For Whom the Bell Tolls

Hello readers, I'm writing this blog as an assignment given by the Department of English, MKBU. Here, I'm trying to analyse the character of Robert Jordan as a typical Hemingway's hero.

Ernest Hemingway:

Ernest Miller Hemingway born on July 21, 1899, Cicero Illinois, U.S. and died on July 2, 1961, Ketchum, Idaho. He was an American novelist and short-story writer, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. He was noted both for the intense masculinity of his writing and for his adventurous and widely publicized life. His succinct and lucid prose style exerted a powerful influence on American and British fiction in the 20th century. 

Notable Works:

“A Clean Well-Lighted Place” 

“A Farewell to Arms” 

“A Moveable Feast”

“Across the River and Into the Trees”

“Death in the Afternoon” 

“For Whom the Bell Tolls”

“Green Hills of Africa” 

“Hills like White Elephants”

“In Our Time” 

“Islands in the Stream”

“The Fifth Column” 

“The Old Man and the Sea” 

“The Short Happy Life of Francis  Macomber” 

“The Snows of Kilimanjaro” 

“The Sun Also Rises” 

“To Have and Have Not” 

Robert Jordan as a typical Hemingway's hero:

Robert Jordan As A Typical Hemingway Hero In ” For Whom The Bell Tolls”. Hemingway’s heroes have their own brand of uniqueness in their characterization. They are not less than Shakespeare heroes in their unique traits of heroism. 

Hemingway’ writings because his heroes often fail in their struggle and get nothing in the end. Santiago in The Old man and the Sea, Romero in The Sun also Rises and Jordan in For Whom the Bell Tolls can be best quoted in this regard. 

In For Whom the Bell Tolls, we see that Robert Jordan plays the role of such a character who fights for an ideal in a foreign land. He has a firm belief in the Republican cause because he loves Spain. He is of the view that if there establishes a government of fascists in Spain then the future of this country will be in danger and the country might be spoiled. Moreover, he thinks that in spite of all its flaws a republican form of Govt. It is better than a totalitarian state because an individual feels cramped and suffocated under fascism.

Robert Jordan is shown from the beginning of the narrative as one who feels strongly about trusting those with whom he works. And he tells Pablo on first meeting him that he comes only for duty, regardless of orders that may appear bad. When he and Anselmo later go to eye the bridge, his duty is uppermost in his thoughts.

His real concern for duty is to be tested soon. He sensed it earlier in his first meeting with Pablo, and that ominous thought bears fruit later when Pablo, assuming continued leadership of the mountain group, challenges the order to blow the bridge. Pilar's response "I am for the bridge" encourages Jordan's knowledge that he is communicating because he knows Pilar is the true leader now, and her challenge to Pablo assures him that the goal of blowing the bridge is a common one. It binds them into a community on a mission of salvation. As Pilar says,

 "I am for the Republic. And the Republic is the bridge." 

Jordan's concern with the cause is definite all the while. That is to him the only concern. When Rafael questions him about allowing Pablo to live, Jordan assures us of his humaneness and his dedication to the task.

This novel has been written in order to test the quality of Jordan’s idealism and the chain of obstacles in his path forms the basic structure of the novel. As the action of the novel proceeds, Jordan’s task gets more and more complicated. Pablo is absolutely against Jordan’s plan. He takes it impossible to put into practice because it means the destruction of the land. Hemingway’s heroes are always brave in their acts. Jordan is brave enough that he does not even feel fear in his great risky task of blowing up the bridge.

The reason being, Hemingway’s heroes always like to face risks like Santiago in The Old man and the Sea, Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises, Frederic Henry in A Farewell to Arms and Jordan in For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Jordan is such a character who does not give any importance to what happens to himself. He accepts the risky task of blowing up the bridge with an open heart and never shows any sign of cowardice.

Though General Golz warns him about the difficulty of the assignment yet he gives a promise to complete it within the limit of time. In spit of creating obstacles by Pablo, he balances Pablo’s hostility by Pilar’s support. It was being assumed by some critics that Jordan’s falling in love with Maria might become a threat or obstacle in fulfilling his mission. In spite of this, he does not care and we see with the passage of time that it is his love for Maria which enhances his zest. He keeps the two roles that of lover and that of a dynamiter apart, though towards the end of the play, they merge into one another.

Some critics raise objections by saying that sometimes, Jordan appears like a dummy but Hemingway makes him a convincing and imitable personality by his superb art of characterization. So, their objection does not remain for a long time when we see that it is Jordan who fights against many abstractions: liberty, equality, rights of the people, democracy and atrocities of the fascists.

In fact, he is a religious zealous who fights for a secular ideal. He sacrifices for all the poor people in the world. There is no doubt in saying the fact that his ideals are worth imitating for the people of the rest of the world. He fights for those ideals which are practicable for most sensible persons.

His love for Maria is a weakness in his character. But it is very convincing because of his weakness as a human being. His love for Maria is pure and genuine because he loves her by the cores of his heart unlike a boozer or a womanizer. He wants to remain in her heart forever. 

It is worthy to note here that the influence of his father’s profession is very much in his life. His father was a guerrilla in the American civil war, as he is in the Spanish. Just like an ordinary human being, he is totally dominated by Maria’s love. Here we should not forget that he is an ordinary human being and not a supernatural creature or perfect human being. He has a lot of weak points like ordinary and commonplace human beings. He is an American volunteer who fights for the genuine cause of humanity and feels this crusade in his blood and soul. Being dutiful, he loves Spain. He remained there when the civil war broke up. He joined the war inorder to contribute his service for the welfare of the country.

There is no doubt in saying that he becomes a new man after the arrival of Maria in his love and he starts living only for Maria’s sake but it does not mean that his sense of Dutifulness eclipses at any cost. His love for Maria and his risky mission of blowing up the bridge becomes one because fascists have now become his personal revenge for him as they rape his sweetheart. This very thinking of him leads him further to his fight for Republicans and Republic Spain and Maria becomes one for him. 

Summing up the above mentioned discussion, we can say in the concluding remarks that at the end; his loyalty becomes personal loyalty and he is just a husband covering the retreat of his wife whom he loves by the cores of his heart. He sacrifices his life for Maria and her people i.e., Pablo and his land. He is justified in his act of sacrifice because his idealism is worth imitating and practicable for many others.

Citation:

CRAWFORD, JOHN W. “ROBERT JORDAN: A MAN FOR OUR TIMES.” CEA Critic, vol. 41, no. 3, 1979, pp. 17–22. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44378747. Accessed 25 Dec. 2022.

“For Whom the Bell Tolls; Analysis of Robert Jordan's Character.” YouTube, 31 May 2021, https://youtu.be/orLgE37yn3I. 

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