HEMINGWAY PRESENTS THE WAR STRIKEN GENERATION IN FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. DISCUSS

Hemingway’s Nihilism OR LOST GENERATION OR THEME OF WAR

The term nihilism implies the negation of any authority and code at the heat of the universe.
Hemingway has largely been accused of being nihilism. It is said that his heroes have no code
to follow; that they are living on their own, that they are lost in this world thus they are

hopeless and chaotic. A critic remarks: “--

-Again and again, Hemingway was writing of the –

the end of life, the end of love, the end of hope, the end of all”.

But to condemn his writing, by pronouncing nihilism, is to do injustice to him. Though
Hemingway writes of the chaos and desperate situation, yet he provides a hope and code for
life. If he denies the presence of God, heals creates new gods, for his heroes, in the apparent
forms i.e., honour, dignity and struggle. He gives the code of constant and untiring struggle
for life.
In his writings, Hemingway focuses at the lost generation, which emerged in the consequence
of the two highly explosive World Wars. In19th century mankind was enjoying global peace,
economic stability and scientific progress. People were thinking that Man has conquered the
beast in him and has learned to live peacefully. But all these idealistic dreams shattered
away, when the First World War emerged due to this very industrial progress. The men who
entered war with patriotic ideals were stunned at man’s inherent Barbarity when they realized
the horrible uncertainty, pithiness and meaninglessness of life, they were desperately
disillusion with the hollowness and emptiness of the high sounding slogans of religious and
political leaders. Moreover, Darwin’s theory of evolution added fuel to fire and crumbled the
roots of Christianity. It was felt that “God does not exist and man has to face all the
consequences of this”. Hence:

“Man is forlorn; because neither within him nor without does

her find anything to ding to”.

Hemingway captures all this nothingness and forlornness in his stories. His heroes represent
the lost generation. They are usually expatriates, disillusioned with war. They have utterly
disappointed with the nothingness of life and seeks refuge in drinking, sex, wandering.
Hemingway depicts his heroes at war, sometimes physically but most often metaphorically.
Then, within the course of their war, they get the code is of unending struggle regardless of
victory or defeat.
His hero in “The Old Man and the Sea”, Santiago says: “Pain does not matter to a man”. Then:
“Man is not made for defeat”. And finally, he says: “A man can be destroyed but not defeated”.
In “The Sun also rises”, there is a massage of hope: “A man can live only through the manly
encounter against death”.
Robert Jordan in the “For Whom the Bell tolls”, is confused about his aims. He is disillusioned
with war; he loves humanity and wants peace. But to establish peace, he has to fight against
the evil. He is not certain about the usefulness of his action, though takes refuge in Maria’s
arms, yet he resolves to continue his task. He says:

 “You can do nothing for yourself but

perhaps you can do something for another”.

It is an understanding assumption of Hemingway’s philosophy that there is no world beyond
the grave. Therefore, one’s victories and losses are to be measured in terms of this world
and not in the world beyond the grave. Life is tragic, sad and there is no escape from pain,
therefore, it is useless to try to escape the inevitable. Hence what one can do is to be a man.
When man is afflicted with misery pain or sorrow or even death, the proper way to face it is
to remain true to oneself and one’s companions, to endure pain and must fight like Santiago
against the heavy odds. To give up a fight would be unmanly. One must achieve moral victory
even though he has nothing to win. Robert Jordan has to remain undefeated, to prove his
moral victory. He fights not only for the sake of Spanish freedom, but also for the fulfilment
of his moral duty and his reward is the consciousness and his satisfaction in the duty done.
This constant struggle and absoluteness of duty is something, which one can cling to in the
present times. Hence, Hemingway should not be pronounced as nihilism, prevailed in his time,
and presents the solution of it rather he gives the faith of constant struggle and a moral
victory to his readers. Thus the outlook or the background of his novels is nihilism but the
message of his novels is the message of hope and confidence.

Hemingway’s Message : 

Man Can Be Destroyed but Not Defeated

Hemingway was considered to be a man more than life. He thrived to reduce the life than its
gigantic stature. He wanted to explore more and more about the gravities of life. He had seen
both pre-war and post war situations. He had deeply observed the change in the attitude of
people, towards life and their scattered dreams and desires. Thus, he sought to give message
to the post war generation –the message of struggle for life. He taught them that man can live
only through the manly encounter against death and miseries.

Nineteenth century was the period of the boon of humanity. There was industrial rise and
scientific progress. Mankind was enjoying global peace and stability. Man was thinking that
he had conquered the beast in him and had learnt to live peacefully. But them, this wide
spread scientific progress brought two most destructive and fierce worldwide wars. With the
advent of these wars, all the thoughts and dreams of a peaceful and progressive future
shattered. People look refuge in sensual pleasure i.e. drinking, free sex and wandering and
avoided thinking. These people, after the wide spread devastation of wars, were pronounced
as the Lost Generation.
Hemingway writes his stories, to guide his lost generation. They are expatriates, confused
and frustrated beings, indulged in drinking, gambling and sexual pleasures. Hemingway wants
to give them a code of life, higher than any ethical code. This is a code of “constant
struggle”.
Hemingway creates a microcosm of the post war scenario in this story and delineates his
characters, very close to real men, with their tensions and conflicts. Almost all of his
protagonists are representatives of lost generation. They are all disillusioned with war, but
each experiences this situation differently. Yet one thing is common in all of them that they
have to struggle for life. Henry hates war; at he has to fight for life. Jordan knows that war is
destructive; he wants peace and is aware of the feet that to attain peace, it is necessary to
suppress force, by force.
Hemingway perceives life as a struggle, in which man has no choice except to fight. Santiago
has to go far away, on the sea, to fight with evil, regardless of any loss. Robert Jordan has to
blow up the bridge without considering its usefulness. It also gives a view that duty, must be
done at any cost, and a duty assigned to an individual should be considered special in its way.
Jordan says: “If I have to do what I think, I will have to do; it will be very select indeed”.
Besides fighting with the outer circumstances, Hemingway’s protagonist also fights a battle
of inner self. He knows the worthlessness of his act, yet he fights to prove his courage and
strength by accomplishing that act. Jordan realizes the futility of his act; he also loves life
and feels: “This world is a fine place”. Though life is dear to him, yet dearer than life is the
need to justify his courage, which his father lacked.
Hemingway feels that winner gets nothing in this world. The victory of his protagonist is
never physical but always moral. Santiago, after successfully achieving victory over Marline
loses it during his journey back to home. Jordan successfully blows the bridge, yet, in the
end, his is a loser –loser of his life. All that is achieved in all this exercise is the insight that
one must go on struggling come what may and whatever is the cause. Thought he winner
gets nothing yet he attains moral dignity. Jordan says:

“You can do nothing for yourself but

perhaps you can do something for another”.

Hemingway holds the view that whatever has to be done, has to be done with good grace. He
says in “Old man and The Sea”:

 “Pain does not matter to a man”

Robert Jordan repeatedly wishes for the arrival of Fascists, to the end of the novel, because
of his increasing pain. Yet he does not choose to kill himself. He feels that to die a
courageous death is better than to live, as a coward in owes own eyes. He says: “I wish, they
would come now”. He fights bravely and does not lack courage. He proves:

  “A man is not made for defeat”.

Jordan fights till end and sacrifices his life, for duty. He dies not only for Spain, not only to
save the girl, Maria, whom he loves, but also for his own sake and in fulfilment of a moral

duty. So, his only reward is the consciousness of duty done. Thus he proves that

: “A man can

be destroyed but not defeated”.