We follow the young man from one conflict and battle to the next as his unit trudges onwards to the destruction of a bridge, witnessing the emotional and psychological toll wrought on him by the war.Īt the same time, hope shines through in the form of the beautiful Maria, the object of Jordan’s love and affection… and perhaps the only thing which will keep him going through the hell he is traversing. Robert in particular is attached to an antifascist guerrilla unit in the mountains, and little does he suspect, the road in front of him is about to teach him more about life than most people can forget. The story begins by introducing us to Robert Jordan, a young American enrolled in the International Brigades, which were paramilitary units set up to assist the Popular Front Government during the Spanish War. In 1937 he traveled to Spain in order to cover the war for the North American Newspaper Alliance.Īs a result, three years later he wrote his fictional novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, largely based on what he learned and witnessed on the other side of the ocean. Somewhat overshadowed by the events which followed, it is certainly an event deserving of study and scrutiny, something Ernest Hemingway had the opportunity of doing first-hand. If someone were to ask me about the large wars which began in the 1930s, I would no doubt, like many people, think of the Second World War while completely glossing over a rather large conflict which preceded it by only a year: the Spanish Civil War.
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