For Whom The Bell Tolls (Cliffs
Notes) by LaRocque DuBose
For Whom The Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls begins and ends in a pine-scented forest,
somewhere in Spain. The year is 1937 and the Spanish Civil War is in full
swing. Robert Jordan, a demolitions expert attached to the International
Brigades, lies flat on the brown, pine-needled floor of the forest, his chin
on his folded arms, and high overhead the wind blew in the tops of the
pine trees. The sylvan setting, however, is at sharp odds with the reason
Jordan is there: he has come to blow up a bridge on behalf of the
antifascist guerrilla forces. He hopes hell be able to rely on their local
leader, Pablo, to help carry out the mission, but upon meeting him, Jordan
has his doubts: I dont like that sadness, he thought. That sadness is bad.
Thats the sadness they get before they quit or before they betray. That is
the sadness that comes before the sell-out. For Pablo, it seems, has had
enough of the war. He has amassed for himself a small herd of horses
and wants only to stay quietly in the hills and attract as little attention as
possible. Jordans arrival--and his mission--have seriously alarmed him. I
am tired of being hunted. Here we are all right. Now if you blow a bridge

here, we will be hunted. If they know we are here and hunt for us with
planes, they will find us. If they send Moors to hunt us out, they will find us
and we must go. I am tired of all this. You hear? He turned to Robert
Jordan. What right have you, a foreigner, to come to me and tell me what I
must do? In one short chapter Hemingway lays out the blueprint for what
is to come: Jordans sense of duty versus Pablos dangerous self-interest
and weariness with the war. Complicating matters even more are two
members of the guerrilla leaders small band: his woman Pilar, and Maria,
a young woman whom Pablo rescued from a Republican prison train.
Unlike her man, Pilar is still fiercely devoted to the cause and as Pablos
loyalty wanes, she becomes the moral center of the group. Soon Jordan
finds himself caught between the two, even as his own resolve is tested
by his growing feelings for Maria. For Whom the Bell Tolls combines
two of the authors recurring obsessions: war and personal honor. The
pivotal battle scene involving El Sordos last stand is a showcase for
Hemingways narrative powers, but the quieter, ongoing conflict within
Robert Jordan as he struggles to fulfill his mission perhaps at the cost of
his own life is a testament to his creators psychological acuity. By turns
brutal and compassionate, it is arguably Hemingways most mature work
and one of the best war novels of the 20th century. --Alix Wilber
Personal Review: For Whom The Bell Tolls (Cliffs Notes) by
LaRocque DuBose
Hemingway published FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS in 1940, just after
the end of the Spanish Civil War. Surely, one of Hem's goals in writing this
novel was to capture in fiction the full human and political complexity of this
war, which was, for a time, the great international cause. This may explain
why this novel, despite its great craftsmanship and virtuosity, reads a little
long. Hem, you see, had to get everything in.
IMHO, the best feature of this terrific book is its wonderful Spanish
characters. These participate in the war, which is a great cause for Robert
Jordan, the novel's protagonist. But they participate because of family
loyalty, fascist war crimes, or class rage and soldiering is mostly peripheral
to their personalities. What the reader remembers is not their support of
the Republic but the integrity of Anselmo, the dignity of Fernando, the
humor of Agustin, the simple loving sincerity of Maria, the harsh surface of
Pilar, and the murderous treachery of Pablo. These are, basically, ordinary
Spaniards caught in a gruesome tragedy, not ideologues or idealists who
are transformed or energized by the cause.
Hem also handles Robert Jordan skillfully. When Jordan first appears, he
seems to be concerned only with his duty to the cause, which, on this
mission, is to blow up a bridge. But quickly, Jordan meets the loving Maria.
Then, through this relationship, Hem explores Jordan's thoughts and
feelings on life and death. While Jordan is not an extraordinary man with
breakthrough thoughts, he is an extraordinary character who, thanks to
Maria, both examines the rationale for risking his life and identifies the
beauty of what may be its final few days.

There are many great scenes in this novel. Among my favorites are the
appearance of the planes and Pilar, at fireside, telling the story of her
matador lover. And--surprise!--Hemingway is funny in FWTBT, not in a
hilarious Robin Williams style, but with the dexterity of a witty companion.
With Hemingway's misogyny, competitiveness, alcoholism, and depression
now raised to critical prominence, I was surprised to see that the man
could be a good guy.
FWTBT is number 74 on the Modern Library's list of 100 Best Novels... a
bit low in my estimation.
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