A Brief Introduction to Earnest Hemingway

Hemingway (1899-1961) worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star after his graduation. During
World War I he served as an ambulance driver in France and Italy and was wounded there seriously. Later,
while working in Paris as a correspondent for the Toronto Star, he became involved with the literary and
artistic circle surrounding Gertrude Stein. During the Spanish Civil War (1936), Hemingway served as a
correspondent on the loyalist side. He fought in World War II and then settled in Cuba in 1945. In 1954,
Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. After his expulsion from Cuba by the Castro regime,
he moved to Idaho. He was increasingly plagued by ill health and mental problems, and in July, 1961, he
committed suicide by shooting himself.

Ernest Hemingway occupies a prominent place in the annals of American Literary history by virtue
of his revolutionary role in the arena of twentieth century American fiction. By rendering a realistic
portrayal of the inter-war period with its disillusionment and disintegration of old values, Hemingway has
presented the predicament of the modern man in 'a world which increasingly seeks to reduce him to a
mechanism, a mere thing'. Written in a simple but unconventional style, with the problems of war, violence
and death as their themes, his novels present a symbolic interpretation of life.

A close examination of Hemingway's fiction reveals that in his major novels he enacts `the general
drama of human pain', and that he has 'used the novel form in order to pose symbolic questions about life'.
The trials and tribulations undergone by his protagonists are symbolic of man's predicament in this world.
He views life as a perpetual struggle in which the individual has to assert the supremacy of his free will over
forces other than himself. In order to assert the dignity of his existence, the individual has to wage a
relentless battle against a world which refuses him any identity or fulfillment.

Spanish Civil War (1936–39)

Spanish Civil War, (1936–39), military revolt against the Republican government of Spain,
supported by conservative elements within the country. When an initial military coup failed to win control
of the entire country, a bloody civil war ensued, fought with great ferocity on both sides. The Nationalists, as
the rebels were called, received aid from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Republicans received aid
from the Soviet Union, as well as from International Brigades, composed of volunteers from Europe and the
United States. The war was an outcome of a polarization of Spanish life and politics that had developed over
previous decades. On one side, the Nationalist, were most Roman Catholics, important elements of the
military, most landowners, and many businessmen. On the other side, the Republican, were urban workers,
most agricultural labourers, and many of the educated middle class.

The number of persons killed in the Spanish Civil War can be only roughly estimated. Nationalist
forces put the figure at 1,000,000, including not only those killed in battle but also the victims of

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bombardment, execution, and assassination. More recent estimates have been closer to 500,000 or less. This
does not include all those who died from malnutrition, starvation, and war-engendered disease.

The political and emotional reverberations of the war far transcended those of a national conflict, for
many in other countries saw the Spanish Civil War as part of an international conflict between—depending
on their point of view—tyranny and democracy, or fascism and freedom, or communism and civilization.
For Germany and Italy, Spain was a testing ground for new methods of tank and air warfare. For Britain and
France, the conflict represented a new threat to the international equilibrium that they were struggling to
preserve, which in 1939 collapsed into World War II. The war also had mobilized many artists and
intellectuals to take up arms. Among the most notable artistic responses to the war were the novels Homage
to Catalonia (1938) by George Orwell,The Adventures of a Young Man (1939) by John Dos Passos, and For
Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) by Ernest Hemingway, as well as Pablo Picasso’s painting Guernica (1937).

FASCISM:

A governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition
and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and
often racism.

CAPITALISM:

An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution,
and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as
contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

COMMUNISM:

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual
ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Tolling of Bell

When one speaks of bells "tolling," it usually means one thing: someone has died.

Epigraph

John Donne’s poem has been used as an epigraph that makes a philosophical point that is central to
the book. Simply put, the idea is that no individual person is really all "on their own," but always bound up
with other people. In some way, every other person is a part of your own self, of who you really are – so
when another person is lost, we lose something too. Hence the idea that whenever the bell tolls, it tolls for
you – whenever somebody dies, it's as if a part of you dies (there's death again).

