Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in For Whom the Bell Tolls, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love in War
Cultural Connections
Violence, Cowardice, and Death
The Eternality of the Present
Summary
Analysis
Anselmo finds Robert Jordan inside the cave with Pablo, and he tells him that there are six dead on the hill, all beheaded. Jordan offers Anselmo some of Sordo’s whiskey, and Anselmo reports that there was movement on the road where he was posted, telling Jordan about the weapons he saw and the number of dead and wounded. Jordan decides to write a dispatch and send Andrés, who Anselmo promises is reliable, to deliver it to General Golz at the Estado Mayor of the Division. Jordan will put a seal on the letter that the Republicans will “honor.” Anselmo leaves to find Andrés.
Robert Jordan decides to try to call off the bridge offensive, since he realizes that the fascists are aware of the guerillas’ location in the mountains, and he begins to think that the plan may not be carried out successfully—that it could be too dangerous to complete.
Themes
Pablo tells Robert Jordan not to be “disheartened” about Sordo’s death. He says that he has been impressed by Jordan’s judgment that day, and that he has confidence in him. Jordan writes his report for Golz, trying to “put it in the fewest words and still make it absolutely convincing”: he wants to call off the operation on the bridge not because of any fears he has about its dangers, but because of what has happened to Sordo. Still, he has to prepare for the eventuality that they will have to carry out the attack.
Even as Jordan prepares for the attack on the bridge to be called off, he realizes that the guerillas may have to go through with the plan, since the message may not reach Golz in time. Additionally, he tells himself that calling off the plan has nothing to do with “fear,” and everything to do with protecting the group—again demonstrating his desire to prioritize others over himself and his own feelings.
Themes
