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Irony
Definition of Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor can be stated explicitly, as... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other. The comparison in a metaphor... read full definition
A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two different things by saying that one thing is the other... read full definition
Key Examples in For Whom the Bell Tolls
Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Movement of the Earth:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 13, Maria Pilar pressures Maria to disclose information to her about Maria and Jordan's sexual encounter. Maria rightfully hesitates, finally choosing to disclose the simple bit of figurative overstatement—"the earth moved":
"Now you will tell me," Pilar told her. "Anything at all. You will see. Now you will tell me."
"The earth moved," Maria said, not looking at the woman. "Truly. It was a thing I cannot tell thee."
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Sex and Time:
In Chapter 13, Jordan and Maria finally make love to one another. The experience is earthshattering for both of them, their kismet connection both concrete and ineffable. Using the only words he can to describe the experience, Jordan attempts an extended metaphor:
Unlock with LitCharts A+For [Jordan] it was a dark passage which led to nowhere, then to nowhere, then again to nowhere, once again to nowhere, always and forever to nowhere, heavy on the elbows in the earth to nowhere, dark, never any end to nowhere, hung on all time always to unknowing nowhere, this time and again for always to nowhere.
Related Themes:
Chapter 18
Explanation and Analysis—Chastity:
In the midst of a flashback in Chapter 18, Jordan recounts his time spent with Karkov in Madrid. During this recollection, Jordan contemplates the ways in which he himself has become complacent in his work, using metaphor to illustrate his thoughts:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But was it corruption or was it merely that you lost the naivete that you started with? Would it not be the same in anything? Who else kept that first chastity of mind about their work that young doctors, young priests, and young soldiers usually started with? The priests certainly kept it, or they got out. I suppose the Nazis keep it, he thought, and the Communists who have a severe enough self-discipline. But look at Karkov.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Dehumanization:
In the following excerpt from Chapter 18, Hemingway presents a conversation between Karkov and Jordan during one of Jordan's many flashbacks. The two men discuss the various moral dimensions of assassination; Karkov, for his part, attempts to make a distinction between cold-blooded murder and the destruction of "tyrants," military generals and admirals who are themselves guilty of great crimes. Karkov uses metaphor to convey his feelings on the subject:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"But I still believe that political assassination can be said to be practised very extensively."
"You mean--"
"I mean nothing. But certainly we execute and destroy such veritable fiends and dregs of humanity and the treacherous dogs of generals and the revolting spectacle of admirals unfaithful to their trust. These are destroyed. They are not assassinated. You see the difference?"
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—The Cycle of War:
Toward the beginning of Chapter 18, Jordan ruminates on war as a concept, presenting several observations to the readers as to how it operates. He introduces the idea of war as a cycle through the use of both extended metaphor and simile:
Unlock with LitCharts A+But [war] is another wheel. This is like a wheel that goes up and around. It has been around twice now. It is a vast wheel, set at an angle, and each time it goes around and then is back to where it starts. One side is higher than the other and the sweep it makes lifts you back and down to where you started. There are no prizes either.
Related Themes:
Chapter 19
Explanation and Analysis—Old Woman:
In Chapter 19, Pilar describes the scent and feel of death on an elderly woman, utilizing metaphor to paint a grim picture for her audience.
Unlock with LitCharts A+When such an old woman comes out of the matadero, holding her shawl around her, with her face gray and her eyes hollow, and the whiskers of age on her chin, and on her cheeks, set in the waxen white of her face as the sprouts grow from the seed of the bean, not bristles, but pale sprouts in the death of her face; put your arms tight around her, Ingles, and hold her to you and kiss her on the mouth and you will know the second part that odor is made of.
Related Themes:
Chapter 20
Explanation and Analysis—United:
In Chapter 20, Jordan and Maria again return to a discussion of their relationship and ineffable connection. Maria uses an apt metaphor to characterize their interactions with one another, again returning to the idea that the two of them are one:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"Afterwards we will be as one animal of the forest and be so close that neither one can tell that one of us is one and not the other. Can you not feel my heart be your heart?"
"Yes. There is no difference."
"Now, feel. I am thee and thou art me and all of one is the other. And I love thee, oh, I love thee so. Are you not truly one? Canst thou not feel it?"
Related Themes:
Chapter 23
Explanation and Analysis—Killing as Sacrament:
In Chapter 23, Jordan reflects on cultural differences between the Americans and the Spanish when it comes to killing. The two cultures take different approaches to the controversial action, Jordan claims. He uses metaphor to illustrate this:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Yes, Robert Jordan thought. We do [killing] coldly but they do not, nor ever have. It is their extra sacrament.
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