For Whom the Bell Tolls

This blog is a response to a task assigned by Megha ma'am, Department of English (MKBU). This blog is about the novel ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’.

Ernest Hemingway was an American novelist, short story writer and journalist. He was born on 21st July,1899 and died on 2nd July,1961. He is famous for his ‘Iceberg Theory’. He won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954. He wrote seven novels and six short story collections in his lifetime. His major works are ‘Sun Also Rises’, ‘A Farewell to Arms’, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ and ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’.

Ernest Hemingway 

For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel published in 1940. The novel tells a story about a young American dynamiter, who was sent to blow a bridge for ‘Republicans’ of Spain. The setting of the novel is Spanish Civil War. Robert also develops a love story with Maria and at the end he blows up the bridge but he has to surrender himself to the Fascist group because he was not able to escape due to his leg injury.

Q-1) Critical Analysis of the end of the novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls".

Answer:

The novel starts with a task assigned to Robert Jordan by Gen. Golz. The very story moves into that direction with ups and downs. When they finally blow up the bridge Anselmo dies there because he falls with the bridge. There we find the theme of death of the innocent. Anselmo has nothing to do with the war, he is not the soldier still till the end he stays with Robert Jordan and dies. He shows his loyalty towards his crew. While returning Pablo kills five men because he thinks that they do not have enough horses, this shows both sides of the character of Pablo. One side shows his caring nature for his crew, to save them he can kill anyone even if they are there to help. Second, the cruelty of the character when people help you in the war and they belong to the same ideology, still you kill them just for the horses that show the dark side of the character.

At the end when all the crew pass through the place where they are vulnerable to get shot by the fascist, Robert remains last and sends everyone before, that shows the heroic quality of Jordan, that's what makes him ‘Hemingway hero’. In a way it is a duty of Pablo to protect and make sure everyone is safe but he doesn't do that. In the last sequence when Robert gets shot by fascist group and is not able to sit on the horse and run away, there is a conversation between Jordan and Maria. They are in love with each other and Maria says that she wants to be there with Robert, he convinces her in that dialogue we find the nature of their love. They think about ‘after-life’ and Robert says "You go I'll go with you otherwise we both die here” that shows the philosophical aspect of their beliefs. That makes the novel tragic and takes that height of worthy literature. Those are the things which make any literary work more valuable.

In the last monologue we find the thought process of Jordan, first he thinks about committing sucide but after thinking about his father he drops the idea. He was in the search of the meaning of life his whole life, that he admits he finds there, he says now he becomes integrated. In front of him fascist leader seems approaching him and the novel ends. This shows the quality of the ending of the novel, and Hemingway is famous for that he makes readers think what would be the end.

Q-2) In what ways the flashback technique was used in "For Whom the Bell Tolls?

Answer:

In the novel Hemingway beautifully used the techniques of flashback as well as flash-forward. And this flashback technique helps in uncovering various aspects of the novel. It gives a better understanding of the characters as well as their behaviour. Novel unfolds the previous incident that happened to Maria through this technique, she was raped by fascist group and they killed her parents. This provides a reason to the readers to hate fascist groups. It also gives a good reason to Robert Jordan to fight with fascist groups. These memories are mentioned so many times in the novel, that shows how badly she is affected by that incident. 

When Pilar tells a story about Pablo, how he used to be before slipping into a drinking habit, we understand his character in a better way. That shows that Pablo can be trusted for his loyalty towards his people. That also provides reasons why he became in such a way. The readers also get to know about the past of Robert Jordan, where he was born, about his childhood, his parents, his previous profession as a professor and about his belonging to America. This helps readers to know Jordan more and readers can connect more to his character. His involvement in the war is not there because of only patriotism but because that gives a good cause to work. He takes his duty as a duty, not belonging to any group or ideology.

When Pilar talks about his previous lover, he tells the harsh reality of the relationship. She says when that person loved her, he didn't see any faults in her. She was beautiful then in the eyes of her lover as well as in the eyes of herself but when he left her, she started believing that she is ugly. These insights of her life give a better understanding of human nature. It also shows the maturity of her character. 

There is another technique that is used in the novel is flash-forward. That reader can observe in the love story of Maria and Jordan. They have dream of leaving together, going back to America, where Jordan was born and living life peacefully, but that does not happen in the novel, but still it provides the higher understanding of the love affair between teo characters. It shows the bridge between imagination vs. reality. One can connect it with the quote of Thomas Hardy “ Happiness was but the occasional episode in a general drama of pain.” In the life of Maria and Robert Jordan these four days are this occasional episode of happiness.

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