War in Ernest Hemingway’s for Whom the Bell Tolls

Ernest Hemingway’s depiction of war in his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is one without clear ideological or moral imperatives. The story wrestles with themes of wartime and violence, as readers follow Robert Jordan, an American teacher, who volunteers to lead an ill-disciplined band of guerrillas during the Spanish Civil War. This illuminating volume explores themes surrounding war as they relate to Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. A series of essays focus on topics such as the distinction between a war novel and a propaganda novel about war, the war against civilians in Spain, and civil wars being waged in the Middle East today.