Thinking activity on For Whom the Bell Tolls

                         Introduction 

Set during the Spanish Civil War, the story follows a group of Republicans, who are preparing to blow up a bridge. Our protagonist Robert Jordan is an American college Spanish teacher turned demolition expert, known to his companions as Inglés. These companions include the likeable, manly Pilar and her husband, the duplicitous, anti-fascist guerrilla leader Pablo, as well as an old man called Anselmo, and Maria, a young woman who Robert Jordan has a passionate relationship with, a relationship amplified by the prospect of their mission resulting in death.

Hemingway’s trademark terse writing style is in evidence throughout this moving and at times suspenseful war/love story, which despite being set over the course of 3 days, has an epic feel, due to its length (490 pages). This is on occasion a turgid text, with an excess of both dialogue and the protagonist’s internal monologue. The constant use of ‘thee’ was another source of annoyance for this reader, as was the gushy nature of Jordan and Maria’s romance.

For Whom The Bell Tolls boasts a colourful, memorable array of characters and a number of interesting themes, such as love and duty, and life and death. However, in this reader’s opinion, it is inferior to the novella The Old Man and the Sea by the same author.article

Short summary ....

The novel is set near Segovia,Spain, in 1937 and tells the story of American teacher Robert Jordan, who has joined the antifascist Loyalist army. Jordan has been sent to make contact with a guerrilla band and blow up a bridge to advance a Loyalist offensive. The action takes place during Jordan’s 72 hours at the guerrilla camp. During this period he falls in love with María, who has been raped by fascist soldiers, and befriends the shrewd but cowardly guerrilla leader Pablo and his courageous wife, Pilar. Jordan manages to destroy the bridge; Pablo, Pilar, María, and two other guerrillas escape, but Jordan is injured. Proclaiming his love to María once more, he awaits the fascist  troops and certain death.

The Great Dictator 

The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, scored by, and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the only Hollywood filmmaker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, Chaplin made this his first true sound film.

Chaplin's film advanced a stirring condemnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, fascism, antisemitism, and the Nazis. At the time of its first release, the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany and neutral during what were the early days of World War II. Chaplin plays both leading roles: a ruthless fascist dictator and a persecuted Jewish barber.

Summary of The Great Dictator

     The novel graphically describes the brutality of the Spanish Civil War. It is told primarily through the thoughts and experiences of the protagonist, Robert Jordan. It draws on Hemingway's own experiences in the Spanish Civil War as a reporter for the North American Newspaper Alliance.

Jordan is an American who lived in prewar Spain and fights as an irregular soldier for the Republic against Francisco Franco's fascist forces. An experienced dynamiter, he is ordered by a Soviet general to travel behind enemy lines and destroy a bridge with the aid of a band of local anti-fascist guerrillas to prevent enemy troops from responding to an upcoming offensive. On his mission, Jordan meets the rebel Anselmo, who brings him to the hidden guerrilla camp and initially acts as an intermediary between Jordan and the other guerrilla fighters.

In the camp, Jordan encounters María, a young Spanish woman whose life has been shattered by her parents' execution and her rape at the hands of the Falangists (part of the fascist coalition) at the outbreak of the war. His strong sense of duty clashes with both the unwillingness of the guerrilla leader Pablo to commit to an operation that would endanger himself and his band and Jordan's own new-found lust for life, which arises from his love for María. Pablo's wife, Pilar, with the support of the other guerillas, displaces Pablo as the group leader and pledges the allegiance of the guerrillas to Jordan's mission. When another band of anti-fascist guerrillas, led by El Sordo, is surrounded and killed during a raid they conducted in support of Jordan's mission, Pablo steals the dynamite detonators and exploder, hoping to prevent the demolition and to avoid fascist reprisals. Although he disposes of the detonators and exploder by throwing them down a gorge into the river, Pablo regrets abandoning his comrades and returns to assist in the operation.

The enemy, apprised of the coming offensive, has prepared to ambush it in force and it seems unlikely that the blown bridge will do much to prevent a rout. However, Jordan understands that he must still demolish the bridge unless he receives explicit orders to the contrary. Lacking the detonation equipment stolen by Pablo, Jordan devises an alternative method: exploding the dynamite by using hand grenades with wires attached so that their pins can be pulled from a distance. The improvised plan is considerably more dangerous as the guerillas must be nearer to the explosion. While Pilar, Pablo, and other guerrillas attack the posts at the two ends of the bridge, Jordan and Anselmo plant and detonate the dynamite, costing Anselmo his life when he is hit by a piece of shrapnel. While escaping, Jordan is maimed when a tank shoots his horse out from under him. Knowing that his wound is so severe that it is highly unlikely that he will survive and that he would slow the others down, he bids farewell to María and ensures her escape to safety with the surviving guerrillas. He assures her repeatedly that they are now one – where she goes, he will be too. (This captures the theme of John Donne's poem – the source of the title – of the connectedness of humans.) He refuses Agustín's offer to shoot him and lies waiting in agony, hoping to kill an enemy officer and delay the pursuit of his comrades before he dies. The narrative ends just before Jordan launches his ambush.