Holt

Elements of Literature - 2008

Grade 9

Unit 2
Title: Old Man at the Bridge
Suggested Time: 2-3 days (45 minutes per day)
Common Core ELA Standards: RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.2, RL.9-10.4; W.9-10.1, W.910.2, W.9-10.4, W.9-10.7, W.9-10.9; SL.9-10.1; L.9-10.1, L.9-19.2
Teacher Instructions
Preparing for Teaching
1. Read the Big Ideas and Key Understandings and the Synopsis. Please do not read this to the students.
This is a description for teachers about the big ideas and key understanding that students should take
away after completing this task.
Big Ideas and Key Understandings
People can be defeated or made helpless by situations beyond their control.
Synopsis
War is happening in Spain and the civilians are asked to leave the war zone. At the side of the road,
the narrator,
presumably a scout, meets an old man who is too tired to go any further. Because of the old mans
immobility, the scouts business of crossing over the bridge to see if the enemy is getting closer is
interrupted. The old man is concerned about his animals he left behind in his native San Carlos. The
scout attempts to reassure him, but in spite of these reassurances and an outright request to move

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at the end of the story, the weary old man still does not move. The scout capitulates, recognizing
that there was nothing to do about him.
2. Read the entire selection, keeping in mind the Big Ideas and Key Understandings
3. Re-read the text while noting the stopping points for the Text Dependent Questions and teaching Tier
II/academic vocabulary.
During Teaching
1. Students read the entire selection independently.
2. Teacher reads the text aloud while students follow along or students take turns reading aloud to each
other. Depending on the text length and student need, the teacher may choose to read the full text or a
passage aloud. For a particularly complex text, the teacher may choose to reverse the order of steps 1
and 2.
3. Students and teacher re-read the text while stopping to respond to and discuss the questions,
continually returning to the text. A variety of methods can be used to structure the reading and
discussion (i.e., whole class discussion, think-pair-share, independent written response, group work,
etc.)

Text Dependent Questions

Text Dependent Question
Who is crossing the bridge? Why are they
traveling? Cite evidence from the text to support
your answers. p. 162

Evidence-Based Answers
Carts, trucks, and men, women, and children were
crossing it. Soldiers helped push the carts up the
steep bank. The people are getting out of harms
way. They are traveling to escape warfare.
In the first paragraph of the story, why does the old He is a weary traveler, too tired to go any

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Elements of Literature - 2008

man sit there without moving? p. 162

What is the narrators business? How did the old
mans problem affect the narrators business? p.
162

Describe the old mans clothing. What was the old

mans occupation in San Carlos? What is the
narrators initial response to the mans clothing? p.
162
What was the authors purpose in repeating The
Old man was still there three times in the story?
p. 162-3
What does the author mean by that ever
mysterious event called contact? Why does the
author state, and the old man still sat there? p.
163

Grade 9

further.
The narrators business is to see how far the
enemy has advanced. The narrator indicates that
he did this and returned over the bridge. The
fact that the old man wont move delays his
responsibility to cross the bridge as regularly as he
should While conversing with the old man, he
constantly looks back to determine enemy
advancement. He was also listening for noises that
would suggest enemy contact. He looked and
listened while engaging in conversation with the
old man as opposed to crossing the bridge at this
point.
The old man wore black clothes and steel rimmed
glasses. The old man took care of animals.
According to the narrator, he did not look like a
shepherd or a herdsman or a person who took
care of animals.
This repetition builds up tension experienced by
the reader and the narrator, brought on by the old
mans immobility and the narrators need to
complete his job. The repetition also draws
attention to the futility of the old mans situation.
In this story contact means enemy sighting or
attack. It is only a matter of time before the
narrator hears the sounds that signal that the
enemy has been spotted or has attacked, but even
with this impending and unpredictable contact, the
old man has not moved. The old mans refusal to
move suggests his sense of helplessness or the
futility of moving in the face of the advancing
enemy.

