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For whom the Bell Tolls. For whom the bell tolls, Ernest Hemingway For whom the bell tolls heroes

Answers to gardeners' questions

American Robert Jordan, voluntarily participating in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans, receives a task from the center - to blow up the bridge before the offensive. A few days before the offensive, he must spend at the location of the partisan detachment of a certain Pablo. They say about Pablo that at the beginning of the war he was very brave and killed more Nazis than the bubonic plague, and then he got rich and now he would gladly retire. Pablo refuses to participate in this case, which promises only trouble for the detachment, but Jordan is unexpectedly supported by the fifty-year-old Pilar, Pablo's wife, who enjoys immeasurably more respect among the partisans than her husband. Whoever seeks security loses everything, she says. She is unanimously elected commander of the detachment.

Pilar is an ardent republican, she is devoted to the people's cause and will never turn off the chosen path. This strong, wise woman has many talents, she also has the gift of clairvoyance: on the very first evening, looking at Robert's hand, she realized that he was completing his life. And then I saw that between Robert and the girl Maria, who had joined the detachment after the Nazis killed her parents, and she herself was raped, a bright, rare feeling flared up. She does not interfere with the development of their love relationship, and knowing how little time is left, she herself pushes them towards each other. All the time that Maria spent with the detachment, Pilar gradually healed her soul, and now the wise Spaniard understands: only pure, true love will heal the girl. On the first night, Maria comes to Robert.

The next day, Robert, instructing the old man Anselmo to watch the road, and Rafael to watch the change of sentries at the bridge, goes with Pilar and Maria to El Sordo, the commander of a neighboring partisan detachment. On the way, Pilar tells how the revolution began in a small Spanish town, in their homeland with Pablo, and how the people dealt with the local fascists there. People stood in two lines - one opposite the other, picked up flails and clubs and drove the Nazis through the ranks. This was done on purpose: so that everyone would bear their share of responsibility. Everyone was beaten to death - even those who were reputed to be a good person - and then thrown off a cliff into a river. Everyone died differently: some accepted death with dignity, and some whined and asked for mercy. The priest was killed right during the prayer. Yes, apparently, God was abolished in Spain, sighs Pilar, because if he were, would he allow this fratricidal war? Now there is no one to forgive people - after all, there is neither God, nor the Son of God, nor the Holy Spirit.

Pilar's story awakens his own thoughts and memories in Robert Jordan. There is nothing surprising in the fact that he is now fighting in Spain. His profession (he teaches Spanish at the university) and service are connected with Spain; he had often been here before the war, he loves the people of Spain, and he is not at all indifferent to how the fate of this people will turn out. Jordan is not red, but one should not expect good from the Nazis. So we need to win this war. And then he will write a book about everything, and then he will finally be freed from the horror that accompanies any war.

Hemingway Ernest Miller
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"

American Robert Jordan, voluntarily participating in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans, receives a task from the center - to blow up the bridge before the offensive. A few days before the offensive, he must spend at the location of the partisan detachment of a certain Pablo. They say about Pablo that at the beginning of the war he was very brave and killed more Nazis than the bubonic plague, and then he got rich and now he would gladly retire. Pablo refuses to participate in this

