An Exploration of Love, War, and Morality: A Book Review of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is one of the most renowned American writers of the 20th century, known for his understated and terse literary prose and his elaborate exploration of human life. "For Whom the Bell Tolls," published in 1940, is known as one of his greatest works as he timelessly traverses through love, war and humanity.

The novel is set in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), following the protagonist “Robert Jordan” as an American volunteer–previously a Spanish language professor at the University of Montana, now fighting for Republican guerrillas against the Nationalists. He is assigned to blow up bridges in assistance of republican battles, yet Jordan realizes the mission is more complicated than what he assumed it was as he further interacts with other characters in the novel.

The book is an exquisite exploration of war and its defining features as well as areas that may be easily overlooked in conventional historical literature. The sparseness of
Hemingway’s writing style certainly accompanies the delivery of this exploration, as it sets a powerfully intense mood and sense of immediacy. It works to effectively capture the chaotic, merciless brutality along with the complexity of human emotion.

Robert Jordan is a volatile, serpentine character–a somewhat bizarre set of adjectives to describe a character yet easily comprehensible with an understanding of the moral and ethical ‘line’ he navigates through his mission. Hemigngway powerfully portrays Jordan's struggles, weighting responsibility and the cost of violence throughout war.

In essence, For Whom the Bell Tolls technically is a romance novel–adding another tense layer to the novel as Jordan confronts his feeling for Maria, a young guerilla fighter and his desire to protect her from the brutality of war. As their relationship gradually becomes the central plot of the novel, Hemingway emphasizes the cruciality of human connection, interaction and compassion amidst the most dire of circumstances.

As an English poet John Donne once wrote, “Each man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.” Hemingway’s novel speaks to the interconnectedness of humanity–inspired by the poem of Donne, For Whom the Bell Tolls is a timeless testament to a person’s spirit in the face of such adversities.