Treasure Trove Workbook Answers

PASSAGE-1

 (i) Pontoon bridge are the floating bridge. Many people are crossing bridge to protect themselves from the attack of enemy troops.

(ii) Old man is sitting on the side of the road  on the bridge. Unlike others he doesn't move because he was tired as he had already walked twelve kimometersvsince he had lft his hometown.

(iii) Unnamed narrator who is the army scout is the speaker in above lines. He is there because it is his mission to cross the bridge and find out how far the enemy had advanced.

(iv) The narrator asked the old man where he came from. The old man replied, “ San Carlos”, and he smiled because the mention of his native town gave him pleasure.

(v)  The old man was the last one to leave his town because he was taking care of his animals. The old man wore dusty clothes and steel rimmed spectacles. His face was grey and dusty.

PASSAGE-2

(i) The Old man is refferd to 'He'. He is in a weary condition as he has already walked twelve kilometers and too tired  to move further. Further more his clothes are dusty and his face has turned grey.

(ii) The old man had two goats, a cat and four pairs of pigeon. Those animals were his family; he loved them and cared for them so much that separating from them made him feel that he had lost his reason for existence.

(iii) He had left the animals behind in his native town of San Carlos. The heavy firing from the enemy forced him to do so.

(iv) He had already traveled twelve kilometers, so he was too tired to go any further. He was weak, the old man had no family and he had left his animals behind, he felt helpless as he couldn’t save his animals; he surrendered himself to his fate.

(v)The Spanish civil war forms the background to the story and Hemingway depicts that how in times of war man acts inhumanly to his own race. War causes and death and destruction, and this is highlighted through the condition of the old man whorepresents the civilians who are victims of war. The old man gives meaning to his life by taking care of his animals, but the war takes away everything from him. He sits alone by the side of the road; he is as helpless as his goats; he cannot escape and is too old and tired to save himself.

PASSAGE-3

(i) Like other innocent citizens , what matters to the old man is his home and animals whom he loved as his family rather than politics. He mentions his age along with the fact that he had already walked twelve kilometers to reflect the extent of his weariness.

  (ii) The old man wore steel rimmed spectacles, his clothes were black and dusty and his face had turned grey from dust. He was taking care of his animals at San Carlos.

(iii) The place referred to is a war zone at a pontoon bridge across the Ebro river. The place is 12 kilometers from San Carlos in Spain. 

  (iv) The narrator (army scout) advised the old man to cross the bridge and catch a truck towards Barcelona.Old man replied that he did not  know anyone at Barcelona. However, he thanked the narrator for his suggestion and continued to express his concern for the fate of the animals he had left behind

  (v) The Spanish civil war forms the background to the story and Hemingway depicts that how in times of war man acts inhumanly to his own race. War causes and death and destruction, and this is highlighted through the condition of the old man who can be seen as the symbol of civilian victims of war. The old man gives meaning to his life by taking care of his animals, but the war takes away everything from him. He sits alone by the side of the road; he is as helpless as his goats; he cannot escape and is too old and tired to save himself. Forced to flee his town the old man sits  near the Ebro river; he surrenders to his fate and waits for his impending death.   { Add points according to your view } 

PASSAGE-4

(i) The man was forced to flee from his native town, leaving behind his only family i.e. his animals. He was concerned for them but did not know what to do. It made him blank. Moreover, he was 76 years old man who had alreadytraveled twelve kilometers so he was tired .The manner in which the old man engaged in a conversation with the narrator and told him about his village and animals shows that he needed someone to talk to

(ii) The old man was worried of his animals. He was worried what his animals will do in his absense.He was feeling guilty because according to him he was unable to fulfill his duty.

(iii) The author beautifuly brings out the two levels of conflicts between the inner self and and outter self of the Old man. The old man was forced to leave his animals in order to save himself. Man against man is the other conflit in the story.In the time of war man kills his own race for his own benefit.

(iv) Yes , I agree that old man give up on his live. He was not concerned for his safety. He sat by the side of the road at a pontoon bridge in the war zone. Despite repeated insistence from the narrator to save his life and to catch a truck to Barcelona, the old man paid no heed. He was preoccupied only with the fate of his animals he had left behind in San Carlos.

(v)  The Narrator tries to engage in a conversation and inquires if he had left the dove cage unlocked. He tries to reassure him that the animals would be fine. At regular intervals, he reminds him to cross the bridge. The narrator becomes a friend in need for the old man but he is not able to relieve him of his worries. The  old man surrenders to his fate and till the end he only thinks of his animals. The narrator thus realizes that  nothing can be done  about him and moves on leaving him at the bridge.

PASSAGE-5

(i) The old man had lost all hope and he is also feeling guilty because according to him he was unable to fullfill his duty towards his animals. He was wondering what his animals were doing in his absense. Thus war din not only cause physcial but also psyclogical destruction.

(ii) The Narrator tries to engage in a conversation and inquires if he had left the dove cage unlocked. He tries to reassure him that the animals would be fine. At regular intervals, he reminds him to cross the bridge. The narrator becomes a friend in need for the old man but he is not able to relieve him of his worries. The  old man surrenders to his fate and till the end he only thinks of his animals. The narrator thus realizes that  nothing can be done  about him and moves on leaving him at the bridge.

(iii) The old man loved his animals so much that separating from them made him feel that he had lost his reason for existence. The old man, likde his goats, cats and peigons and had no one to take care of him and thus he surrendered to his fate.The narrator lends a kind ear to the old man and urges the man to get up and cross the bridge; the man tries but fails. The soldier feels sorry for him. Thus the story ends with the old man’s concern for his animals and the soldier’s  concern for the old man.

(iv) All the luck that he would have is that the cats could protect themselves and as the day was overcast, the Fascists would not  launch their planes to attack the local people.

(v) The action of the story is set on Easter Sunday, the day when Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day after he was crucified. Thus, Easter is symbolically viewed as a welcome time of rebirth, renewal and possible change. However, for the old man at the bridge, this day meant inevitable death and the destruction of that was meaningful to him.The image of resurrected Christ is like the image of the old man’s doves being released from their cage, both being symbols of hope and peace. The soldier , however, is not hopeful about the old man’s fate-he bitterly remarks that ‘all the good luck that old man would ever have’ was the fact that the artillery planes of the enemy could not fly that  day.