A case that promises only trouble for the detachment, but Jordan is unexpectedly supported by the fifty-year-old Pilar, the wife of Pablo, who enjoys immeasurably more respect among the partisans than her husband. Whoever seeks security loses everything, she says. She is unanimously elected commander of the detachment.
Pilar is an ardent republican, she is devoted to the cause of the people and will never turn off the chosen path. This strong, wise woman has many talents, she also has the gift of clairvoyance: on the very first evening, looking at Robert's hand, she realized that he was completing his life. And then I saw that between Robert and the girl Maria, who had joined the detachment after the Nazis killed her parents, and she herself was raped, a bright, rare feeling flared up. She does not interfere with the development of their love relationship, and knowing how little time is left, she herself pushes them towards each other. All the time that Maria spent with the detachment, Pilar gradually healed her soul, and now the wise Spaniard understands: only pure, true love will heal the girl. On the first night, Maria comes to Robert.
The next day, Robert, instructing the old man Anselmo to watch the road, and Rafael to watch the change of sentries at the bridge, goes with Pilar and Maria to El Sordo, the commander of a neighboring partisan detachment. On the way, Pilar tells how the revolution began in a small Spanish town, in their homeland with Pablo, and how the people dealt with the local fascists there. People stood in two lines - one opposite the other, picked up flails and clubs and drove the Nazis through the ranks. This was done on purpose: so that everyone would bear their share of responsibility. Everyone was beaten to death - even those who were reputed to be good people - and then thrown off a cliff into a river. Everyone died differently: some accepted death with dignity, and some whined and asked for mercy. The priest was killed right during the prayer. Yes, apparently, God was abolished in Spain, sighs Pilar, because if he were, would he allow this fratricidal war? Now there is no one to forgive people - after all, there is neither God, nor the Son of God, nor the Holy Spirit.
Pilar's story awakens his own thoughts and memories in Robert Jordan. There is nothing surprising in the fact that he is now fighting in Spain. His profession (he teaches Spanish at the university) and service are connected with Spain; he had often been here before the war, he loves the people of Spain, and he is not at all indifferent to how the fate of this people will turn out. Jordan is not red, but one should not expect good from the Nazis. So we need to win this war. And then he will write a book about everything, and then he will finally be freed from the horror that accompanies any war.
Robert Jordan suggests that in preparation for the explosion of the bridge, he may die: there are too few people at his disposal - Pablo has seven and El Sordo has the same number, and there are plenty of things to do: it is necessary to remove posts, cover the road, etc. to happen that it was here that he met his first true love. Maybe that's all he can take from life? Or is it generally his whole life and instead of seventy years it will last seventy hours? Three days. However, there is nothing to grieve here: in seventy hours you can live a fuller life than in seventy years.
When Robert Jordan, Pilar and Maria, having received El Sordo's consent to get the horses and take part in the operation, return to the camp, it suddenly begins to snow. It brings down and brings down, and this phenomenon, unusual for the end of May, can ruin the whole thing. In addition, Pablo drinks all the time, and Jordan is afraid that this unreliable person can do great harm.
El Sordo got, as promised, horses in case of retreat after sabotage, but because of the snow that had fallen, the fascist patrol notices traces of partisans and horses leading to the El Sordo camp. Jordan and the fighters from Pablo's detachment hear the echoes of the battle, but they cannot intervene: then the whole operation, so necessary for a successful offensive, may fail. The entire El Sordo detachment perishes, the fascist lieutenant, bypassing the hill strewn with the corpses of partisans and soldiers, crosses himself with the cross and mentally pronounces what can often be heard in the republican camp: what a vile thing is war!
The failures don't end there. On the night before the offensive, Pablo escapes from the camp, taking with him a box with a fuse and beakford skins - things important for sabotage. You can also manage without them, but it is more difficult, and there is more risk.
Old Anselmo reports to Jordan about the movements on the road: the Nazis are pulling up equipment. Jordan writes a detailed report to the front commander, General Goltz, informing him that the enemy clearly knows about the upcoming offensive: what Goltz was counting on - surprise, will not work now. The package to Goltz agrees to deliver the partisans to Andrea. If he had time to deliver the report before dawn, Jordan had no doubt that the offensive would be postponed, and with it the date of the bridge explosion. But for now, we need to prepare.
On the last night, lying next to Maria, Robert Jordan, as it were, sums up his life and comes to the conclusion that it was not lived in vain. He is not afraid of death, only the thought scares him: what if he does not fulfill his duty properly. Jordan remembers his grandfather - he also participated in the Civil War, only in America - in the war between the North and the South. It must have been just as scary as this one. And apparently, Anselmo is right when he says that those who fight on the side of the fascists are not fascists, but the same poor people as the people in the republican detachments. But it’s better not to think about all this, otherwise the anger will disappear, and without it you won’t be able to complete the task.
The next morning, Pablo unexpectedly returns to the detachment, he brought people and horses with him. Throwing Jordan's detonator into the abyss under a hot hand, he soon felt remorse and realized that he simply was not able to remain alone and safe when his former comrades fought. Then he developed a frantic activity, all night collecting volunteers from the neighborhood for an action against the Nazis.
Not knowing whether Andres got the report to Goltz or not, Jordan and the partisans take off and move through the gorge to the river. It was decided to leave Maria with the horses, and to take care of the rest - in the event of an offensive - to each his own business. Jordan and old Anselmo go down to the bridge and take off the guards. An American sets up dynamite at the poles. Now, whether the bridge will be blown up depends only on whether the offensive starts or not.
Meanwhile, Andres can't get through to Goltz. After overcoming initial difficulties in crossing the front line, when he was almost blown up by a grenade, Andres is stuck at the very last stage: he is detained by the chief commissar of the International Brigades. War changes not only people like Pablo. The commissar has recently become very suspicious, he hopes that he will be able, by detaining this man from the fascist rear, to convict Goltz of having links with the enemy.
When Andres finally miraculously reaches Goltz, it is already too late: the offensive cannot be canceled.
The bridge has been blown up. The explosion kills old Anselmo. Those who survived are in a hurry to retreat. During the retreat, a projectile explodes next to Jordan's horse, which falls and crushes the rider. Jordan has a broken leg and realizes that he cannot ride with the others. The main thing for him is to convince Mary to leave him. After what they had, Jordan tells the girl, they will always be together. She will take him with her. Wherever she goes, he will always be with her. If she leaves, he leaves too - so she will save him.
Left alone, Jordan freezes in front of a machine gun, leaning against a tree trunk. The world is a good place, he thinks, worth fighting for. You have to kill if you need to - just don't love killing. And now he will try to end his life well - to detain the enemy here, at least to kill the officer. It can solve a lot.
And then an officer of the enemy army leaves the clearing.