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Elements of Literature - 2008

What explanation did the old man provide about

why he left San Carlos? What concern does he
have about some of the animals he left behind? p.
163
What does the old man mean when he states, I
am without politics? Why does the old man
mention his age? p. 163
Describe the tone in the beginning of the story and
at the end of the story. How does the tone shift and
what causes that shift? p. 162-4

Why does the narrator note that the old man spoke
dully, but no longer to me? p. 164

What does the narrator mean by There was

nothing to do about him? p.164

Grade 9

He was forced to leave his home because of

impending attacks by artillery. The old man is
concerned that the animals may not escape the
artillery when he was told to leave because of the
artillery.
He means that he doesnt have political ties or
affiliations. He is neutral. He mentions his age
because he believes he is too old to be walking as
far as he has to escape war started by politics.
At the beginning of the story, the tone is one of
patience and reassurance as the narrator engages
the old man in conversation, assuring him that
most of his animals will be fine, offering him
alternative routes to leave dangerous territory, and
even allowing him to rest a while. At the end of
the story, however, the tone becomes urgent as
the narrator tells the old man to get up and try to
walk now because of the advancing enemy. It is
even tinged with despair as we realize that the
attempts made by the narrator are futile because
the old man has not moved.
The narrator emphasizes here that the old man
ceases to talk specifically to him, for the old man is
tired and sees no use in it. He instead resorts to
talking to himself, still trying to understand his
current situation of being displaced by war in light
of the fact that he was only taking care of
animals.
The narrator meant that he could do no more to
help the old man, so he gave up, and felt helpless
as the Fascists were advancing toward the Ebro.

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Elements of Literature - 2008

Characterize the narrators attitude toward the old

man. Cite evidence from the text to support your
response. p. 162-4

What is all the good luck that old man would ever
have? p. 164 Why might the old man need good
luck?

Grade 9

The narrator initially has concern that the old man

is not moving in light of an enemy attack. The
narrator gives him a way (trucks) to an alternate
destination (Barcelona). He tries to assure the old
man that the doves will be fine since he unlocked
the cage. He also allowed the man to rest and
then urged him to move. This attitude of concern
later shifts to pity as he realizes that there was
nothing to do about him.
All of the good luck was the fact that the sky was
overcast, creating a low ceiling that prevented
enemy airplanes from flying. Also, some of the
animals that he cared so much about, that kept
him goingthe catscould take care of
themselves. He might need good luck because he
has not moved and the Fascists were advancing.

Tier II/Academic Vocabulary

These words require less time to learn

These words require more time to learn

(They are concrete or describe an object/event/

process/characteristic that is familiar to students)

(They are abstract, have multiple meanings, are a part

of a word family, or are likely to appear again in future texts)

Meaning needs to be provided

contextMeaning can be learned from

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162
162
162
163
164

Elements of Literature - 2008

spokes
bank
plodded
slope Page 164 overcast
- dully

Culminating Writing Task

Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
Page
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162
162
162
162
163
163
163
163
163
164
164

- staggered
steep
- ground up
spectacles
- contact
- unquiet
blankly
forks
contact
swayed
- ceiling

Grade 9

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Elements of Literature - 2008

Grade 9

Write an informative essay that identifies the circumstances and attitude of the narrator and the old
man, and explain how these characters contribute to the theme that people can be made helpless by
situations beyond their control.

Teacher Instructions
1. Students identify their writing task from the prompt provided.
2. Students complete an evidence chart as a pre-writing activity. Teachers should guide students in
gathering and using any relevant notes they compiled while reading and answering the textdependent questions earlier. Some students will need a good deal of help gathering this evidence,
especially when this process is new and/or the text is challenging!
Evidence
Quote or paraphrase

Page
number

Carts, trucks, and peasants are crossing

the bridge but the old man sat there
without moving. He was too tired to go
any further.

162

The narrator gives us information about

the nature of his job and how quickly
people were clearing out and comments
that the old man was still there.

