It was not possible for an old man like
him to live only with animals. Something bad must already happened to his family.
"I stayed, you see, taking care of animals. I was the last one to leave the town of San Carlos."
“I am without politics.”
In the line above, the old man said that he was taking care of animals and the last one to leave San
Carlos. The most predominant theme in this short story is the brutal impact of the war on neutral
innocents. In fact, the old man is a refugee from the village of San Carlos where he used to have
some animals. Due to his plight, he sees the bridge as a dead end for him. The old man also said that
he was without politics. It means that he does not support the war and does not to take a part on it. He
does not belong to the both side. Here we know that the old man was only an innocent people. He
was repeating the sentences “I was taking care of the animals”. This is a symbol of all those voiceless
innocent people who are the victim of wars they neither support nor understand.

12. "There were three animals altogether," he explained. "There were two goats and a cat and then there
were four pairs of pigeons."
The old man had two goats, a cat, and four pair of pigeons. He wanted to bring his animals but he
could not because the artillery. He said that the pigeons would fly, the cat could take care of itself. He
was worried about the goats, but then he said that is better to not thinking about it. Here, the animals
have some meanings. The pigeons mean freedom and peaceful because they can fly away, which in
this context irony. The cat is people who can survive for the war. The goats are the old man himself
and maybe also the narrator. The people who could survive in the war in the end can still alive in
freedom. The people who could not survive, it is better to not think about them, because they will die
in the end.
“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.”
In the last paragraph, the narrator also points out that the story is set on Easter Sunday, a Christian
holiday meant to celebrate Christ rising from the dead. The irony is apparent; no one will rise from
the dead, only join the dead, when the shells begin to rain down and the skies clear to allow the
fascist bombers to make their runs. Easter is symbolically viewed as a highly anticipated, welcome
time of rebirth, renewal, and possible change. For the old man at the foot of the bridge, this Easter
brings only inevitable death and the destruction of all that is meaningful to him. In the end, the old
man would never be the cat that has a luck to survive for itself.

13. 6. Conclusion
“Old Man At The Bridge” is one of a great story written by Ernest
Hemingway. The story was about an old man at the bridge during the
war. The story was based on Hemingway’s experienced when he was a
correspondent in the war. The old man was the reflection of the war
victim who lost everything in his life as the effect of the war.
Hemingway felt sorry for the old man and the people like him who had
mentally broken by the civil war. That is why Hemingway portrays the
devastating effects of war through this story.

14. 7. References
http://rufusonline.blogspot.co.id/2005/08/old-man-at-bridge-ernest-
hemingway_15.html
http://hartzog.org/j/oldmanatthebridgeanalysis.html
http://www.rjelal.com/3.3.15/192-
200%20MARJAN%20AMROLLAHI.pdf
http://www.hemingwaypreservationfoundation.org/ernest-hemingway-a-
short-biography.html