For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel set during the Spanish Civil War. It was written by Ernest Hemingway who was a war correspondent during that war. It won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
The plot of the story seems very simple to begin with. Robert Jordan, an American fighting on the side of the revolutionary communists against the fascists, is assigned the task of blowing up a bridge behind enemy lines. Its destruction will stop fascist reinforcements from being sent to an upcoming major attack by the revolutionaries. It sounds simple, but the plot is complicated by many events and challenges, especially the various characters involved. Almost all of the novel takes place before the attack on the bridge, so we are kept waiting to find out for whom the bell tolls. Will Jordan successfully blow up the bridge, or will he die trying?
Initially, Jordan needs to contact a small group of partisans to help dispose of the guards at the bridge. The partisans are led by Pablo, who has a mountain hideout not far from the bridge and who has previously participated in other acts of sabotage, including blowing up a train. But Pablo has become a disillusioned drunk and is paralysed by fears of his own mortality. It is up to his wife, Pilar, the rock of the group, to keep the partisans together.
The group includes Maria, a young woman who was a prisoner on the train they sabotaged. Jordan and Maria fall for each other. This stretched credibility a bit as Jordan knew he would only be there for four days, leaving once the bridge was destroyed. Still, maybe their relationship could have developed as quickly as it did due to the emotional turmoil of the war.
The novel questions the war, but it is not an anti-war book. The reader sees what various participants think about war and their part in it. Jordan slowly reveals the corrupt and fragmented leadership of the communists. Their leaders fled to safety and had little to do with the fighting. Russians stepped in and were heavily involved in organising the communist fighting effort. Some of the leaders of the revolution are drunks and psychotics. But Jordan still believes they must defeat the fascists to stop other countries in Europe from falling under the fascist yoke.
Pablo wants somewhere safe to hide. He knows that once the bridge is blown, the fascist forces will swarm over the hills he hides in to find his group. He was a ruthless leader capable of war crimes. Pilar tells a particularly chilling tale of how he executed all the fascists in his hometown. Pilar, on the other hand, is still committed to the cause. We also get a glimpse into the minds of the fascists guarding the bridge. They are fighting under the duress of execution of themselves and their families if they refuse. Some of the communist generals also freely execute soldiers who question orders.
One of the things that catches a reader’s attention is the writing’s treatment of profanity. Words like “obscene”, “obscenity”, “muck”, and “unprintable” are substituted for swear words. The most obvious is muck for fuck. I thought this might have been due to Australian censors, but no, it was done by Hemmingway in reaction to how publishers had treated profanity in his previous novels.
Another attention grabber is the detail Hemingway went into with Jordan’s battle preparations and the battle scenes. In one scene, Jordan ordered one of his partisans not to place more tree branches around a machine gun placement as a troop of fascist calvary had already been past its location and might notice the difference. Hemingway also detailed the thoughts of Jordan as he fought. His fears and concerns constantly competed with what he needed to do next and his desire to carry out his mission successfully.
The novel shows the futility of war when everyone is not on the same page. Ideas of utopia have a hard time winning against corruption and brutal ideology, especially when personal survival is a main concern. The novel takes you into the mind of a soldier committed to the cause, even though he doubts those leading the cause. The novel also exposes a turning point in world history to the reader.
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a great read. It is one of the best explorations of conflict I have read and deserves its accolades. It left me wanting to find out more about the Spanish Civil War.