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Primitivo is above, at the lookout point; Agustin is by Jordan\'s
side at the machine gun. Four enemy cavalrymen ride out of the timber,
perfect targets. It\'s a rare chance to kill them with no chance of
return fire- not from these four men anyway. Nevertheless, Jordan
restrains himself: \"But let it not happen.\"
Why not? Is it purely a judgment that gunfire would be foolhardy
since others may be in the area? Or is his restraint mixed with some
other motive?
Whatever the reason, it\'s a good professional move. Twenty more
soldiers ride into and then out of view. If the first four had been
killed, the twenty would have had to be dealt with.
A mild, comic-relief dialogue takes place between Jordan and Anselmo
about the placement of their official papers. It\'s necessary to
carry official clearance papers for both sides when moving back and
forth through the lines. In case of capture, the wrong ones must be
swallowed.
To prevent a mixup, Jordan carries the Republican papers in his left
breast pocket and the fascist papers in his right breast pocket.
Agustin, still a radical revolutionary (or still \"illusioned,\" to
use Pablo\'s viewpoint), complains that the Republic moves more to
the \"right\" all the time. As evidence, he cites the fact that many
Republicans are reinstating \"Senor\" and \"Senora\" to replace the
equalizing term, \"Comrade.\"
Agustin, Anselmo, and Robert Jordan present us with a variety of
attitudes toward killing.
Agustin positively relishes the idea. He can\'t wait to get to it.
Anselmo, as we\'ve seen, has killed because it was \"necessary,\" but
he regrets his actions. He openly opposes Agustin and maintains that
none of the enemy should be shot. They should be reformed by work
but not killed. He gives his position a philosophical backing: \"Thus
we will never have a Republic.\" By this expression, he seems to mean
that killing simply for the satisfaction of wiping out the enemy
will violate the very principles of individual human worth that the
Republicans are supposed to stand for.
Jordan, by his own admission, is more like Agustin than Anselmo.
He reflects, \"We do it coldly but they do not,\" meaning that the
partizans kill methodically, without emotion, but the Spanish have
inherited their hot blood for killing. When they accepted
Christianity, this urge was only suppressed, not wiped out. He even
describes it as their \"extra sacrament.\"
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NOTE: In Roman Catholic theology, a sacrament is an action or
event in which a believer encounters God. Baptism is the prime
example. In this meeting, the believer\'s life is changed, enriched,
made more meaningful. Hemingway\'s description of killing as \"their
extra sacrament\" (the Catholic faith observes seven) is both
eloquent and (to a Spanish Catholic) sacrilegious.
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Then Jordan admits to himself that he likes to kill. Hemingway
raises an important issue when he has Jordan say \"...admit that you
have liked to kill as all who are soldiers by choice have enjoyed it
at some time whether they lie about it or not.\" Many readers point
to such statements as proof that Hemingway endorsed warfare by talking
of the \"enjoyment\" of it. Others contend that he is simply being frank
about a reaction to war that has been well documented. How do you feel
about Jordan\'s thoughts? Does Hemingway make war attractive in any way
in For Whom the Bell Tolls? Or is it a frightening picture, made all
the more terrible by the leading character admitting that there is
pleasure to be had in taking the life of another?
Jordan cautions himself not to think of Anselmo as a typical
Spaniard because Anselmo is a Christian, \"something very rare in
Catholic countries.\" This is a slight and/or sly jab at religion and
particularly at Catholicism in Spain.
Again Hemingway is criticizing something he himself belonged to or
supported. Previously, you\'ve seen him present the Republic
unfavorably in several instances. Now he does the same with the
Catholic faith of which he was at least technically a member.
(Hemingway was baptized a Catholic in Italy after sustaining such
severe wounds in World War I that it seemed he might not survive. He
remained nominally Catholic throughout his life and was buried in a
Catholic ceremony at Ketchum, Idaho.)
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