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This chapter is linked closely to Chapter 10 in questioning the
merits of war. The repulsively brutal picture presented in Chapter
10 is now followed by more intellectual considerations. Chapter 11
is significant because it begins another central strand in the
story: the change in Robert Jordan\'s attitude toward what he is
doing here in Spain.
At El Sordo\'s camp, Jordan, Pilar, and Maria are met by young
Joaquin, who was part of the train operation. Joaquin was also
there- crying and unwilling- when Pablo took over the town and
engineered the brutal executions. Joaquin\'s family themselves had been
executed by the fascists.
This knowledge and the effect of listening to Pilar\'s story bring
some reflections that you may find startling to be coming from
Robert Jordan:
The war isn\'t helping these people. Partizans such as himself come
into an area, perform their missions, and leave; then the people of
the area suffer reprisals- often death- as a result.
Although Jordan automatically speaks of the fascists and
Nationalists as \"barbarians,\" his side commits atrocities too. He
has always recognized that fact in an intellectual way. Now, Pilar has
made him see it, feel it.
In spite of these realizations, Jordan postpones reconsidering his
judgments about the value of the war. He returns to his belief that
the war is all-important and reaffirms loyalty to his war-making
duties. Later, he tells himself, after the war is won, he\'ll sort it
out and make judgments based on his experience. But he\'s beginning
to wish there wasn\'t quite so much experience.
Stop for a moment here and reevaluate your picture of Robert Jordan.
Certainly he\'s not a fool. And certainly he has seen evidence that
this war is not helping anyone and is not likely to. But as soon as
these reflections begin to bother him, he returns to his position:
we must win this war or all is lost. In contrast with his reflections,
does the position seem simplistic? Is he backing away from the
truth, unable to face it? Is his \"Act now, think later\" attitude an
example of intellectual cowardice?
That\'s a possible explanation. But if so, Jordan is doing
something we\'ve all done at some time. Can you recall an occasion when
you doggedly clung to a position in spite of mounting evidence that it
was wrong or at least needed reevaluation?
Jordan\'s self-doubts are just the first of many he will have. Here
he is made uncomfortable by his feelings and therefore turns to a more
pleasant subject- Maria.
Was last night true or just a dream? Was it like the imaginary
lovemaking he had engaged in with Greta Garbo and Jean Harlow, the sex
goddesses of the movie world at that time?
This passage prompts various reactions. Some readers feel that
it\'s realistic and we\'re getting an authentic look into the complex
psyche of Robert Jordan. Others see the passage as juvenile and almost
embarrassing, coming in the midst of a serious novel. What is your
reaction as you read it?
Jordan finally gets to meet the partially deaf guerrilla leader that
he\'ll be relying on to help blow the bridge. El Sordo is strange but
hospitable. (His nickname means \"The Deaf One;\" his real name is
Santiago.)
With offhand remarks, both El Sordo and Pilar add to the sense of
futility and approaching doom. El Sordo says that there are many
people in the hills now, but fewer and fewer who are reliable. When
Jordan suggests where Pilar and the guerrillas should go after the
operation, Pilar becomes furious and tells him to let them decide what
part of the hills to dies in. Again you see Jordan\'s uneasy position
as a foreigner come to help the Republicans in the war. On some
matters the Spanish just don\'t want outside assistance or advice.
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