Symbol

Something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing
something, often something immaterial

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 Short Summary Of For Whom the Bell Tolls
It is the late 1930's in Spain, during the Spanish Civil War, and a guerrilla group is in the mountains
behind enemy lines. Robert Jordan plans to blow up a bridge, which the enemy uses to move trucks, tanks,
and artillery. Pablo, the leader, objects to blowing up the bridge, for it puts them in danger. Robert Jordan
worries Pablo will betray them. They arrive at the camp. A beautiful girl, Maria, brings stew. She and
Robert Jordan fall in love at first sight. Robert Jordan meets Pablo's woman, a large and heavy peasant with
gypsy blood. One of the guerrillas, Anselmo, tells Robert Jordan that he is a hunter and not a killer of men.
They meet Agustín, who speaks in a filthy manner, but is a loyal man. The gypsy Rafael says they want him
to kill Pablo. Robert Jordan does not want to. That night, Robert and Maria make love. She confides that she
has been raped, and he says that if she is with him, all her pain will go away. Pilar tells about how Pablo
arranged for the massacre of over thirty fascists. She tells Robert Jordan she is jealous of him and Maria and
feels old. Robert Jordan thinks about how one can live as fully in seventy hours as in seventy years.

A bad snowstorm starts. Pablo is very drunk, and things get tense as they try to provoke him. He
leaves, and then announces that he is back with them. Robert Jordan resents the situation. He thinks of the
Hotel Gaylord in Madrid, where he used to talk to his friend Karkov about wartime politics. Robert Jordan
shoots an enemy soldier who comes to the camp. They take his horse. El Sordo goes to look for more horses
and he and his men are massacred. The others can do nothing. Robert Jordan sends Andrés with a dispatch
for Golz asking him to cancel the attack. He tells Maria of a fantasy that they will live in Madrid. She tells
him about her rape when Fascists took her town and shot her parents.

Pablo steals dynamite and equipment and disappears. He returns with five men, and they are
shocked. Robert Jordan feels optimistic again. Andrés reaches brigade headquarters. Commander André
Marty is crazy and locks him up and confiscates the dispatch. Karkov arrives and gets it back. They are able
to reach Golz, who says they are all screwed. At dawn, Robert Jordan and Anselmo shoot the sentries and
blow the bridge. The impact kills Anselmo.

While escaping, Robert Jordan's horse falls on his leg, breaking it. Maria is grief-stricken and he says
she must leave, but she will carry him with her always. They leave, and Robert Jordan knows he must keep
himself conscious so that he can kill one of the approaching enemy officers to delay them on the trail of his
friends.

Discuss Main Themes in For Whom the Bell Tolls/ The relevance of Donne’s Quotation
to the main theme.
Hemingway's choice of a John Donne poem as the source of the novel's title and epigraph emphasizes a
major theme of For Whom the Bell Tolls:

"No man is an island," that is, no person can exist separate from the lives of others, even others
living in far-away countries. The theme is demonstrated by the actions of Robert Jordan. Throughout his
participation in the Spanish Civil War, he has fought actively for a cause of antifascism. As the novel
progresses, his involvement with the guerrillas and his love for Maria, teach him the value of the individual
as he or she affects a larger society. He doesn’t believe in the abstract ideology which doesn’t represent
people. For Jordan, Maria represents human love, the first he has ever known. It is for her that he stays

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behind to allow the rest of the band to escape, demonstrating his realization that others depend on him as he
has depended on them. His decision not to commit suicide at the end of the novel represents his ultimate
understanding that he must fight for the people whose lives are affected by the cause. Apart from the
relationship of individual and society, death is another theme:

"his heart beating against the pine needle floor of the forest."

The main topic of the novel is death and violence as affected by war. When Robert Jordan is given
the mission to blow up the bridge, he knows that he will not survive in it. Pablo also knows that it will lead
to their deaths. El Sordo faces that inevitability also. Almost all of the main characters in the book
contemplate their own deaths, and it is their reaction to the prospect of death, and what meaning they attach
to death, especially in relation to the cause of the Republic, that defines them. Violence haunts the novel,
death of Maria’s parents, Joaquin’s tragedy and above all, Robert Jordan awaits his death feeling his heart
beating on the floor of Spanish land at the end. The war has affected the lives of people physically as in
Maria who loses her physical innocence when she is raped by Fascist soldiers and also psychologically as
the changed behaviours of characters like Anselmo who has to suppress his aversion to killing human
beings, and Lieutenant Berrendo to quell his aversion to cutting heads off of corpses. War even costs the
innocence of people who aren’t involved in it directly as War journalists, writers, and we as readers who
abandon innocent expectation. In war, Hemingway shows that morality is subjective and conditional, and
that the sides of right and wrong are almost never clear-cut. All these conditions are resulted by fascism
which Jordon calls ‘a lie told by rods’. Later, he talks of the threat of fascism in his country:

“…many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes”

Thus, salvation lies in romantic love which is another main them of the novel. Even though many of
the characters in For Whom the Bell Tolls take a cynical view of human nature and feel fatigued by the war,
the novel still holds out hope for romantic love. Even the worldly-wise Pilar, in her memories of Finito,
reveals traces of a romantic outlook on the world. Robert Jordan and Maria fall in love at first sight, and
their love is grand and idealistic. Love endows Robert Jordan’s life with new meaning and gives him new
reasons to fight in the wake of the disillusionment he feels for the Republican cause. He believes in love
despite the fact that other people like Karkov entertain “purely materialistic” outlook.

