E. Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a book with an amazing story. Her fate is no less interesting than the biography of its creator. The author of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is a man of astonishing talent who has lived a difficult but very vibrant life. His work in many ways determined the direction of the development of the literary process in the 20th century.
Life and creative path
Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899, July 21, in the prestigious suburb of Chicago, Illinois. His father, who was a doctor, passionately loved hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation. These addictions were fully inherited by the son. Ernest's mother was passionate about music, she actually forced her son to play the cello. And although Hemingway was never able to fall in love with playing music, his mother-instilled sense of tact and understanding of music were reflected in his creative manner. For example, Ernest Hemingway gives a counterpoint structure to the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.
The penchant for writing appeared with the author quite early, while still at school, he wrote notes for newspapers. Journalism attracted him so much that he decided at the end of school not to continue his education at a higher educational institution, but to become a correspondent. To do this, the future classic of world literature moves to the capital of Kansas and becomes a reporter for the local central newspaper. Hemingway later noted that it was here that he was taught to write simply and clearly.
This will be followed by a volunteer departure to the front, the first serious wound, the first big love. Returning from the war, Hemingway will continue to work as a journalist, while simultaneously creating literary texts. Real writer's fame will come to him with the release in 1926 of the novel "The Sun Also Rises" ("And the Sun Rises").
The apogee of world recognition will be the receipt in 1954 of the Nobel Prize in literature:
"For the narrative skills once again demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, as well as for influencing contemporary prose."
The writer's life and career are full of contradictions, ups and downs and surprises. Ernest Hemingway was an athlete, was engaged in boxing, was fond of hunting and fishing, despite the fact that he had vision problems. He participated in all major armed conflicts that took place in the world throughout his life, although he was a staunch anti-militarist. He passionately loved life in all its diversity, but left it, having committed suicide.
Hemingway processed all the numerous and diverse life impressions into creative material for his works. Everything that he knew and understood about life, about people, about love is embedded in his books with unsurpassed skill. So, the prototypes of many characters were real people. For example, in “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” Ernest Hemingway introduces a galaxy of heroes whose prototypes are historical figures as well as friends of the author.
History of creation
Hemingway’s novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" was created in the so-called Spanish period (1937-1940). Many literary scholars consider this work the pinnacle of the writer's work.
During the Spanish Civil War, Hemingway visited the country 4 times. This was his first experience of participating in the GV, which made a lasting impression on him. He saw "some kind of new, amazing war." This could not but affect the content of the novel, which describes the struggle of the Republicans against fascism, its tonality and semantic accents. For the first time in the work of Hemingway, the individual fate of a person who was so worried about him earlier is intertwined with the fate of an entire people.
The idea of ​​the novel at Hemingway arose during the first trip to Spain, but he started writing it only in 1939. Work on the text took the author a year and a half, it was a time of inspired and hard work.
The author himself insisted that all the events in the book are fictitious, but many critics and researchers tend to believe that part of the plot is still written off from reality. And the whole prototypes are devoted to real prototypes of the heroes of the novel.
The book was published for the first time in 1940. Subsequently, it was translated into dozens of languages, including Russian. The novel caused a very stormy and controversial reaction. Reviews of the book "For Whom the Bell Tolls" to this day remain diverse and ambiguous. However, it is safe to say that none of those who read the novel remained indifferent to him.
"For Whom the Bell Tolls": a summary of the book
The central character of the novel is American Robert Jordan. He is a teacher who volunteered in the Spanish Republican Civil War against the Nazis on the side of the former. Robert receives the task of blowing up the bridge before the start of the offensive. To complete the mission, he, accompanied by the guide, old Anselmo, goes to the mountains, to the location of the partisan detachment. Their leader, Pablo, is wary and distrustful of Jordan himself and his task, since he considers this too dangerous. But unexpectedly, support comes from the side of Pablo's fifty-year-old wife, Pilar, whose authority among the partisans is unshakable. She takes the place of her husband at the head of the detachment. Pilar - a woman desperately dared, devoted to the cause of the Republicans and her people. In addition, she has the gift of a palmist, and on the evening of meeting, looking at Jordan's hand, she clearly understands that Robert will soon die. But before death, he is destined to experience a genuine sense of love.
The hero meets Maria, a girl who managed to escape from the Nazis during a train crash. A strong, bright feeling flashes between them. Pilar contributes to the development of their relationship, as he knows that there is very little time for lovers. The wise old Spaniard knows that true love heals, and Mary needs healing after all that she had to endure in captivity by the Nazis.
