No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel by
Ernest Hemingway, first published in 1940, set in the
Spanish Civil War. It is one of his most famous and beloved works, and was inspired by his work as a journalist during that conflict.
The story, which plays out over four days and three nights, is centred around Robert Jordan - no, not
that Robert Jordan - an American volunteer fighting on the side of the Republicans. His mission is to blow up a bridge in preparation for an offensive against the Nationalists, and to this purpose he enlists the help of a small band of partisans in the hills nearby. He quickly begins an affair and falls in love with a girl called Maria, who has been freed from the captivity of the Fascists a few months prior.
In the days before he carries out this task, we get to know many of the other characters that he meets. Pablo is the leader of the band, but the relationship between him and his men is strained to say the least, and his reliability is repeatedly called into question. His wife Pilar is
The Heart of the group, and acknowledged as the de facto leader. An elderly man named Anselmo is Robert Jordan's guide, and while he is averse to killing people out of principle, his loyalty and local knowledge make him a valuable asset. A number of Pablo's men are also introduced and make a lasting impression.
Over the short time in the company of these people, Jordan makes his preparations for the demolition (which can only be carried out at the last minute), has some skirmishes with the Nationalist forces and gets much of his companions' backstory in the form of flashbacks. The general themes of the novel, derived both from the main storyline and the flashbacks, include the
horrors of war, but also the nature of love and companionship.
The novel was adapted into a film in 1943, starring Gary Cooper as Robert Jordan and
Ingrid Bergman as Maria. It has a
character page.
Tropes exhibited in this novel include:
- Badass Boast: Pablo has some but even he knows he isn't the man he was.
- Bad Omen Anecdote: Pilar tells a story of part of her backstory as a demonstration of how she can smell death.
- Beastly Bloodsports: It's Hemingway, it's in Spain, there will be bulls.
- Bilingual Bonus: Most of the dialogue is supposed to be in Spanish, but the Translation Convention is not entirely consistent, as some phrases are left untranslated. Especially vulgar ones.
- Blood Knight; Axe Crazy: The anarchists are portrayed this way from the perspective of the main characters.
- Bolivian Army Ending
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Pablo. Possibly also counts as a Dangerous Deserter. He's certainly not trusted by everyone afterwards.
- Checkpoint Charlie: Several types of this during the despatch run.
- Did the Earth Move for You, Too?: Played straight with Robert Jordan and Maria.
- Drink Order: As you would expect in a Hemingway novel, there is a lot of drink. The band drink wine from a skin but Robert Jordan has a flask of whisky that he shares on special occasions.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: El Sordo and his men.
- Eagle Squadron: The many foreigners who come to fight on both sides in the Civil War, Robert Jordan being one of them.
- Fourth Date Marriage: Robert Jordan plans to marry Maria after only knowing him for a few days.
- Full Name Basis: Robert Jordan is almost always referred to by his full name by the narrator.
- Go On Without Me: Robert Jordan, after being immobilised, decides to stay and kill as many enemies as he can.
- Grey and Grey Morality: While the Republicans are generally portrayed more sympathetically, neither side is generally shown in a very positive light, especially when it comes to the leadership. Atrocities are committed by both sides. Some of the individual soldiers in the Nationalist army are shown to be just regular people rather than villainous lackeys.
- Hero of Another Story: El Sordo and his band are acknowledged to be very good partisans. This doesn't save them from the soldiers who come after them, although they do get to make a heroic last stand.
- Hit-and-Run Tactics: The only way such small bands can operate, producing some hard choices about whether to help other bands.
- Holding Hands: An inversion as Maria and Robert Jordan get together before they get to do the more romantic stuff. There isn't much time.
- I Shall Taunt You: Tried by one of the officers surrounding El Sordo and his men. They ignore him until he's convinced they're all dead and stands up. Then they shoot him.
- Literary Allusion Title: The title is derived from a John Donne quote, namely the famous "no man is an island" passage in Devotions upon Emergent Occasions
. - Love at First Sight: Robert Jordan's relationship with Maria can arguably be described this way: They certainly fall in lust at a very early stage, although whether it is true love (yet) is unclear.
- Lowered Recruiting Standards: At first they want the best men in the area, then a certain amount of men, eventually anyone they can find will do.
- Meaningful Name: El Sordo's nickname literally means "The Deaf One".
- Mercy Kill: Augustin offers one to Robert Jordan as he lays dying, he declines.
- Mistaken Nationality: Robert Jordan is usually called "Inglés" (English) by his comrades, though he's American.
- Moral Dilemma: More than one, this is war.
- Narrative Profanity Filter: The partisans curse like sailors, but the reader is inevitably given a sanitised version of the relevant words and phrases, like "muck", "unnameable" or "obscenity". Between this and the nature of Spanish swearing, we get Unusual Euphemisms that range from the offbeat to the surrealistic — like "I obscenity in the milk of their airplanes." There are also some untranslated Spanish swear words left in the text.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Averted mostly as Hemingway knew what battle injuries were really like. Heavily averted at the end in a I Can Still Fight situation.
- Planning For The Future Before The End
- Political Officer: Well General Massart didn't get his job through competency.
- Romani: A few of the band are Romani and have a few stereotypcial traits but generally are well-rounded characters.
- Shoot the Messenger: Very nearly. See Struggling Together below.
- Snow Means Death: Specifically, the unexpected snowfall means that certain characters end up being tracked by the footprints they leave, with deadly consequences.
- Tank Goodness: Only a little one but it causes a lot of problems for the partisans.
- Team Mom: Pilar.
- The Talk: Pilar tries this with Robert Jordan, with varying effects.
- Traumatic Haircut: The fascists executed Maria's parents, raped her and shaved her head.
- War Is Hell
- We Are Struggling Together: The general impression one gets of the loose alliance that is the Republican side. A case of Truth in Television.
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