Romantic love is one of the most important ways in which Robert Jordan rejects abstract theories in
favor of intuition and action over the course of the novel. Her love transports him from his intellectual world
of ideology to the world of real-life relationships. Maria represents the love that humanizes Jordan, making
possible his transition from a political partisan to one who recognizes the worth of the individual. For Maria,
Jordan's love is the healing touch she needs to cure the psychic wounds and a moving spirit for Jordon as he
declares:

“I have not found one [woman] that moved me as they say they should move you.”

The most important theme which is the integral part of Hemingway’s novel is heroism, especially
code-heroism. To be a hero, Hemingway believes that a man must display grace under pressure. Most of his
characters put themselves into dangerous situations and then act with remarkable bravery in the face of
danger. Robert Jordan is no exception. During the novel, Robert Jordan becomes the true Hemingway Code
Hero, displaying a penchant for action and grace under pressure. Even though he realizes the dangerous
nature of his mission and questions the orders of General Golz to carry it out in daylight after the offensive
has commenced, he never doubts his own ability to accomplish the task. Even after Pablo steals and destroys
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some of his key equipment, he does not run from the danger. Jordan more clearly displays grace under
pressure after he has been injured by fascist gunfire. Paralyzed and unable to easily escape with the others,
he insists upon being left behind with a gun. When Maria begs to stay with him, he convinces her to leave
by telling her his mission will have been worthwhile if her life is saved. Thus unable to travel to safety, he
faces death with bravery, firing his gun at the enemy to give the others time to get away. He exemplifies the
Hemingway code because the code heroes also fight to the last bit as he stated: "there is something you can
do yet"

Finally, there are other themes in Hemingway’s ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ ranging from the power
of superstition and divination as in Pilar, suicide as in Jordon’s father, the Spanish War and its tragedy and
hypocrisy and theme of solidarity as in Robert Jordon. Jordan laid down his life for a cause but the irony of
the situation is that he couldn’t make a total commitment to his “cause” for the Fascists to be killed are, also
human beings. “No man is an island”. Thus the novel takes a pure ironical stand in the situation of Spanish
War.

Theme Analysis
Two-in-one: Hemingway's highly idealized two-people-in-one theme positions Maria and Jordan as two
personalities in one entity. Before he found Maria, Jordan was a loner, did not fear death and killed without
remorse. Maria was abused in prison and lived as a shell of a woman until she met Jordan. However, after
they meet they heal each other. Jordan becomes less of an automaton and more of a human, as if he is
coming out of a black and white world into one filled with color and wonder. In effect, he is spiritually
healed. And, as Pilar fully realizes, a positive loving relationship with Jordan results in Maria's emotional
healing. Thus, their unity heals them both and they come to feel as one being: "I will be thee when thou are
not there," Maria states when they part. Hemingway the writer must find a way to convince readers that
Jordan and Maria fall emotionally and spiritually in love instantly. After all, the novel's action occurs in
three days. The proposition of total love at first sight, or the soul mate who makes one finally whole,
accomplishes this.

However, feminist scholars harshly criticize Hemingway for his depiction of the character Maria
who, they state, is much too sentimental. And, while Jordan states "it is better to be one and each one to be
the one he is," Maria is the one who says "I would be thee because I love thee," and worries over growing
out her hair to please him and learning English and American ways to become more of what he would desire
in an American wife. Meanwhile, Jordan merely carries on with his plans and dreams of returning to
Montana with her. In other words, Maria must change while he remains the same. However, on the other
hand, it is Maria who carries on her life for both of them at the end.

Superstition vs. Rationalism

As the novel opens, Robert Jordan is a machine-like man who operates without much emotion as a
volunteer for the Republican Cause against the Fascists during the Spanish Civil War. He is logical and
rational to an extreme in carrying out his missions as an explosives expert. However, after he encounters the
highly superstitious Pilar, who reads omens in nature and everyday occurrences and who can even small
death in others, he begins to consider that perhaps there is, after all, a supernatural power that coincides with
sound scientific judgment. In chapter one he hears that Pilar can prophesy the future by reading palms, and
he wonders what she would see if she examined his palm. In chapter two, she examines his palm but drops it
quickly, as if burned, and answers "nothing," to his inquiry about what she saw.