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American Robert Jordan, voluntarily participating in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans, receives a task from the center - to blow up the bridge before the offensive. A few days before the offensive, he must spend at the location of the partisan detachment of a certain Pablo. They say about Pablo that at the beginning of the war he was very brave and killed more Nazis than the bubonic plague, and then he got rich and now he would gladly retire. Pablo refuses to participate in this case, which promises only trouble for the detachment, but Jordan is unexpectedly supported by the fifty-year-old Pilar, Pablo's wife, who enjoys immeasurably more respect among the partisans than her husband. Whoever seeks security loses everything, she says. She is unanimously elected commander of the detachment.

Pilar is an ardent republican, she is devoted to the cause of the people and will never turn off the chosen path. This strong, wise woman hides many talents, she also has the gift of clairvoyance: on the very first evening, looking at Robert's hand, she realized that he was completing his life. And then I saw that between Robert and the girl Maria, who had joined the detachment after the Nazis killed her parents, and she herself was raped, a bright, rare feeling flared up. She does not interfere with the development of their love relationship, and knowing how little time is left, she herself pushes them towards each other. All the time that Maria spent with the detachment, Pilar gradually healed her soul, and now the wise Spaniard understands: only pure, true love will heal the girl. On the first night, Maria comes to Robert.

The next day, Robert, instructing the old man Anselmo to watch the road, and Rafael to watch the change of sentries at the bridge, goes with Pilar and Maria to El Sordo, the commander of a neighboring partisan detachment. On the way, Pilar tells how the revolution began in a small Spanish town, in their homeland with Pablo, and how the people dealt with the local fascists there. People stood in two lines - one opposite the other, picked up flails and clubs and drove the Nazis through the ranks. This was done on purpose: so that everyone would bear their share of responsibility. Everyone was beaten to death - even those who were known as good people - and then thrown off a cliff into a river. Everyone died differently: some accepted death with dignity, and some whined and asked for mercy. The priest was killed right during the prayer. Yes, apparently, God was abolished in Spain, sighs Pilar, because if he were, would he allow this fratricidal war? Now there is no one to forgive people - after all, there is neither God, nor the Son of God, nor the Holy Spirit.

Pilar's story awakens his own thoughts and memories in Robert Jordan. There is nothing surprising in the fact that he is now fighting in Spain. His profession (he teaches Spanish at the university) and service are connected with Spain; he had often been here before the war, he loves the people of Spain, and he is not at all indifferent to how the fate of this people will turn out. Jordan is not red, but one should not expect good from the Nazis. So we need to win this war. And then he will write a book about everything, and then he will finally be freed from the horror that accompanies any war.

Robert Jordan suggests that in preparation for the explosion of the bridge, he may die: there are too few people at his disposal - Pablo has seven and El Sordo has the same number, and there are plenty of things to do: it is necessary to remove posts, cover the road, etc. to happen that it was here that he met his first true love. Maybe that's all he can take from life? Or is it generally his whole life and instead of seventy years it will last seventy hours? Three days. However, there is nothing to grieve here: in seventy hours you can live a fuller life than in seventy years.