162

Elaboration / explanation of how

this evidence supports ideas or
argument
This is the first time the narrator
provides the reader information into the
situation of the old man. Here the old
mans immobility is shown in contrast to
the mobility of the peasants, carts,
and trucks that were crossing the
bridge. He is a weary traveler, and his
immobility is mentioned at least two
other times throughout the story.
Here we see the old mans immobility as
an impediment to the narrators
business and as opposed to others
moving quickly to get out of reach of the

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Grade 9

advancing enemy.
The narrator engages the old man in
conversation while watching the bridge
for the approaching enemy and
listening all the while for the first
noises that would signal that ever
mysterious event called contact, and
comments again that the old man still
sat there.
I was taking care of the animals.

163

The narrator becomes increasingly

concerned about the old mans
immobility. The reader gets the sense
that time has elapsed, and it seems to
be just a matter of time before the
enemy attacks or is sighted.

162; 163

The old man offers information about his

occupation without being asked. This is
one of the first instances in which we see
the old mans preoccupation with his
animals that he
had to leave. We also see it
throughout his conversations with the
narrator. To some degree, this was the
old mans business. The war,
unfortunately, has interrupted his
business of taking care of the animals
in that he was forced to leave them. He
was given no choice.
The narrator offers the old man
alternatives to get out of harms way but
to no avail. The old man is too tired to
move. Prior to this, he indicates that he
is 76 years old, has walked 12 kilometers
and does not believe he can push
himself any further.
This is the narrators attempt to resolve
the old mans concerns about his
animals, although the situation with the

"I had to leave them."

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.

163

Did you leave the dove cage unlocked?"

I asked.
"Yes."

163; 164

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"Then they'll fly."

But the others. It's better not to think
about the others," he said.
At the end of the story, as the narrator
urges the old man to move, the old man
gets up and sits back down and
comments, "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.

164

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Grade 9

goats remains unresolved. The old

mans situationto some degree
resembles that of the goat. Much like
the goat, he, too, has no natural way of
getting through this impending war.
This is the old mans resignation. Even
the strong urgency of the narrator
cannot propel the old man to move
forward. Nature has taken its course and
the old man has gone as far as he could
go.
The narrator has reached a state of
resignation. The will he had to help the
old man has given way to luck. The old
man, at this point, only has luck on his
side. This luck is the fact the overcast
day prevented enemy planes from flying
and the cats knowing how to take care of
themselves.

3.Once students have completed the evidence chart, they should look back at the writing prompt
in order to remind themselves what kind of response they are writing (i.e. expository, analytical,
argumentative) and think about the evidence they found. (Depending on the grade level, teachers
may want to review students evidence charts in some way to ensure accuracy.) From here,
students should develop a specific thesis statement. This could be done independently, with a
partner, small group, or the entire class. Consider directing students to the following sites to learn
more about thesis statements: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/545/01/ OR
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/ thesis_statement.shtml.

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Grade 9

4. Students compose a rough draft. With regard to grade level and student ability, teachers
should decide how much scaffolding they will provide during this process (i.e. modeling, showing
example pieces, sharing work as students go).
5. Students complete final draft.

Sample Answer
We like to believe that we are in control of our lives. In reality, however, we often find ourselves in