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 It would seem then, that a logical man would dismiss this palm reading incident as an entertaining
interlude, but the incident circulates in Jordan's mind throughout the novel. He knows on some level that
Pilar saw his death-a short life, perhaps-and this realization makes him more aware of life. Indeed, perhaps it
provides the catalyst for him to fall so deeply in love with Maria. After he falls in love, Jordan becomes
much more spiritual. Indeed, the couple's love-making at times seems like a ritualized religious encounter, a
mystical union that Jordan has never experienced before. His love for Maria comes to interfere with his
cold-minded belief in the Cause. Now that he has found her, he doesn't want to lose her, and the possibility
of a happy future together begins to dominate his mind instead of the mission he feels he must carry out with
total objectivity. In this regard, he becomes preoccupied with the omen Pilar saw in his hand. As time
passes, Jordan becomes much more aware of the world and begins to consider that there is after all, another
reality beyond the physical. And by the end of the novel, he comes to believe in Pilar's prophesies to the
point where she reassures him that what she saw in his hand was just nonsense. They both correctly believe,
however, that he will soon die.

Ernest Hemingway’s Code Hero in “For Who the Bell Tolls”

Ernest Hemingway is arguably one of the most important writers in American history. He has
undoubtedly had a major influence on contemporary American literature. One aspect of Hemingway's
famous writing that shines in almost all of his works is the hero. Hemingway created the famous
Hemingway code by which all of his heroes, often called code heroes, lived. A critic namely Joseph DeFalco
asserts that, "Hemingway invented more than a style he invented the Hemingway hero."

In Hemingway fictional work, Robert Jordan in “For Whom The Bell Tolls” and Frederic Henry in
“A Farewell To Arms” are perfect examples of the Hemingway code hero.
The Hemingway code is, "a grace under pressure. It is made of the controls of honor and courage
which in a life of tension and pain make a man a man and distinguish him from the people who follow
random impulses." Additionally, this "grace under pressure" can be expressed as, "an ability to be in
difficult situations without succumbing to panic, enthusiasm or indifference, is the hallmark of the
hero." Robert Jordan, the code hero, is a vivid example of a character who exhibits this grace under
pressure.

The novel is set in the mountains of Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Robert Jordan is an
American volunteering for the Spanish Loyalist forces. He is a dynamiter and has been assigned to blow up
a bridge. The bridge must be blown during a massive attack, at just the right time. This ultimately doomed
Jordan's chances of escape along with fascist knowledge of the attack. In order to blow up the bridge,
Jordan would need help. Three days before the attack, an old man, Anselmo, led Jordan to a band of
guerillas in the mountains. They were headed by Pablo. Trouble arose between Pablo and Robert
throughout his stay at the guerilla camp. At Pablo's camp Jordan met Pilar, a forceful woman, Maria, the
woman whom he would love, and others. Jordan also encountered El Sordo, who ran a similar camp and
was also going to help with the attack. El Sordo was eliminated by the fascists before the attack. The
blowing up of the bridge was carried out despite few people able to assist Jordan. Jordan was able to blow
up the bridge as planned but was unable to escape. As Jordan rode a horse, attempting to escape, a shell
struck the horse. The horse crushed Jordan's leg. Throughout the text, Robert Jordan illustrates amazing
characteristics typical of a code hero.

Robert Jordan resists random impulses under extreme pressure at many points throughout For Whom
The Bell Tolls. A particular instance is when Jordan avoids confrontation with Pablo despite being
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provoked. Pablo had insulted and denounced Jordan to the point where others thought it would be proper to
kill him. In fact, his wife, Pilar said, "Kill him. I am for it now." Jordan refrained from doing so; this
situation is a perfect example of his control of his actions in high pressure situations.

Critc Rehberger equips, “the code hero kills only when forced to do so and when he kills the mode of
killing is clean and pure at a distance."

This is seen in Robert Jordan throughout Hemingway's novel. Robert Jordan did not like to kill, even
when in battle with others. He did however kill his enemies when he believed it was necessary. Jordan used
no brutality and took no delight in the killing. Being a code hero, he, in fact, lives for others rather than
for himself. At the end of the novel, despite being in great pain and knowing of impending death, he thinks
of Maria and the rest of Pablo's band of people. Jordan refused to endanger them by letting them try and
save him. Instead Jordan vows to stay where he is and do his best to protect them.

