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 and Robert Jordan move down the hills and spot the bridge in the distance: it is a steel bridge with a sentry box at each end, positioned across a deep gorge. Jordan studies the bridge and makes sketches of it, noting the points where explosives would be placed to cut the bridge’s supports. Anselmo and Jordan look toward one of the sentry boxes, and Jordan uses his field glasses to look at the sentry’s face and hunt for wires near the box. Jordan asks Anselmo about the other post, which is five hundred meters away, below a turn in the road. Jordan and Anselmo watch the sentry stand up and walk onto the bridge, and both men hide themselves.
The novel is rife with detailed descriptions of war strategies, including Jordan’s plan to explode the bridge: Hemingway portrays war as a kind of science, involving skills and precision, not just courage and audacity.
Themes
Anselmo tells Jordan that there are seven men and a corporal on guard at the bridge. Jordan says that they will go as soon as the sentry is quiet, since they are too close to him; he has seen all that he needed to. Jordan tells Anselmo that the bridge looks good, and they watch the sentry standing at the far end of the bridge, looking up at three monoplanes in the sky. They are Republican planes, Moscas, according to Anselmo, but Jordan decides not to put his glasses on to check; he doesn’t want to take away Anselmo’s happiness. But as they move away from the bridge, Jordan realizes that the plane is a fascist patrol.
From the beginning of the novel, the fascists are a clear, imposing threat for the guerillas, signaling to an ominous future. Nonetheless, the group chooses to continue fighting (some because of false hope, evidenced here by Anselmo’s “happiness”), making the present—and their actions in it—more important than the future.
Themes
Anselmo tells Jordan that he does not like to kill men, and Jordan replies that nobody does, except those who are “disturbed in the head.” However, he does not feel anything against it when it is necessary for the cause. Anselmo tells Jordan about his hunting prowess before the war: he has killed wolves, ibex, eagles, and bears. The paw of a bear that he had killed was nailed to the door of the church in his village, and he felt proud every time he passed the paw; he could never feel any pride about killing a man, though.
Anselmo is in many ways the most principled character in the novel, strongly opposed to and uncomfortable with the idea of killing (though he will obey orders to kill at the end of the novel). Anselmo’s beliefs contrast with those of the fascists, namely the violent, bloodthirsty Lieutenant Mora (introduced later in the novel), as well as those held by Robert Jordan and Pablo, who feel less guilt about committing acts of violence.
Themes
Robert Jordan says that Roma people (“gypsies”) believe the bear to be a brother of man, and “Indians” believe the same. Anselmo tells Jordan that he does not have Roma blood, and that to Roma people, it is a sin to kill outside the tribe. In the war, the Roma have reverted to the bad behavior they practiced during “olden times.” Anselmo admits that he has killed, but never with pleasure, since he believes it is a sin to kill a man. He has lost his faith during the war, but even without God, he believes that killing is wrong. Instead, he would prefer to make his enemies work for the rest of their lives, and sleep and eat where they—the Republicans—sleep and eat so that they can learn. To kill, Anselmo insists, will teach nothing.
Anselmo sees the hypocrisy in the fascists’ behavior, since fascism, though strongly tied to Catholicism in Spain, condones violence and oppression. Anselmo, though, has forfeited his religious beliefs, since they are no longer compatible with a regime of brutality and the necessities of warfare—including killing.
Themes
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Anselmo tells Robert Jordan that he has never been in a battle: the Republicans fought in Segovia at the start of the movement, but they did not understand what they were doing, and the civil guards shot at them like they were rabbits. Jordan thinks that it will not be difficult to destroy the bridge, and he plans to write down the plans or explain them to those in the guerillas who cannot read. Anselmo says he will do anything that he is ordered. Jordan feels that he is very lucky to have Anselmo, though he decides that Golz’s orders are bad orders for those who have to carry them out.
Anselmo’s loyalty to Robert Jordan remains a constant throughout the novel, even when others—notably Pablo—waver. Though he is not experienced in combat, Anselmo understands the importance of trust in warfare, and ultimately, he sacrifices himself for Jordan’s plan, demonstrating true, selfless courage.
Themes
At the same time, Jordan realizes that he and Anselmo are only instruments of duty, and he orders himself to stop worrying and think about something else. As a result, he thinks about Maria and her body; his throat becomes “choky” and suddenly, he finds walking difficult.
Maria continues to recur in Robert Jordan’s thoughts, distracting him from the war even when he intends to concentrate on strategy.
Themes
As Anselmo and Jordan walk through the rocks toward the camp, a man speaks to them: “Halt. Who goes?” Anselmo says that they are comrades of Pablo, and the man asks for the second half of a password, though he has forgotten the first half. He asks to be relieved from his position, since he is hungry and bored. His name is Agustin, and he asks Jordan about the bridge, but Jordan doesn’t reveal anything. Agustin curses at him and says that he wishes to leave the mountains.
Agustin’s conversation with Anselmo and Robert Jordan reveals the true nature of combat, and the difficulty of staying engaged with the Republican cause. As Agustin’s comments suggest, warfare is often boring and exhausting, and the mountains, though an advantageous position for hiding and planning strategy, are isolated—contributing to Agustin’s monotony and disillusionment.
Themes
Anselmo says that Agustin is a good man, though he speaks “very filthily.” He says that they have to guard the explosive, since Pablo is not to be trusted; El Sordo, though, is just as good as Pablo is bad. However, this is Pablo’s country, and there is no use in trying to gather men from other bands, since he knows every move made in the mountains.
The Republican fighters seem to follow a strict dichotomy, in Anselmo’s view: they are either trustworthy (Agustin, El Sordo, Pilar) or not (Rafael, Pablo). In reality, Pablo is just as concerned with the Republicans’ success and safety as the rest of the group is, but he is confused and stubborn about getting his own way, and thus, a more nuanced character than Anselmo’s comments make him out to be.
Themes