The next morning, Robert with Maria and Pilar leaves for the commander of the nearest partisan detachment, El Sordo. On the way, Pilar tells about the beginning of the revolution in her hometown, about the massacre that the people committed against the local fascists: people lined up in two lines opposite each other, armed with clubs and chains and drove them through the ranks. They killed everyone, even those who were considered good people in the city, including the priest. Their bodies were thrown into the river from a cliff. Pilar concludes that, apparently, God left Spain, because He would never have allowed this terrible fratricidal war. And now there is no God and there is no one to forgive people.
Hearing plunges Robert Jordan into his own memories and thoughts. The hero reflects on the fact that it was no coincidence that he ended up in Spain, because he is tightly connected with this country by a profession (Spanish teacher), service; he had been here before the start of the war, and he managed to fall in love with Spain and its inhabitants. Robert cannot remain indifferent to the fate of the Spanish people. And although Jordan is not a communist, he clearly understands that the Nazis are far more evil, which means that the war must certainly be won. Robert knows firsthand the horrors that accompany any war, he thinks that when it's over, he should write a book about it to finally free himself.
At the same time, the hero realizes that he may die during the execution of the task, since he does not have enough people: he has only seven people from the squads of Pablo and El Sordo. Robert thinks about his unexpected, but such a huge feeling for Mary. Perhaps this is his whole life, all that he can still take from her, and maybe he was measured out not seventy years, but only seventy hours. However, if so, there is nothing to grieve, Robert believes, because these seventy hours can be lived more fully and brighter than seventy years.
When the heroes, with the support of El Sordo, return to the camp, it suddenly begins to snow. He does not stop, and Robert begins to worry about the success of the mission. Adds anxiety and Pablo, who drinks hard.
According to this promise, El Sordo finds horses for retreat after committing a sabotage, but there are traces left by the Nazis on snow that has fallen. On them the camp of El Sordo was found. Partisan detachment Pablo can hear the noise of a battle ensuing in a nearby camp, but they cannot afford to intervene, since the success of the operation to undermine the bridge is at stake.
El Sordo and his men are killed, an enemy lieutenant walks around the hill, which is strewn with the bodies of dead soldiers and partisans. He crosses himself with a cross and thinks that war is a vile thing.
Troubles continue to haunt Robert: at night, on the eve of the offensive, Pablo escapes from the camp. He takes with him the Bickford cord and fuse - things necessary for sabotage.
Anselmo notes that the Nazis are pulling equipment to the bridge. Jordan understands that the enemy knows everything about the future offensive, which, according to the plan of General Goltz, should have been sudden. Robert writes to the front commander a detailed report on what is happening. A member of the partisan detachment, Andres, agrees to deliver it. Now the fate of the offensive depends on whether he has time to deliver the package before dawn.
At night, Robert Jordan lies next to Mary and reflects on his life. He sums up a peculiar result and concludes that it was not in vain. Robert is not afraid to die, but he is afraid that he will not be able to fulfill his mission. The hero is immersed in the memories of his grandfather - a participant in the war between the North and the South, he reflects on whether that war was as terrible as this. Jordan mentally returns to Anselmo’s words that not the fascists, but ordinary poor people are fighting for the Nazis, exactly the same as in the Republican detachments. But the hero forbids himself to further reasoning about this, because otherwise he will lose his malice, without which he cannot cope with the task.
In the morning, completely unexpectedly, Pablo returns to the camp and brings horses and people with him. He realized that he could not betray his comrades, remaining safe while they were fighting.
Jordan does not know if Anders got to Loach, managed to convey the message or not. The hero and the detachment head to the bridge, Mary is left to watch the horses.
Together with Anselmo, Jordan manages to kill the sentries and install dynamite on the bridge piers. Now they can only wait for the offensive to begin or not.
Anders, meanwhile, makes his way to Loach. The partisan overcomes all the dangers when crossing the front line, but he is detained at the very goal by the main commissioner, who hopes that by detaining a man who came from the rear of the Nazis he will be able to convict General Goltz in connection with the enemy.
And when Anders nevertheless manages to miraculously get to the general, it is already too late: the offensive has begun and it cannot be canceled.
With the beginning of the offensive, the bridge was blown up. Anselmo dies in an explosion. The survivors are in a hurry to retreat. During the retreat, a shell explodes near Robert's horse, it falls, crushing the rider. Jordan is seriously injured, his leg is broken, the hero realizes that he is not able to continue the path. Robert understands that it is necessary to persuade Mary to leave. He convinces the girl that they are now a single whole, that he will always be in her, which means that if she leaves, then he will leave. Saving herself, she will save him.