There are yet many more identifying characteristics for code heroes. Young asserts "Holding tight
against pain is an exercise which was to become important to the Hemingway hero." Robert Jordan
endured horrible pain at times. This is seen in graphic detail in the novel's final scene final scene when he
has been crushed by his horse, which is hit by a mortar shell.

Consumption of alcohol is also one of the traits of the code hero. Alcohol is largely present in For
Whom The Bell Tolls. Robert Jordan is an avid drinker. Throughout the book Jordan drinks from his flask
and enjoys the wine and liquor of Pablo and El Sordo. A final reference to alcohol is made near the end of
the novel when the horse fell on top of Jordan, crushing his leg. As he lied in the forest he searches for the
flask in his pocket. The alcohol was not an antidote for pain but instead one of the hero's indulgences.

Yet another trait of the Hemingway code hero is alienation. As an American serving for Loyalist
forces, Robert Jordan is somewhat out of place. Keep in mind Jordan had no previous contact with the
people whom he would be working with. Being an outsider, Jordan had to make sure he stayed away from
certain issues that might offend or anger the guerilla unit. In addition, when Jordan first arrived at the
guerilla camps, they talked to him differently. They assumed he did not know the finer points of the Spanish
language, Spain's culture, or even the geography of the country and surrounding areas.

Finally, Robert Jordan had a relationship with a submissive woman, as all code hero's must.
According to Molesworth, “The character of Maria is weak and drawn from sexist stereotypes." Maria was
especially obedient to Robert Jordan. As the ideal woman for a Hemingway code hero, Maria was at his
constant beck and call. No wish or order was disobeyed throughout the novel. Maria begged to stay with
Jordan but would not dare defy him. "Dejamos. Get thee back. One does not do that and love all at the same
moment." She replied, "Good. I go. And if thou dost not love me, I love thee enough for both."

Scholar William Dow wrote the following: "If people bring so much courage to this world, the
world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks everyone and
afterwards many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills." The
Hemingway code hero, as seen through Robert Jordan is one of the few souls that Dow is referring to when
he comments on those the world cannot break. This code hero retrained his honor and pride by not
surrendering under any circumstances. It is this basic courage and pride which the Hemingway code is built
around.

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Discuss Hemingway’s Style of writing with reference to “For Whom the Bell Tolls” OR Discuss
Hemingway’s style as a major contribution.

Ernest Hemingway was a writer whose style was very different to that of most writers in his time.
Instead of using more drawn out, overly descriptive writing, his stories were more of a “get to the point”
style. Hemingway’s style came from his background as a journalist, where he was taught to make stories
short and informative, as most articles in newspapers are. A great deal has been written about Hemingway’s
distinctive style. In fact, the two great stylists of twentieth-century American literature are William Faulkner
and Ernest Hemingway, and the styles of the two writers are so vastly different that there can be no
comparison. Ernest Hemingway did more to change the style of English prose than any other writer in the
twentieth century, and for his efforts he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. Short and solid
sentences, delightful dialogues, and a painstaking hunt for an apt word or phrase to express the exact truth,
are the distinguishing features of his style.

.According to Hemingway, “A writer’s style should be direct and personal, his imagery rich and
earthy, and his words simple and vigorous.”

For the most part his prose is colloquial, characterized chiefly by simplicity of diction and sentence
structure. The words are normally short and common ones and there is severe economy, and also a curious
freshness, in their use. He evokes an emotional awareness in the reader by a highly selective use of
suggestive pictorial detail, and has done for prose what Eliot has done for poetry. In fact, Hemingway was
the pioneer of a new style of writing that was certainly based on modernism, but was enriched by his own
personal ability to write “live in action”. The main focus of his writing was the factual.

As Lynn claims, “from almost the beginning of his writing career, Hemingway employed a
distinctive style which drew comment from many critics. Hemingway does not give way to lengthy
geographical and psychological description. His style has been said to lack substance because he
avoids direct statements and descriptions of emotion.”

In ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ he captured the vital Spanish idiom through English as in, ‘the mujer
of Pablo’. There are very few adjectives and adverbs in Hemingway style. These are replaced by the simple
word ‘Said’. Certainly, he was influenced by Gertrude Stein and Mark Twain and thus his style reflects
simplicity of expression. Although his style has shifted from casual to mature but in the typical Hemingway
Style, the greatest burden is carried forward by the nouns and the simplest verbs. But at all times, his style
perfectly suits to his theme and subject matter. His style is also symbolic. For Whom the Bell Tolls the
bridge stands for many things simultaneously. His style seems, in fact, to gain from association and
connotation rather than denotation.