When Robert Jordan, Pilar and Maria, having received El Sordo's consent to get the horses and take part in the operation, return to the camp, it suddenly begins to snow. It brings down and brings down, and this phenomenon, unusual for the end of May, can ruin the whole thing. In addition, Pablo drinks all the time, and Jordan is afraid that this unreliable person can do great harm.

El Sordo got, as promised, horses in case of retreat after sabotage, but because of the snow that had fallen, the fascist patrol notices traces of partisans and horses leading to the El Sordo camp. Jordan and the fighters from Pablo's detachment hear the echoes of the battle, but they cannot intervene: then the whole operation, so necessary for a successful offensive, may fail. The entire El Sordo detachment perishes, the fascist lieutenant, bypassing the hill strewn with the corpses of partisans and soldiers, crosses himself with the cross and mentally pronounces what can often be heard in the republican camp: what a vile thing is war!

The failures don't end there. On the night before the attack, Pablo escapes from the camp, taking with him a box with a fuse and a fuse cord - things important for sabotage. You can also manage without them, but it is more difficult, and there is more risk.

Old Anselmo reports to Jordan about the movements on the road: the Nazis are pulling up equipment. Jordan writes a detailed report to the front commander, General Goltz, informing him that the enemy clearly knows about the upcoming offensive: what Goltz was counting on - surprise, will not work now. Andres agrees to deliver the package to Goltz. If he had time to deliver the report before dawn, Jordan had no doubt that the offensive would be postponed, and with it the date of the blowing of the bridge. But while you're getting ready...

On the last night, lying next to Maria, Robert Jordan, as it were, sums up his life and comes to the conclusion that it was not lived in vain. He is not afraid of death, only the thought scares him: what if he does not fulfill his duty properly. Jordan remembers his grandfather - he also participated in the Civil War, only in America - in the war between the North and the South. It must have been just as scary as this one. And apparently, Anselmo is right when he says that those who fight on the side of the fascists are not fascists, but the same poor people as the people in the republican detachments. But it’s better not to think about all this, otherwise the anger will disappear, and without it you won’t be able to complete the task.

The next morning, Pablo unexpectedly returns to the detachment, he brought people and horses with him. Throwing Jordan's detonator into the abyss under a hot hand, he soon felt remorse and realized that he simply was not able to remain alone and safe when his former comrades fought. Then he developed a frantic activity, all night collecting volunteers from the neighborhood for an action against the Nazis.

Not knowing whether Andres got the report to Goltz or not, Jordan and the partisans take off and move through the gorge to the river. It was decided to leave Maria with the horses, and to take care of the rest - in the event of an offensive - to each his own business. Jordan and old Anselmo go down to the bridge and take off the guards. An American sets up dynamite at the poles. Now, whether the bridge will be blown up depends only on whether the offensive starts or not.

Meanwhile, Andres can't get through to Goltz. After overcoming initial difficulties in crossing the front line, when he was almost blown up by a grenade, Andres is stuck at the very last stage: he is detained by the chief commissar of the International Brigades. War changes not only people like Pablo. The commissar has recently become very suspicious, he hopes that he will be able, by detaining this man from the fascist rear, to convict Goltz of having links with the enemy.

When Andres finally miraculously reaches Goltz, it is already too late: the offensive cannot be canceled.

The bridge has been blown up. The explosion kills old Anselmo. Those who survived are in a hurry to retreat. During the retreat, a projectile explodes next to Jordan's horse, which falls and crushes the rider. Jordan has a broken leg and realizes that he cannot ride with the others. The main thing for him is to convince Mary to leave him. After what they had, Jordan tells the girl, they will always be together. She will take him with her. Wherever she goes, he will always be with her. If she leaves, he leaves too - so she will save him.

Left alone, Jordan freezes in front of a machine gun, leaning against a tree trunk. The world is a good place, he thinks, worth fighting for. You have to kill if you need to - just don't love killing. And now he will try to end his life well - to detain the enemy here, at least to kill the officer. It can solve a lot.

And then an officer of the enemy army leaves the clearing ...

Option 2

An American by birth, Robert Jordan, participates in the war in Spain. He fights on the side of the Republicans, where he receives an order to blow up the bridge before the offensive. He enters the partisan detachment, subordinate to Pablo. But he does not want to blow up the bridge. And a middle-aged woman, Pilar, comes to Robert's aid. She agrees with the soldier's proposal, and she is elected commander of the detachment.

