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THEMES (HFORTHEM)
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The following are themes of For Whom the Bell Tolls.
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MAJOR THEMES
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1. RELATIONSHIP OF THE INDIVIDUAL TO MANKIND
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 iland,\" that is, no person can exist separate
from the lives of others, even others living in far-away countries.
The theme is demonstrated most clearly by the actions of Robert
Jordan. Throughout his participation in the Spanish Civil War, he
has fought actively for a cause- not the cause of communism, as he
says, but the cause of antifascism. As the novel progresses, his
involvement with the guerrilla band, and particularly his love for
Maria, teach him the value of the individual as he or she affects a
larger society. The abstractions of an ideology are lifeless without
the people they represent; concepts have no meaning except for the
ways in which they affect human beings.
For Jordan, Maria represents human love, the first he has ever
known. It is for her that he stays 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,
not purely for the cause as a generalized ideology.
Both Pablo and Pilar represent minor variations of the theme of
interdependency. Pablo is full of greedy self-interest now that he
owns horses. His decision to betray the guerrilla band is due to his
need to survive and thrive. At the last minute, however, he seems to
understand how his actions will affect those whom he once led, and
he returns to help them. Pilar, on the other hand, is almost blindly
devoted to the cause. She will do whatever it takes to win for the
Republic. Yet she, too, comes to understand the severe toll the
guerrillas\' mission is likely to take, and for the first time she
expresses doubt about the cause that prompted the demolition.
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2. NATURE OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR
Who wants the Spanish Civil War? Is anyone likely to benefit from
it? Look for answers to these questions as you read For Whom the
Bell Tolls. There is much to suggest that the common people, on
whose behalf the war is supposedly being waged, are tired of the
war, uninterested in it, and unlikely to benefit from it. Readers have
pointed out that Hemingway was prompted in part to write For Whom
the Bell Tolls to show his disgust at the way in which the civil war
had betrayed the Spanish people, both through internal disputes
between the warring factions and through foreign intervention eager
for a testing ground for an upcoming war.
The war\'s effect on the Spanish is demonstrated in acts of great
courage and great cruelty. The challenges of the struggle created both
the bloodthirstiness and greed of Pablo, as well as the steadfast
courage of Pilar and Anselmo. The war may have exacted a terrible
price from its people, Hemingway seems to be saying, but it often
revealed them at their best.
Despite his pro-Republican leanings, Hemingway is careful to point
out that both sides are capable of savage behavior and that each
side is peopled with human beings with similar human needs. Through
Robert Jordan, Hemingway describes how a foreigner comes to view the
Spanish struggle. Jordan often states his belief in the \"power,
justice, and equality to the people\" theory espoused by the
Republicans. But he soon sees the toll the war is taking on those
around him, and he realizes, too, that his own side has committed as
many outrages against human rights as the enemy has.
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3. LOVE
Hemingway writes about several kinds of love in For Whom the Bell
Tolls. Romantic love is depicted in the relationship of Jordan and
Maria. Before Maria, Jordan had expressed himself sexually, but he had
not loved. Loving her 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 inflicted upon her by her former captors.
Other kinds of love also are discussed in the novel. Many of the
peasants in the guerrilla band demonstrate a fierce love of the land
that supports their involvement in this brutal war. Jordan\'s love of
liberty has brought him to Spain to fight for the Republican cause.
The anguish of Pablo\'s band as the guerrillas listen to the attack
on El Sordo\'s camp reflects the love among comrades. And Pilar\'s
concern for Maria\'s happiness and well-being is a kind of maternal
love that plays a part in Maria\'s healing process.
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4. DEATH
In Hemingway\'s novels, heroes are often involved in activities
that risk death- in fact, they might be said to court death. Robert
Jordan is no exception, and from the beginning of For Whom the Bell
Tolls death is a palpable presence. Jordan\'s job as demolition
expert is filled with danger, and there are numerous foreshadowings of
his fate, such as the death of Kashkin, his predecessor, and the
troubling information Pilar reads in his palm (but won\'t divulge).
Death also is linked to the novel\'s major theme of
interdependency. The deaths that occur during the story as well as
Kashkin\'s, which occurs before the novel opens, affect the lives of
others. Kashkin\'s death, for example, affects Jordan and the members
of the guerrilla band. El Sordo\'s death has serious consequences for
the members of the camp. Jordan is haunted by the deaths of his father
and grandfather. And Jordan\'s decision to hold off his own death by
not committing suicide is made in order to save the lives of the
others who are trying to flee the enemy. Just as one man\'s life can
have a strong effect on those around him, so his death can have
similar consequences.
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5. HYPOCRISY
Examples of hypocrisy abound in For Whom the Bell Tolls. Prime among
them are the Loyalist leaders themselves, many of whom are incompetent
and uncaring. They exploit their positions in order to attain a
level of comfort and self-indulgence in the midst of war.
Many of the leaders who were supposed to have sprung directly from
the Spanish peasantry at the beginning of the war are not really
genuine, and in fact some have been imported.
In his musings, Jordan admits that he doesn\'t really believe all the
things he says he believes in order to justify his involvement in
the war.
The communist slogans that Joaquin mouths as El Sordo\'s band is
being besieged provide further examples of a philosophy that does
not seem to work, yet is regarded by many as sacred.
The crowning touch is Andre Marty, the visiting French communist
leader. Although many regard him with awe, his incompetence
regularly sends men to their death- while career officers stand around
and do nothing about it. He embodies both tactical bungling and
self-centered hypocrisy.
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MINOR THEMES
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1. FATE AND MYSTICISM
From the beginning of the story, when Pilar \"reads\" Robert
Jordan\'s hand, there are hints at an unseen, unavoidable force in
control of events. It would be easy for Jordan to dismiss what Pilar
sees as mere superstition. But he doesn\'t, even though he claims not
to believe in such things; what she may have seen of his future
concerns him a great deal.
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2. THE CODE HERO
Hemingway did not coin the term code hero. It evolved from the
attempts of critics to describe the type of protagonist Hemingway
frequently placed in his novels.
\"Code\" here means a set of rules or guidelines for conduct. The
principal ideals in the code are honor, courage, and stoic endurance
through stress, misfortune, and pain. The hero\'s world is often
violent and disorderly; moreover, the violence and disorder seem to
prevail.
The code dictates that the hero act honorably even in the midst of
what will be a losing battle. In doing so, he finds fulfillment. He
achieves or proves his manhood and his worth. The term \"grace under
pressure\" is often used to describe the conduct of the Hemingway
code hero. Robert Jordan fits this mold in many ways, although he is
more introspective, more thoughtful, and less physical than other
Hemingway heroes (such as Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises and
Harry Morgan in To Have and Have Not).
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3. RELIGION
On the surface, religion does not come across favorably in the pages
of For Whom the Bell Tolls. Characters like Lieutenant Berrendo
order atrocities and utter prayers almost in the same breath. One
character, Joaquin, reveals the conflict that many of the characters
underwent as their own religious beliefs were forcibly replaced with
communist theories. He returns to his Roman Catholic prayers just as
he thinks death is near.
Some readers feel that Hemingway is criticizing religion as an
emotional \"band-aid.\" But others say that his portrayal of religion
suggests that a relationship with God is built into the human
condition, and that neither evil nor official atheism can eradicate
it.
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