Left alone, the hero is immersed in his thoughts, he thinks that it is worth fighting for the world and, if necessary, to kill, only love is not necessary. Robert argues that for a worthy end to his life, he should try to detain the enemy in this clearing, for which it is advisable to kill an officer.
Robert Jordan sees a fascist officer enter a clearing ...
Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” in summary does not, of course, convey the whole depth of the meaning inherent in the text.
Main ideas
Let's try to figure out what the book “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is about.
Talking about the ideological content of Hemingway's works is always difficult, since the subtext plays a key role in comprehending their meaning. The author himself compared his books with icebergs, saying that the text is only a small, visible part, apex.
Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, whose contents - the tip of the iceberg - was considered above, is no exception. Now let's move on to its hidden part - ideas hidden in the subtext.
First of all, this is an anti-fascist work. This is a book about moral duty, the importance of resistance to evil and murder, true heroism, moral responsibility and dignity. The hero’s thoughts lead us to an understanding of humanity and true humanity, absolute, indisputable justice, and not false and apparent.
On the one hand, it is a work about personality, about finding your own “I” and individual happiness. On the other hand, it is about large-scale historical events, about the contradictions and cruelty of the revolution and civil war.
This book is about cruelty and violence, as well as the triumph of true love.
But nevertheless, the central idea of ​​the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is the responsibility of every person for the fate of the world. It is impossible to separate man from humanity. This is the epigraph of the novel, the words of the priest John Donne, which help to navigate the ideological content of the text:
There is no person who would be like an Island, in itself, each person is part of the Mainland, part of Sushi; and if the coastal cliff blows into the sea in a wave, Europe will become smaller, and so, if it rinses off the edge of the cape or destroys your castle or your friend; the death of every Man belittles me too, for I am one with all of Humanity, and therefore do not ask who the bell tolls: it is ringing for You.
Novel plot
The plot of any literary work represents the factual side of the narrative - these are events in their causal and chronological sequence.
In revealing the plot of the novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls," Hemingway adheres to his "theory of the iceberg." The reader does not immediately receive comprehensive information about what decision the hero made, what he thought. The whole picture is fully restored in separate parts, grains, details. The fabric of the novel is like a beautiful stained glass window, consisting of many small details, but nevertheless representing a single whole. In addition, this manner of narration adds fascination and dynamics, forcing the reader to be careful, supporting his unflagging interest.
Language and translation features
The main distinguishing feature of the language of E. Hemingway’s novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is the bilingualism of the characters, expressed in an organic combination of English and Spanish. The size of inserts in Spanish ranges from single words to whole expressions, proverbs and sayings. This not only gives the text originality and originality, but also reflects all the incredible work that was put into the work of the author, his close acquaintance with the realities of the Spanish life of wartime.
Also on the pages of the novel is the Russian word "partisan" (partizan).
The novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" has a very complicated, often contradictory, history of translation into Russian. The text was translated back in 1941, but fell under the ban for ideological reasons. The typewriter translation was seized and classified. However, the existence of the ban did not prevent the Soviet leadership from exploiting the text of the novel during the Second World War, paradoxically, precisely for ideological purposes: individual fragments of the chapters were thrown by planes to Russian partisans at war behind enemy lines to raise morale.
In 1962, the novel was published in small print runs for a limited number of individuals on a special list. And only four years later, in 1968, the text was finally published for the general reader. But this version of the translation contained more than two dozen notes.
For a long time, the novel “For Whom the Bell Tolls” could be read in Russian only in the translation by E. D. Kalashnikova and N. A. Volzhina. In 2015, a new translation of I. Ya. Doronina was published. Today it is the most detailed and closest to the text of the original.
Literary criticism
Ernest Hemingway’s novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls", published in the United States in 1940, was very emotional and, unfortunately, quite critical. American literary scholars found the novel fuzzy and obscure, it was called the least significant of all the author's works, moreover, the writer was reproached for the absolute unreality of the characters of the central characters, as well as for excessive romance. Controversy has not abated around the novel. He was even nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, but the work was vetoed by one of the authoritative members of the council.
Russian literary criticism of the novel was also evaluated ambiguously. However, it should be borne in mind that the dominant ideology of that time played an important role in this. But this did not stop the researchers from noting the skill with which Hemingway portrayed representatives of the common people, as well as the depth of understanding of human relations. Many literary scholars especially note the image of Pilar as the most impressive and expressive.
