Character Sketch of The Narrator (The Soldier) in Old Man at the Bridge
Introduction
The unnamed narrator is an active character in the story. Because the text was inspired by Hemingway’s real-life experience in Spain as a war correspondent, we can assume the narrator as a fictional persona of the author. The unnamed narrator is an army scout whose job is to cross the bridge, explore the bridgehead beyond, and find out to what point the enemy had advanced. It implies that he is a scout (an individual sent first to investigate a territory).
His Encountering an Old Man
The narrator who is an army soldier encounters an old man at a pontoon bridge near the Ebro river which people are crossing to escape from the war zone. While crossing the bridge towards the enemy he finds the old man sitting at the bridge and when he comes back the old man is still found sitting there. This makes him curious to know about him (the old man). He begins talking to the old man and comes to know that his hometown is San Carlos and he is the last person to leave the town. During the conversation, the old narrator also comes to know that the old man is worried more about the safety of his animals whom he has left behind in his hometown than his own safety.
His Showing Pity and Sympathy for The Old Man
When the narrator sees that the old man is extremely worried about the safety of his animals, he (narrator) consoles him saying they will be fine, and tries to convince the old man to cross the bridge and save his life. A narrator is a kind man who shows pity and sympathy for the old man’s condition. Slowly he becomes interested in the old man’s story. He realizes the old man’s deplorable condition and thus gives him hope. When the narrator asks the old man to take a ride on a truck to Barcelona and save himself, the old man refuses to do so. The narrator feels sad about the inevitability of the old man’s fate and feels pity for him saying ‘There was nothing to do about him. He bemoans the old man’s impending death.
His Sense of duty as a Soldier and Human Being
As a soldier and as a human being, he wishes for the old man’s safety and at regular intervals reminds him to cross the bridge. The narrator feels that it is his duty to carry out the orders of the evacuation to ensure overall success in the war. The narrator feels some empathy for him but he does nothing to aid the old man. The old man is tired and old yet the narrator does nothing for him, opting to keep to his sense of duty to the military and his orders. The narrator offers a kind ear to the old man but does nothing to change the old man’s situation. While the soldier has orders, he could have taken a moral point of view in the old man’s dilemma.
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