This woman was an ardent Republican. She chose this path, and does not want to turn off it. She had many talents, one of which was clairvoyance. Looking at Robert's hand, the woman realized that he did not have long to live.

In the same detachment, Robert meets his love. It was the girl Maria. A mutual feeling flares up between them, and Pilar does not interfere with them. She remembers how the girl joined the detachment, having lost her relatives. On the first night, the young people were left alone. The next morning, Robert instructs Anselmo to look after the road, and he goes to a neighboring detachment, along with Pilar. On the way, she tells him about the beginning of this war. Robert is flooded with memories of his own. Before the war, he was a teacher and taught Spanish. He often visited this country, whose people fell in love. Now he wants to drive the fascists away so that peace can be restored again.

He feels that he may die during this operation, but he does not regret anything. After all, here, Robert met his love. And he wants to live a few hours with his beloved than a lifetime without her.

The commander of the neighboring detachment, as promised, got everything necessary for the operation. But the fallen snow brought the Nazis to them. The battle began, and all the fighters of the neighboring detachment died. One fascist soldier, bypassing the mountains of corpses, signed himself with a cross, and said that war is a vile thing.

And the team continued to fail. Anselmo escaped, and took with him ammunition for the operation. Jordan writes a letter to the commander-in-chief that the fascists are aware of the offensive and advises to postpone it. He sends with a report one partisan from the detachment, relying that the offensive will be stopped for a while.

By the time Anders got to the commander, it was already too late. The attack will start according to plan. Blow up the bridge. Anselmo, who has returned, dies in the explosion. The squad departs. In doing so, Jordan breaks his leg. He asks Maria to leave with the detachment. For him now the most important thing is to convince Maria to leave. He promises to return, and Maria leaves. Jordan is left lying in wait. He wants to delay the enemy, because he understands that life is over. And here, an enemy officer enters the clearing ...

Essay on literature on the topic: Summary For whom the bell tolls Hemingway

Other writings:

  1. Unfortunately, acute inconsistency was also characteristic of Hemingway. It expressed itself with tragic force in the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). This is a moving story about how the American Jordan is swallowed up by the Spanish guerrillas to blow up a bridge of strategic importance. The explosion of the bridge depends on Read More ......
  2. Robert Jordan Description of the literary hero Robert Jordan is the hero of E. Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940). R. D. is a generalized image of Hemingway's lyric-biographical prose, the result of the development of the images of Nick Adams (“In Our Time”, 1925), Jake Barnes Read More ......
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  4. Sunken bell Mountain lawn with a small hut under an overhanging rock. At the edge of the well sits the young Rauthendelein, a creature of the fairy world, combing her thick reddish-golden hair. Leaning over the edge of the log house, she calls the Vodyanoy. She is bored, Wittich's grandmother went into the forest, Read More ......
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  6. Goodbye Arms 1915-1918 Italian-Austrian front. American Frederick Henry is a lieutenant in the medical troops of the Italian army (Italian - because the United States has not yet entered the war, and Henry volunteered). Before the offensive in the town on Plavna, where the sanitary units are stationed - Read More ......
  7. The Old Man and the Sea “The old man was fishing all alone in his boat in the Gulf Stream. For eighty-four days he had been sailing in the sea and had not caught a single fish. For the first forty days he had a boy with him. But day after day did not bring Read More ......
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Summary For Whom the Bell Tolls Hemingway

The unusual title of the novel goes back to the preaching of John Donne, who lived in the 17th century. Donn was an English priest. In his spare time he wrote poetry. Hemingway used an excerpt from the priest's sermon as an epigraph for his work. The novel was published in 1940. The writer admitted that when creating the image of Mary, he imagined Ingrid Bergman. A few years later, the famous actress really played the role of a partisan in the film of the same name.

The action takes place in Spain in 1937. American Robert Jordan, a fighter of the International Brigades, arrives in the rear of the Francoists. Jordan is accepted into Pablo's guerrilla unit. It is known about the leader of the detachment that at the beginning of the war he managed to exterminate a huge number of fascists. Pablo was able to get rich. He dreams of retiring as soon as possible.