His goal was to ensure that his words accurately described reality. For this, Faulkner once criticized
Hemingway’s style. When Hemingway found out, he replied: “I use the oldest words in the English
language. People think I’m an ignorant bastard that doesn’t know the ten-dollar words. I know the ten-dollar
words. There are older, better words, and if you use them in the proper combination you make it stick.”

For Hemingway, point of view is important. ‘For Whom Bell Tolls’ presents the narrative through an
omniscient point of view that continually shifts back and forth between the characters. In this way,
Hemingway can effectively chronicle the effect of the war on the men and women involved. The narrator
shifts from Anselmo’s struggles in the snow during his watch to Pilar’s story about Pablo’s execution of

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Fascists and El Sordo’s lonely death to help readers more clearly visualize their experiences. Against the
backdrop of the group’s attempt to blow up the bridge, each character tells his or her story: Maria tells of her
parents’ murder and her rape; Jordan shares what he learned about the true politics of war at Gaylord’s in
Madrid.

Pilar provides the most compelling and comprehensive stories of Finito’s fears in bullfighting and of
Pablo and his men as they beat the Fascists to death in a drunken rage. Hemingway employs flashbacks and
flash--forwards to enhance thematic focus. Pilar’s stories of struggle and heroism make their mission more
poignant and place it in an historical context. Jordan‘s flashbacks to a time when his ideals were not
tempered by the reality of war highlight his growing sense of disillusionment. His dreams of a future with
Maria in Madrid add a bittersweet touch to his present predicament. Michael Reynolds says about ‘For
Whom the Bell Tolls’ that: “Without drawing undue attention to his artistry, Hemingway has written a
collection of short stories embedded in a framing novel.”

Moreover, the following characteristics of Ernest Hemingway's writing style are noteworthy.

• Stark minimalist nature

• Grade school-like grammar

• Austere word choice

• Unvarnished descriptions

• Short, declarative sentences

• Uses language accessible to the common reader

There are sentences that only Hemingway could get away with because we know that Hemingway
wrote them. Take this short sentence from For Whom the Bell Tolls: "He was dead and that was all." This is
and always will be a Hemingway sentence. Hemingway is truly alive in his words because his words are
truly his. His style is uniquely his. This is what makes him a writer in the truest sense.

His style is distinctive because it grew out of his own head, his own experiences, his own necessities
for creating something in the way that he did so that he was not starting with his style, he was starting with
sensibility. His main issue was to record the bare actions and thoughts through a controlled use of words and
a stylistic and bodily toughness, creating what has been defined as the “dispassionate understatement”. He
put down exactly the sights, sounds and smells that had evoked an emotion. It is through his synthetic but
very exact use of words that Hemingway succeeds in telling only the surface of the story leaving the text full
of hidden meanings, creating a subtext as we will see in his concept of iceberg theory of writing.

Hemingway's Iceberg Principle

Ernest Hemingway's theory of omission is widely referred to as the "iceberg principle." He explains
this principle in chapter 16 of his 1932 book, Death in the Afternoon. Essentially, the principle states that by
omitting certain parts of a story, a writer actually strengthens that story. The writer must be conscious of
these omissions and be writing true enough in order for the reader to sense the omitted parts. When the
reader senses the omitted parts, a greater perception and understanding for the story can be achieved.

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 If we apply Hemingway's "iceberg principle" to the endings of some of his most famous works, we
come to know that at the end of The Sun Also Rises, Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley contemplate a life
together. At the end of A Farewell to Arms, Frederic Henry walks back to his hotel alone in the rain. At the
end of For Whom the Bell Tolls, Robert Jordan awaits his impending death. The fate of these characters is
never directly stated. Robert Jordan is surely to die at the end of For Whom the Bell Tolls, but Hemingway
leaves the reader with the image of Jordan's "heart beating" against the forest floor.

Hemingway disliked discussions regarding the symbolism in his works. The "iceberg principle,"
however, by its very nature, invites symbolic interpretations and Hemingway acknowledged this in his own
subtle way. Fraser Drew once quoted him as saying: "No good writer ever prepared his symbols ahead of
time and wrote his book about them, but out of a good book which is true to life symbols may arise and be
profitably explored if not over-emphasized."

