Book,Report,on,For,Whom,the,Bell,Tolls
發(fā)布時間:2018-07-01 來源: 短文摘抄 點擊:
Abstract:For Whom the Bell Tolls is one of the masterpieces written by Hemingway.I will briefly analyse the infinite possibilities and tremendous power of human nature when confronting with danger or death according to the descriptions of the war and psychological activities in the text.
Key words:human nature;war;analysis
For Whom the Bell Tolls is one of the masterpieces written by Hemingway.The story happens in a mountain behind the fascist lines in Spain,where American soldier called Robert Jordan takes strenuous efforts to undertake a mission of blasting a key bridge with the aid of guerrillas including the guide,Anselmo,Pablo’s wife,Pilar,and other faithful comrades,though they suffer a lot from the defection of the leader guerrilla,Pablo,who stealthily throws the exploder and detonators down the gorge;thus indirectly leading to Anselmo’s death.
First and foremost,the author implies his criticism of inherent wickedness in human nature through Pilar’s recollection of the massacre executed by a large number of peasants at the beginning of the revolution.Pablo successfully attacks the barracks and shots four “civiles”who even “have never killed any one”without mercy (Hemingway,96,94).That is the decent evidence illustrating that there are so many people having died in the war that we seldom know exactly how many of them are genuine fascists who have committed unforgivable crimes.What’s worse,after the triumphant attack,massive peasants are armed with flails which were “used to beat out the grain”to beat these fascists to death and cast their body down the cliffs(Hemingway,97).I deem that by describing the extremely cruel violence from those who have been oppressed for a long time,plus the depiction of the disordered spot which is filled with the odor of alcohol and blood mixed with vomits stench,the author intends to reveal the dark side of human nature that all human beings are inclined to adopt violence and wars to solve problems and conflicts.Besides,I hold the viewpoint that there is always a devil hiding inside human’s mind.Just as presented in the novel,once those who have been oppressed for a long time get freedom and strength,they are much more likely to give full vent to their anger in a violent way for the sake of so-called justice to punish those who have bullied them,yet they never realize it is also an irretrievable mistake on the account of the fact that violence can only intensify conflicts.
At the beginning of the novel,Jordan asks Anselmo whether he has killed anyone or not.The old man answers“Yes.Several times.But not with pleasure.To me it is a sin to kill man.Even Fascists whom we must kill”(Hemingway,38).In addition,he prefers to“make them work each day”as they have been forced to work because“To kill them teaches nothing”(Hemingway,39).Apparently,it demonstrates that even if sometimes we cannot avoid violence,we can never cover the truth that violence and warfare can only create hatred and make it deep-rooted.Moreover,he says“we do not have God here any more”(Hemingway,38),but prays for the Lord’s help again after he witnessed the spot of Sordo’s death.It makes sense that everyone will be weak and helpless and desperate when facing death for no one is born with a tough heart.There will be naturally involuntary fear in the one’s heart of hearts.But the capacity to overcome such fear is distinctive.There may be some people like Don Ricardo who “will never be any more ready”(Hemingway,103)to die for his own belief,while there can also be someone like Don Faustino who cowardly yields and begs to survive.It is by no means uncommon to find someone who can easily give up what he insists when in a moral dilemma yet never easy to find someone who is always adhering to one’s belief no matter what disaster he or she suffers from because it is the human nature that people invariably go after gain and avoid harm.From my standpoint, the sharp contradiction effectively illustrates what the author urges:we should insist on what we really are no matter what we have undergone and take pains to overcome the inborn shortcoming.
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