Jordan, being a specialist in demolition, arrived in the detachment with a special task: to blow up the bridge. This is the only way to block the Francoist reinforcements from reaching Segovia. Pablo is sure that the operation will only bring trouble to the detachment and refuses to participate in undermining the bridge. The American is unexpectedly supported by Pilar, Pablo's wife. This already elderly woman enjoys considerable respect among the partisans. Pilar claims that everything can be lost in the search for safety. The partisans chose Pablo's wife as the commander of their unit.

The American falls in love with Mary. The Nazis abused the girl, and her parents were killed. Left without a family, Maria decided to join the partisans. The romance between Jordan and the Spanish girl develops very quickly. Already on the first night of Robert's stay in the detachment, Maria comes to him.

Part of the novel is devoted to Pilar's story about the beginning of the revolution in her hometown, as well as the protagonist's thoughts about his past and present. Jordan had a lot to do with Spain. He is glad that he will help the Spanish people and that he has finally met his true love. However, Robert is afraid that he might die during the blowing up of the bridge. But it's not death itself that scares him. Jordan wants to live in order to have time to enjoy the love that fate sent him. In the end, the main character comes to the conclusion that it is much better to live a short but eventful life than a long but boring life.

Jordan, Pilar and Maria go to El Sordo, the commander of another partisan unit, to ask for his help. It suddenly snowed. Snowfall at the end of May is a rather unusual phenomenon. Robert fears that a change in the weather could derail the upcoming operation. In addition, he is worried about Pablo, who is constantly drunk. Cooperation with an unreliable person can end badly. The situation is complicated by the fact that the El Sordo detachment was forced to engage in battle with the Nazis. All partisans were killed.

Jordan didn't trust Pablo for nothing. The former commander of the detachment secretly left his comrades, taking with him some items necessary for the explosion. Sabotage, however, can be organized without them, but the operation will be more dangerous. Pablo returned on the day the explosion was scheduled for. He claims to have repented and realized his betrayal. Pablo managed to gather a detachment of volunteers to help the partisans.

Robert still managed to blow up the bridge. He did not die, as expected, but by a tragic accident he broke his leg. Now Jordan could not retreat with his comrades in arms. Maria does not want to leave him. But the main character persuades the girl to leave. The novel ends with Robert lying alone under a tree. He wants to end his life with dignity. Jordan is waiting for the enemy squad to open fire on him.

Character characteristics

Robert Jordan and Pilar deserve the attention of the reader more than other characters. They are not opposed, but they are not similar to each other.

Pilar is dedicated to her work. She is a Republican by conviction and will never give up the path she has chosen. Like many gypsies, Pilar has the mystical gift of clairvoyance. The gypsy, having examined Robert's palms, predicts his imminent death. Noticing that Jordan and Maria are imbued with mutual sympathy, Pilar pushes them towards each other. Robert does not have long, he must get everything from life, and for a girl, love can be a real healing. For Maria, the gypsy becomes a real mother. After the death of her parents, Pilar was the only person who could console Maria.

Despite her prophetic gift, the gypsy expresses atheistic ideas that God obviously does not exist. If it existed, it would not allow bloodshed and cruelty. Pilar is distinguished by a patriotism uncharacteristic of gypsies. She is attached to her country and wants to devote her life to the struggle for the happiness of her compatriots.

Robert Jordan

Robert could not remain aloof from the tragedy experienced by the Spanish people. He has a lot to do with Spain, he often visited here before the start of the war. At home, Robert teaches Spanish at the university. Jordan is not politically inclined. He is on the side of the people, not the government. The war must be won, says Robert. And when it's over, he'll write a book about his adventures in Spain.

Heroic deed

The main character is not afraid of death. He believes that he did not live his life in vain. His only desire is to fulfill his last duty, to delay the enemy and enable the partisan detachment to escape persecution.

On the night before the sabotage, Robert remembers his grandfather, who also fought. He participated in the war between the southern and northern states. Failing the operation for Robert means defiling the memory of his grandfather. In the depths of his soul, the main character understands that the same simple poor people are fighting on the side of the Nazis, like those among whom he was. But Robert is trying to drive away these thoughts from himself, so as not to feel sorry for the "enemy".

Be sure to read the story by Ernest Hemingway, for which the author received the Nobel Prize. This is a book about life and the struggle for one's place in the sun.

In the next article, we will consider a novel in which the author, participating in the First World War, declares its senselessness and unjustification.