situations in which we are helpless to steer the course of our lives. In Old Man at the Bridge, two
characters are faced with the reality that they are powerless. The old man is both too physically weak to
save his own life by fleeing an approaching enemy and too emotionally distraught to continue on for
having to leave his family. The scout is powerless to save the life of the old man.
The old man is 76 years old, has already come 12 kilometers, and can go no further. He sits in the dust
on the side of the road while townspeople who are fleeing the enemy go right past him. The old man said
that he was "without politics" [163] yet he is affected by circumstances of politics and war beyond his
control. He is forced to leave the life he knows. He is immobile in his thoughts as he can't stop thinking
about the animals that he was forced to abandon, and he is immobile because he physically cannot move
away from the approaching enemy. The repetition of "I was taking care of animals" (162,163) shows that
mentally he cannot adapt to his new circumstances. He is trapped, in the past, along with the animals that
he had to abandon. That he was the "last one to leave San Carlos" (62) is another indicator of his
immobility to adapt.
The narrator, through questioning the old man, becomes aware that he is powerless to save the old
man. By repeating the phrase "the old man still sat there" [162, 163], we see that the scout becomes
increasingly impatient with the old man. The scout also continued throughout the story to watch and listen
for the approaching enemy. He knew that time was running out and the old man must move to save

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Grade 9

himself. The dwindling number of peasants crossing the bridge also indicates that time is running out. As
the old man said, for the last time, "I was only taking care of the animals" [164] when he stood, swayed,
and sat back down, the scout resigned himself to the fact that he could not save the old man. He realized
that it was Easter Sunday and sometimes sacrifices must be made. The old man resigned to his fate as a
casualty of war. The narrator says nothing can be done for him and is death seems certain. Easter Sunday
is used by the author as an ironic contrast as the day of the celebration of the resurrection will be the day
another innocent victim is crucified and has made a sacrifice.
It is important to see that the old man took care of three kinds of animals: the pigeons, the cat, and the
goat. The peasants who are fleeing are like the birds who were given the opportunity to fly away to safety
when the cage was unlocked, the scout is like the cat "who knows how to take care of himself" [163], and
the old man is like the other animals, the helpless ones left behind, and as the old man said himself, "it's
better not to think about the others" [164]. It is as if the old man is releasing the scout from his
responsibility to act as the hero and same him.
Both the old man and the scout were faced with circumstances that they could not control. The old
man was stuck in the past and was neither physically nor mentally able to move on. This was through no
fault of his own; the circumstances of his age and the war thrust him into this predicament. The scout was
unable to change the circumstances of the old man but was able to save himself, realizing at the end that
he had to take care of himself and leave the old man to probably die by the bridge.

Additional Tasks

Innocent people are often casualties of war. Research and read about the Spanish Civil War and fascism
and write an argumentative essay explaining whether the old man is an innocent casualty of war. Use
evidence from the story and the research to support your argument.

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Grade 9

Note to Teacher

Teacher may note to students that a pontoon is usually a temporary bridge often used by the military.
Other Tier III words to address are: fascist (p. 162) and artillery (p. 163).

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Elements of Literature - 2008

Name ___________________________________________________

Grade 9

Date

_____________

Old Man at the Bridge

1. Who is crossing the bridge? Why are they traveling? Cite evidence from
the text to support your answers. p. 162

2. In the first paragraph of the story, why does the old man sit there
without moving? p. 162

3. What is the narrators business? How did the old mans problem affect the
narrators business? p. 162

4. Describe the old mans clothing. What was the old mans occupation in
San Carlos?

What is the narrators initial response to the mans

clothing? p. 162

5. What was the authors purpose in repeating The Old man was still there
three times in the story? p. 162-3

6. What does the author mean by that ever mysterious event called
contact? Why does the author state, and the old man still sat there? p.
163

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Grade 9

7. What explanation did the old man provide about why he left San Carlos?
What concern does he have about some of the animals he left behind? p.
163

8. What does the old man mean when he states, I am without politics?
Why does the old man mention his age? p. 163

9. Describe the tone in the beginning of the story and at the end of the story.
How does the tone shift and what causes that shift? p. 162-4

10.

Why does the narrator note that the old man spoke dully, but no

longer to me? p. 164

11.

What does the narrator mean by There was nothing to do about him?

p.164

12.

Characterize the narrators attitude toward the old man. Cite evidence

from the text to support your response. p. 162-4

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13.

Elements of Literature - 2008

Grade 9

What is all the good luck that old man would ever have? p. 164 Why

might the old man need good luck?