Pete Yemc
Period 7
11/10/98

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway is different from other war novels as the theme of it is not necessarily anti-war, but rather it is one of finding oneีs self or the betrayal of a people. This is the predicament that faces me, as I prepare to write three pages of critical analysis on this novel. Initially, prior to reviewing the critical analyses of the critics, I had thought that this novel would lend itself to an analysis of character development. Thus, I steered my note-taking to any situation that affected the protagonist, Robert Jordan. This form of critical analysis appeared to be the easiest for this book because Jordan is thrown into a situation that might be new to him, with people that he has yet to meet. It looked like it was screaming maturation, or finding oneีs self.
However, upon reviewing the critical analyses in Contemporary Literary Criticism, I became enlightened as to another theme that I could write about (Not that others opinions influenced my own). The new view which I was introduced to was For Whom the Bell Tolls as an analogy for the betrayal of the Spanish people by the foreign Fascists and Communists. I have seen evidence of this in the text, and this has intrigued me as to the approach that should be used for critical analysis (not to mention, that I found many more quotes of this topic in the critical analyses).
Thus, I have a choice to make as to which approach is more preferable for myself. I think that I will finish the book not yet knowing what appraoch to take and decide on which one is more preferable after reviewing the norte swhich I have taken. Also, I need to analyize the John Donne poem from which the title of this novel is derived. This poem probably conveys the theme that Ernest Hemingway had meant to convey to the readers. Also, during the group discussion, I learned that the other book which I hope to read, All Quiet on the Western Front, probably relays a charcter development form of analysis. These concepts will be the deciding factors on which form of critical analysis I choose to do for my project (thinking about it now, I thik that I am leaning more towards the charcter development analysis).
Any other details for my analysis are up in the air right now. I have found some useful details and examples of critcal analysis approaches (symbolism, setting, etc.) which could be beneficial to me in my writing. One such example I found in CLC. One critic, Jeffery Meyers, relayed the idea that For Whom the Bell Tolls was symbolic of the situation in the Spanish Civil War. Elements of the story symbolized the supply problems of the war, the constant defections, and the inablity of the Spanish to develop the British and French as allies. I thought that this was rather interesting and useful for the betrayal of the Spanish people approach. However, I am unable to understand the signifigance of this, until I research the historic background of the Spanish Civil War.