Robert Jordan can be considered a fatalist. He received a prophecy from a gypsy woman and resigned himself to it in advance. Jordan didn't die in the explosion. A fracture is not a reason to prepare for death. The main character could be taken care of by his new friends. However, Robert decides to submit. The author sympathizes with the main character. That is why the ending of the novel remains open. The possible death of Jordan turned out to be “behind the scenes”, and the reader had a hope that the brave honest man still survived.

One of the main purposes of the novel is to make the reader think about the essence of war or revolution. Civil war is a very special armed conflict. When an enemy comes from another country, no one questions whether it is necessary to destroy it. Certainly, it is necessary. People must unite and get rid of the invader by common forces. However, when citizens of one state consider each other's enemies, many may have a question about the justice of such hostility.

Gypsy Pilar notes that violence comes not only from the fascists, but also from the Republicans. Constant bloodshed turns even fighters for the good of the oppressed into monsters. But on the other hand, war does not instill cruelty in a person. It only awakens what was already in him. At the same time, war is also not capable of depriving people of their best qualities.

The most important and fair thoughts are expressed by Jordan himself at the end of the novel. He has a few free minutes left. Perhaps in a quarter of an hour he would not be alive. But there are no regrets. Robert believes that the world, in spite of everything, is a beautiful, amazing place. There is not only violence and cruelty in it, but also love, for which it is worth living and dying. Jordan is confident that killing is justified if the world is to be protected. The only thing not to do is to love killing, to enjoy violence.

For whom the Bell Tolls

American Robert Jordan, voluntarily participating in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republicans, receives a task from the center - to blow up the bridge before the offensive. A few days before the offensive, he must spend at the location of the partisan detachment of a certain Pablo. They say about Pablo that at the beginning of the war he was very brave and killed more Nazis than the bubonic plague, and then he got rich and now he would gladly retire. Pablo refuses to participate in this case, which promises only trouble for the detachment, but Jordan is unexpectedly supported by the fifty-year-old Pilar, Pablo's wife, who enjoys immeasurably more respect among the partisans than her husband. Whoever seeks security loses everything, she says. She is unanimously elected commander of the detachment.

Pilar is an ardent republican, she is devoted to the people's cause and will never turn off the chosen path. This strong, wise woman hides many talents, she also has the gift of clairvoyance: on the very first evening, looking at Robert's hand, she realized that he was completing his life. And then I saw that between Robert and the girl Maria, who had joined the detachment after the Nazis killed her parents, and she herself was raped, a bright, rare feeling flared up. She does not interfere with the development of their love relationship, and knowing how little time is left, she herself pushes them towards each other. All the time that Maria spent with the detachment, Pilar gradually healed her soul, and now the wise Spaniard understands: only pure, true love will heal the girl. On the first night, Maria comes to Robert.

The next day, Robert, instructing the old man Anselmo to watch the road, and Rafael to watch the change of sentries at the bridge, goes with Pilar and Maria to El Sordo, the commander of a neighboring partisan detachment. On the way, Pilar tells how the revolution began in a small Spanish town, in their homeland with Pablo, and how the people dealt with the local fascists there. People stood in two lines - one opposite the other, picked up flails and clubs and drove the Nazis through the ranks. This was done on purpose: so that everyone would bear their share of responsibility. Everyone was beaten to death - even those who were reputed to be a good person - and then thrown off a cliff into a river. Everyone died differently: some accepted death with dignity, and some whined and asked for mercy. The priest was killed right during the prayer. Yes, apparently, God was abolished in Spain, sighs Pilar, because if he were, would he allow this fratricidal war? Now there is no one to forgive people - after all, there is neither God, nor the Son of God, nor the Holy Spirit.

Pilar's story awakens his own thoughts and memories in Robert Jordan. There is nothing surprising in the fact that he is now fighting in Spain. His profession (he teaches Spanish at the university) and service are connected with Spain; he had often been here before the war, he loves the people of Spain, and he is not at all indifferent to how the fate of this people will turn out. Jordan is not red, but one should not expect good from the Nazis. So we need to win this war. And then he will write a book about everything, and then he will finally be freed from the horror that accompanies any war.