Whatever reviews “For Whom the Bell Tolls” received after the first edition, time has put everything in its place, and today no one doubts the artistic value of the novel or the skill with which the text is written. As well as the place of the work in the work of the author, and his role in anti-fascist literature in particular and world literature in general.
Reader Reviews
Numerous reviews "For whom the bell tolls" were also collected among the readership. The current level of development of information technology allows everyone to leave a review and express their own opinion about what they read.
Among the shortcomings of the book, the reviews about “For whom the bell tolls” indicate the length of the book, since the whole narrative fits into three days, which, according to some readers, does not correspond to the volume of the book. Some readers are not satisfied with the style of the writer, its sharpness and roughness, as well as numerous repetitions. Others are repelled by the very theme of war, revealed by the author with ruthless realism.
The novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in the reviews of some readers appears as a book that leaves a painful impression and a feeling of complete disappointment. This is partly due to a difficult event series and the death of the hero at the end of the novel.
But Hemingway’s laudatory reviews of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" are still much larger. Sometimes such reviews are filled with sincere enthusiasm. And the fact that some considered it a disadvantage is perceived by others as a virtue. According to many readers, the author's style makes us perceive everything described in the book as a very personal experience, allows us to penetrate the fate of the heroes, their feelings. Particularly noted is the mastery of the relations between the characters, the depth of understanding of human nature.
Reader reviews indicate that the book makes you change your attitude to many things, including life itself. Some of those who read the novel claim that it helped them realize the value of time, the uniqueness and uniqueness of each day lived.
Many warm words have been said by readers about the central character of the novel, which embodies an understanding of a sense of duty and genuine nobility. Special reader love deserved the fearless, sharp in judgments, infinitely wise Pilar. The reviews did not ignore the old man Anselmo, whose philosophical reasoning, as well as directness and innocence were close and understandable to many of our contemporaries.
The love line in the novel is characterized by the largest number of conflicting, sometimes directly opposing, reviews. To some readers, the love of the main characters seems inappropriate, implausible, extremely naive. Others consider her beautiful, harmonious and amazing. Many even perceive the text as a novel, first of all, about love, its power, even overcoming death.
When reading reviews of readers, it should be borne in mind that reviews are written by people with different life and reader experiences. Therefore, the most effective way to form an opinion about a book is to read it yourself.
"For Whom the Bell Tolls": Quotes from the Book
We bring to your attention several worthy of quoting fragments:
There is only now, and if now - only two days, then these two days in your life will be fully calculated. This is how you live for two days. And if you stop complaining and ask yourself, "what is all this for?" - you will have a good life.
... when you know the country well, you rarely like what they write about in newspapers and magazines ...
How many times has he heard this. How many times have I seen people utter these words with effort. How many times I watched my eyes fill with tears and my voice becomes hoarse when you need to say a simple word - father, brother, mother, sister.
Why do you need fire — to cook dinner or to burn an entire city?
About fools:
I am talking about the two types of fools that are found in Russia. - Karkov grinned and began: - The first is a winter fool. The winter fool comes to the door of your house and knocks loudly. You go out to knock and see him for the first time in your life. He is an impressive sight. This is a huge kid in high boots, a fur coat and a fur hat, and he is all covered with snow. He first stamps his feet, and snow falls from his boots. Then he takes off his fur coat and shakes it, and snow also falls from the fur coat. Then he takes off his hat and slams it on the door jamb. And the snow also falls from the cap. Then he stamps his feet and enters the room. Here only you manage to make out it properly, and you see that he is a fool. This is a winter fool. And the summer fool walks along the street, waving his arms, twirls his head, and everyone in two hundred steps immediately sees that he is a fool. This is a summer fool.
About God:
- But there is no god?
- No, my friend. Of course not. If he were, would he allow what I saw with my own eyes?
There must be a god, though we canceled him.
About love:
And if you really love this girl as you say, try to love her very firmly, and let that which can be neither long nor lasting be strong.
... If you do not love me, then I love you for two.
The film adaptation of the novel
According to Hemingway's book "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in 1943 a film of the same name was shot. The main roles in it were played by actors with whom the author was closely acquainted. Robert Jordan was played by Gary Cooper, and Maria on screen was embodied by Ingrid Bergman. Ernest Hemingway said that he was thinking about her when he created the book image. The director was Sam Wood. The film was awarded the Academy Award and two Golden Globes.
Concluding remark
If you have not read the novel and decided to fix it, then when searching for a text, you should be careful not to confuse it with the book “When the Bells Ring”. The text of this book is written by A. Belov, Doctor of Philosophy, in which key church holidays are considered from atheistic positions.