Hemingway’s Character Portrayal

In his character portrayal, Hemingway’s hero is usually masculine, who is hard drinking; loves hunting,
sports, sex, fishing, and bullfights; and many times has a war injury, faces the most brutal set of
circumstances, violence and even death and still demonstrates grace under pressure. A man can never act in
a cowardly way. He must not show that he is afraid or trembling or frightened in the presence of death. A
basis for all of the actions of all Hemingway characters, especially the heroes is the concept of violence
death. The idea of death lies behind all of the character’s actions in Hemingway novels.

Q1. Hemingway is recognized for his depiction of male protagonists who are alienated, hyper-masculine,
obedient, dedicated and willing to sacrifice themselves. How does his protagonist Robert Jordan fit this
description?

Before he meets Maria, Jordan is alienated as a human being. He travels alone, exhibits no family ties and
retains only one or two friends whom he admits he doesn't know very well. Maria is the catalyst that
connects him with the human race and brings about in him a renewed sense of spirituality. No one can doubt
Jordan's hyper-masculine attributes. Consider his job: he blows up bridges. Indeed, Pilar calls him "lord and
master," and it is by attacking his masculinity that Pablo attempts to antagonize him. Pablo asks why men in
his country wears skirts, laughingly pretending he is from Scotland and then remarks that he is not a true
professor because he doesn't grow a beard, another jab at his masculinity. As a final attack on his
masculinity, a very drunk Pablo says that Jordan doesn't have the cajones to kill him.

A demolitions expert, Jordan is obedient and self-sacrificing to a fault, blowing up trains or bridges for the
Republican Cause, even when he starts, as a result of his relationship with Maria, to question its very
legitimacy. His dedication is beyond reproach and although he has thoughts that the Cause might not be
worth sacrificing himself and the others, especially Maria, he easily disregards his thoughts of a happy
future with her and over and over again convinces himself that his purpose is sound. Even at the end, he
thinks how proud he would have made his grandfather. Indeed, even when he realizes that destroying the
bridge could be carried out in a manner less detrimental to human life than originally planned by the Russian
General Golz, he never changes the script, so to speak, and proceeds with his commanders' orders.

Thus, Jordan in this manner meets the criteria and can be categorized as a typical Hemingway hero.

Q2. All of the action in For Whom the Bell Tolls takes place in only three days. Discuss how Hemingway
handles time in the novel.

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The importance of time is a theme in the novel. Lack of time allows the characters to behave in ways they
normally wouldn't and intensifies the tension throughout the novel. Simply put, as Jordan remarks: "we must
live all our life in this time," the time being a mere three days. Because war has curtailed, or shortened
available time, much of the action has to occur quickly yet retain aspects of verisimilitude to keep the reader
engaged. For instance, by illustrating how the Republican revolution has changed social behavior, Maria can
"get away" with behaving in a sexual manner that just would not be condoned in more normal times when
respectable Spanish girls would have to be courted for months before a man could even be alone with her,
without a chaperone. Because time is short, however, so too is the courtship process which must occur in a
period of just three days.

Pilar realizes that Jordan is going to die and that he must mate quickly with Maria if there is to be even the
remotest chance to reproduce. In this instance, the lack of time highlights the primacy of life and the
inevitability of death. As the fascist airplanes signifying death roar overheard, Pilar pushes Jordan and Maria
together. She encourages Jordan to spend time alone with Maria, so they can have as much sex as possible-
eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die! Life must be continued at all costs, especially when time is
short, even during war, or perhaps especially during war.

In addition, the lack of time intensifies the tone and mood of the novel. Things happen rapidly when all the
action is limited to three days and the threat of death looms large. All the characters know they might die in
a day or two and they react in wildly dramatic, erratic ways. Pablo is gone; then he's back. Pilar is the voice
of reason; then she's raging. And the reader easily accepts this behavior because time is running out.

Q3. In addition to Maria and Jordan, the novel's primary couple, Hemingway characterizes another very
different couple, Pablo and Pilar. What do they contribute to the novel as a whole?

Pilar and Pablo act as opposing characters. Pilar blindly supports the rebel Cause with almost religious
fervor while Pablo acts only in his own best interest. Pablo started out as leader of the guerilla band doing
whatever it took for the group to be successful. Pilar from the beginning looked up to him and acted as his
"woman," his support system. In time, however, the very intelligent Pablo came to see the flaws in the
Cause, realized ultimate success was not possible, and thus began to think only of his own future. And, as he
came to own five valuable horses, he started to desire the end of the conflict so he could return home and
live out his life in peace. The rest of the guerilla band, however, view his actions as cowardly, and come to
hate him. Pablo finds refuge in increased drinking.

