For Whom the Bell Tolls
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the ending
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Melissa
(last edited Aug 25, 2016 11:43AM)
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Jul 26, 2007 05:48PM

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so i guess my question is, he ended abruptly, as lives in war do, and so our story ended abruptly. would it have been as poignant if it had ended any other way?




Actually the ending of the book could not have been different. As with everything in life you expect one thing and you get something else. Loved it!



to achieve the completion of the task and Jordan embraces it whole-heartedly. However, upon meeting Maria and the guerilleros he learns much about life. He learns that, as the opening John Donne quote stated: "No man is an island". His, albeit unrealistic romance with Maria, (in my opinion) serves to enlighten Jordan about the value of life. There is much to learned in life and life should be cherished based on the relations between individuals, based on a community of people. This discovery conflicts with Jordan's clear-headed dedication to his blowing a bridge duty. He can't think about Maria and the new-found knowledge that she represents because he has to focus on the task at hand. However at the ending he dies for his community and Maria in order to give them time to escape. The beating motif reflects how he has changed dramatically from the beginning-Jordan is now more a full ending. However his dedication to the cause is not destroyed. Jordan still decides to take out a few fascists so as to aid the war effort however lightly. Another question that can be posed for this ending is: Was blowing up the bridge really worth it after Jordan gained so much insight and knowledge. In my opinion, Jordan couldn't have gained that knowledge without feeling the necessity to gain it because of the impending doom of the bridge. His death in the end ties together Jordan's interior conflicts in a way that could not be made possible otherwise without his death. As such the ending is interesting and a nice contrast to 'Hollywood endings'. I would like seeing how other people thing about this interpretation.




This is probably my favorite comment on this thread.

And WHOLE. And life. And death.

Like Bradley Cooper does in The Silver Linings Playbook

Well said.


Exactly - loving Hemingway is not being afraid to look utter despair in the face.

What I loved was that the book ended exactly as it began: with Robert Jordan on the forest floor, looking down the mountain. Having lived a lifetime in between.


I thought it would end with the bridge's explosion, but it didn't. I also thought Maria would die (though, we don't really know if she gets to Gredos). The reason for this is that I interpreted the scene where the gypsy hunts "two hares that were making love in the snow" as a way to say that both Maria and Robert Jordan (you know, how Robert calls Maria "rabbit", and how they also made love in the snow) would end up being hunted (by the fascists). But it ended a bit differently, perhaps I was just imagining things.
Either way, I thought it was great.

ooohhhhhh

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