Contrary to the John Donne sonnet from which its title was
taken, the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls
reflects not the common adage for which the poem was famous - “No man is an
island” - but it instead speaks of the total isolation that man faces in the
midst of war.
The poem that Hemingway references aligns with the novel’s themes
in that it echoes the universal tragedy that occurs after a loss of a life. There
is a common sadness, a common grief that is to be shared when even one
individual suffers death and pain. But interestingly, instead of badgering the
readers with platitudes about the horrors of war, Hemingway also pulls at the
tension between the tragedy of war and its necessity. His tone remains one of
neutrality: it is horrible, it wounds and hurts men, bringing out the worst in
them; yet it is necessary for them to fight.
There is a kind of putting away of self in taking up a
cause, a forgetting of one’s own interests for the sake and advancement of that
cause. “[War] gave you a part in something that you could believe in wholly and
completely and in which you felt an absolute brotherhood with the others who
were engaged in it. It was something that you had never known before but that
you had experienced now and you gave such importance to it and the reasons for
it that your own death seemed of complete unimportance only a thin to be
avoided because it would interfere with the performance of your duty.” As much
as crises bring out the worst in men, it gave them reason and opportunity to
rally behind something, to throw their entire energies into that purpose.
But it would be wise to remember that this line is part of
Robert Jordan’s thought processes, one of his many veering thoughts that
attempt to rationalise and make sense of the circumstances he’s in. The notion
that crises brings about an “absolute brotherhood” is uncomfortably questioned.
Jordan is the only American in the small band of guerrillas that has been
tasked to bomb the bridge. While he seems to make connections with the group, at
the end as it was at the beginning, he is alone. The refrain “His mind was very
good company” which occurs throughout the book points to his solitude.
The book’s blurb according to my edition (Arrow Books, 1994)
advertises the story as a romance, highlighting the relationship between Jordan
and Maria. But after reading it, I was not much compelled by Robert Jordan and
Maria’s relationship. It was beautiful in some sense, but it did not have the
emotional weight I expected it to have based on the blurb.
Jordan’s soliloquys in trying to drown out his self-interest
and trying to concoct some semblance of rationality in the war were I think the
thrust of the book. And it culminates in the actual execution of the bomb operation.
It was duly suspenseful and thrilling, which makes slugging through the first
200 pages worthwhile. But what was interesting was how although the operation
itself needed to be orchestrated harmoniously by a few key players, the mission
played out in silos. There were many instances of the aloneness of the
individuals in war: the lone messenger delivering the message to the General, the
guerrilla member Pablo betraying and sabotaging the operation, Robert Jordan
having to coldly calculate and dissect each person’s loyalties and capabilities.
Even when they are supposedly on the same side, people are
still moving in their own orbits instead of really moving towards one common
direction. Thus ironically, for a book whose opening poem was a bold
declaration that “no man is an island”, the novel also rings aloud with the
isolation in which men insulate themselves during times of crises.