Pilar, on the other hand, remains true to the Cause, and thus the group, and in her patriotic fervor gains their
trust and respect and they come to view her as their leader. While she certainly has personal desires, she
sacrifices everything for the good of the people who surround her. For instance, she loves Maria and protects
her from the men until Jordan arrives. But, Pilar sees in Jordan a means of permanently rescuing Maria. By
marrying an American, Maria will be assured of a good life. So, Pilar more or less throws Maria at Jordan at
great personal cost to herself. She sacrifices the love of Maria.

Pablo as a force, however, wins out over Pilar. Although he returns as a penitent with five men to help
Jordan blow up the bridge, he kills the men afterwards so he can have enough horses to return to his village.
Thus, Pablo's self-interest achieves the best results-for him. This result also precipitates the ultimate failure
of the Republican cause in Spain and the rise of Franco and Fascism.

Q4. Anselmo has been seen by critics as the noblest character in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Agree, or
disagree.
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Anselmo is the character who best lives a good life. He is a guide, and others would be better off following
his lead. At the beginning of the novel, Anselmo guides Jordan up the treacherous mountain, a path he has
traversed his whole life. Anselmo befriends Jordan and in time Jordan comes to care deeply for the old man.
He carries out Jordan's orders to the letter and performs his duty with great dedication. Even when he is
stranded by the others in a snowstorm he never wavers in his purpose. Beyond doubt, he would have frozen
to death, rather than desert his post. He is dedicated to the Cause for the right reasons-not to gain prestige
and power but out of genuine concern for the poor peasant Spaniards who have over time become so
disenfranchised.

However, although he is illiterate, Anselmo is intelligent enough to see beyond the surface. Indeed, he is the
only one who realizes that the fascists are also just men. As he waits on the road for Jordan to return, he
looks at the hut in which the fascist guards wait and he realizes that they are just poor men, like him, who
are forced by others into bad situations. And, while he praises himself for the contributions he has over the
years made to the revolution, he feels an agony of guilt over those he has killed. Instead of displaying false
bravado, he worries about becoming afraid in battle, fearing that he will run. However, when the time
arrives, he carries out his duties admirably and without hesitation. Although he is a hunter, he feels an agony
of guilt over killing a man, unlike any of the other characters.

In short, in opposition to the extremely negative cowardly and selfish Pablo, Anselmo represents all that is
noble about the Spanish people.

Q5. Hemingway the man was renowned in life for his prowess as a hunter and in For Whom the Bell Tolls,
he compares hunting and war. Discuss these comparisons.

Overall, Hemingway glorifies hunting animals while he condemns war for encouraging men to hunt men.
Early on, he compares military airplanes to birds of prey, like owls, hawks or eagles. For instance, while
Jordan and Anselmo hide in the woods in chapter three, military aircraft fly above them and they are unable
to tell whether the planes are friendly or enemy fascist aircraft. The two remain as hidden as mice or any
small animal would when a hawk or eagle flies overhead. And while the planes could not descend and
literally catch them, the men know full well they could at any moment be helplessly fired upon and die.

Immediately after this, Anselmo, an ardent hunter, suggests that Jordan should return to Spain after the war
so the two men can hunt animals together. When Jordan, who at this time still acts like a machine blindly
carrying out orders to kill people, informs him that he has little trouble killing men for the Cause, but that he
doesn't care to kill animals, Anselmo explains that hunting throughout his life has brought him great joy: "In
my house there were the tusks of boar, the hides of wolves...the horns of ibex.an eagle stuffed" (39).
However, while Anselmo's love for hunting cannot be denied, he also strong stipulates that he does not "like
to kill men" (39). In this regard, Hemingway legitimizes hunting animals in the reader's eyes through his
depiction of Anselmo, who is characterized as the noblest character in the novel, never wavering in his duty,
praying and suffering greatly over taking the life of the sentry. But Hemingway simultaneously condemns
war through his autobiographical character Jordan, who changes from total acceptance of the necessity of
war at the beginning of the novel to a deep understanding of the horrors of war and his own complicit
actions at the end.

In this regard, Hemingway illustrates the struggle of men at war and how they are dehumanized by
becoming both hunter and hunted. He insists that in war men are preys. As Anselmo states: "I think that
after the war there will have to be some great penance done for the killing".

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