Robert Jordan suggests that in preparation for the explosion of the bridge, he may die: there are too few people at his disposal - Pablo has seven and El Sordo has the same number, but there are plenty of things to do: you need to remove posts, cover the road, etc. to happen that it was here that he met his first true love. Maybe that's all he can take from life? Or is it generally his whole life and instead of seventy years it will last seventy hours? Three days. However, there is nothing to grieve here: in seventy hours you can live a fuller life than in seventy years.

When Robert Jordan, Pilar and Maria, having received El Sordo's consent to get the horses and take part in the operation, return to the camp, it suddenly begins to snow. It brings down and brings down, and this phenomenon, unusual for the end of May, can ruin the whole thing. In addition, Pablo drinks all the time, and Jordan is afraid that this unreliable person can do great harm.

El Sordo got, as promised, horses in case of retreat after sabotage, but because of the snow that had fallen, the fascist patrol notices traces of partisans and horses leading to the El Sordo camp. Jordan and the fighters from Pablo's detachment hear the echoes of the battle, but they cannot intervene: then the whole operation, so necessary for a successful offensive, may fail. The entire El Sordo detachment perishes, the fascist lieutenant, bypassing the hill strewn with the corpses of partisans and soldiers, crosses himself with the cross and mentally pronounces what can often be heard in the republican camp: what a vile thing is war!

The failures don't end there. On the night before the attack, Pablo escapes from the camp, taking with him a box with a fuse and bik fords of skins - things important for sabotage. You can also manage without them, but it is more difficult, and there is more risk.

Old Anselmo reports to Jordan about the movements on the road: the Nazis are pulling up equipment. Jordan writes a detailed report to the front commander, General Goltz, informing him that the enemy clearly knows about the upcoming offensive: what Goltz was counting on - surprise, will not work now. The package to Goltz agrees to deliver the partisans to Andrea. If he had time to deliver the report before dawn, Jordan had no doubt that the offensive would be postponed, and with it the date of the blowing of the bridge. But while you're getting ready...

On the last night, lying next to Maria, Robert Jordan, as it were, sums up his life and comes to the conclusion that it was not lived in vain. He is not afraid of death, only the thought scares him: what if he does not fulfill his duty properly. Jordan remembers his grandfather - he also participated in the Civil War, only in America - in the war between the North and the South. It must have been just as scary as this one. And apparently, Anselmo is right when he says that those who fight on the side of the fascists are not fascists, but the same poor people as the people in the republican detachments. But it’s better not to think about all this, otherwise the anger will disappear, and without it you won’t be able to complete the task.

The next morning, Pablo unexpectedly returns to the detachment, he brought people and horses with him. Throwing Jordan's detonator into the abyss under a hot hand, he soon felt remorse and realized that he simply was not able to remain alone and safe when his former comrades fought. Then he developed a frantic activity, all night collecting volunteers from the neighborhood for an action against the Nazis.

Not knowing whether Andres got the report to Goltz or not, Jordan and the partisans take off and move through the gorge to the river. It was decided to leave Maria with the horses, and to take care of the rest - in the event of an offensive - to each his own business. Jordan and old Anselmo go down to the bridge and take off the guards. An American sets up dynamite at the poles. Now, whether the bridge will be blown up depends only on whether the offensive starts or not.

Meanwhile, Andres can't get through to Goltz. After overcoming initial difficulties in crossing the front line, when he was almost blown up by a grenade, Andres is stuck at the very last stage: he is detained by the chief commissar of the International Brigades. War changes not only people like Pablo. The commissar has recently become very suspicious, he hopes that he will be able, by detaining this man from the fascist rear, to convict Goltz of having links with the enemy.

When Andres finally miraculously reaches Goltz, it is already too late: the offensive cannot be canceled.

The bridge has been blown up. The explosion kills old Anselmo. Those who survived are in a hurry to retreat. During the retreat, a projectile explodes next to Jordan's horse, which falls and crushes the rider. Jordan has a broken leg and realizes that he cannot ride with the others. The main thing for him is to convince Mary to leave him. After what they had, Jordan tells the girl, they will always be together. She will take him with her. Wherever she goes, he will always be with her. If she leaves, he leaves too - so she will save him.

Left alone, Jordan freezes in front of a machine gun, leaning against a tree trunk. The world is a good place, he thinks, worth fighting for. You have to kill if you need to - just don't love killing. And now he will try to finish his life well - to detain the enemy here, at least to kill the officer. It can solve a lot.

And then an officer of the enemy army leaves for the clearing ...