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Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Poetry and Language:
In the following passage from Chapter 1, Hemingway includes an allusion referencing Francisco de Quevedo, a writer from Spain's baroque period (early 17th century to 1750s).
The old man turned toward him suddenly and spoke rapidly and furiously in a dialect that Robert Jordan could just follow. It was like reading Quevedo. Anselmo was speaking old Castilian and it went something like this, "Art thou a brute? Yes. Art thou a beast? Yes, many times. Hast thou a brain? Nay. None. Now we come for something of consummate importance and thee, with thy dwelling place to be undisturbed, puts thy fox-hole before the interests of humanity."
Quevedo utilized conceptismo (conceptism) as a primary poetic style. This form of poetry focuses on paradoxically simple language, imbued with multiple possible meanings. Anselmo's speech, following Jordan's observation, has been translated into older-sounding English to imitate the tone and impression of Anselmo's words.
This multiplicity of meanings, conceptismo, plays out on multiple levels in For Whom the Bell Tolls: the moral complexity of war, Jordan's unconfirmed fate, even Hemingway's own use of language. The tone of the novel is one of indecision, marked by questions Jordan poses to the universe that don't necessarily have answers. Utilizing allusion as a device, Hemingway plays with this multi-potentiality within the novel's thematic and syntactic context.
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Explanation and Analysis—Immortality and Happiness:
In Chapter 1, Jordan contemplates the lives of others, ruminating on certain qualities he might like to acquire himself. One such quality is happiness, which Jordan describes using simile:
All the best ones, when you thought it over, were gay. It was much better to be gay and it was a sign of something too. It was like having immortality while you were still alive.
Jordan utilizes simile to characterize "gayness"—meaning happiness, joy, etc.—in this passage. A happy demeanor and outlook on life can change a person in many ways, Jordan observes. In his opinion, a happy affect is akin to immortality. A person who is happy remains content with themselves: content to live in the moment and love their life for what it is, not what it could be.
Hemingway uses this simile to connect Jordan's ruminations to themes of temporality and the concept of eternal endurance in the present. A happy person will live forever, because their contentment does not hinge on some future event. To a certain extent, Jordan experiences this happiness with Maria; and though he is not a fundamentally happy person, he too can find a source of happiness that will keep him grounded in the present moment.
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Chapter 13
Explanation and Analysis—Camera Lens:
In Chapter 13, Jordan uses simile to describe his experiences of love and sexual desire as they pertain to Maria. She is a strong centering force for Jordan, grounding him in the present and allowing him to temporarily escape from the horrors of wartime. Despite this close, kismet relationship, Jordan at times cannot help but let his mind wander to war in her presence:
Because now he was not there. He was walking beside her but his mind was thinking of the problem of the bridge now and it was all clear and hard and sharp as when a camera lens is brought into focus.
In this passage, Jordan transitions from being "present" with Maria to being far away from her, mentally. This transition happens quickly; using simile, Jordan likens it to the focusing of a camera lens. The sharpness of the transition from dialogue to stream-of-consciousness writing mirrors this "camera lens" transition, highlighting the cognitive dissonance at play during wartime.
Despite his many attempts to live in the present and enjoy his life while it lasts, war weighs heavily on Jordan's mind. Hemingway uses both figurative language and stylistic shifts in this passage to convey Jordan's struggle—his inability to live in the moment, despite the necessity that he do so.
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Chapter 18
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:
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.
In this passage, Jordan compares war to a wheel, which rotates only to return to where it started. This is a complex commentary on the cyclical, generational nature of war. Facism and violence are not new concepts at the turn of the 20th century—already, entering into the modernist era, societies around the world had seen the cycle of war repeat itself several times over. Modernism simply optimized the wheel, introducing technologies of mass destruction and alliances spanning the entire globe (note Jordan's reference to the wheel having been around "twice," referring to the first and anticipated second world wars).
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Chapter 43
Explanation and Analysis—Dying Thoughts:
As Jordan approaches death at the end of Chapter 43, he experiences a rush of competing emotions, many contradictory and confused. In the following excerpt, Jordan attempts to muster the courage to commit suicide, fighting against his own survival instincts. Hemingway utilizes figurative language to depict this internal struggle:
Think about Montana. I can't. Think about Madrid. I can't. Think about a cool drink of water. All right. That's what it will be like. Like a cool drink of water. You're a liar. It will just be nothing. That's all it will be. Just nothing. Then do it. Do it. Do it now. It's all right to do it now. Go on and do it now. No, you have to wait. What for? You know all right. Then wait.
Hemingway uses simile in this excerpt from Jordan's internal monologue, during which the man slowly succumbs to his injuries. Jordan compares the act of shooting himself in the head to drinking a "cool drink of water"—a needed relief, but something that cannot yet whet the dry, thirsty mouth of this battle. Note the through lines between this simile and earlier uses of figurative language in the novel, particularly those describing the "hot wind" of conflict. At this point, the "hot wind" of conflict has sufficiently dried out Jordan's mouth; he is tired of fighting, and yet he must push forward.
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