I. For Whom the Bell Tolls Robert Jordan's tough guy image is reflected in his heroism and pessimism.
(1) Sublime heroism: As an anti-fascist fighter, according to the aesthetic theory that "heroism refers to the extraordinary ability, courage, perseverance and courage shown by an individual when he acts for a group", first of all, he has the characteristics of heroism in the aesthetic sense.
First of all, Jordan, as a Spanish lecturer in an American university, came to the front line of the Spanish civil war, joined the Spanish "Republic" and the international democratic and progressive forces, and opposed the international fascist forces represented by Franco. Jordan took the initiative to join this just war between democracy and fascism with a clear purpose. "He took part in this war because it happened in the country he loved, because he believed in * * * and China. If * * * and China were destroyed, people who believed in * * * and China could not live." Obviously, Jordan entered the war not only for the sake of the Spanish Republic and the Spanish people, but also for the sake of world democracy, freedom and peace. In this way, Jordan has the essential characteristics of heroism: for the purpose of others and groups, subjective motivation comes from responsibility and obligation.
Secondly, Jordan also showed extraordinary ability, courage, perseverance and courage in his actions: he dared to accept such an arduous task. Although he knew the danger and arduousness of the task, he dared to go deep behind enemy lines alone, win the support of unknown guerrillas, and strive to complete the task of bombing the bridge. In this uncertain situation, it can even be said that it is full of luck, and its courage and courage are admirably highlighted. Jordan, who was injured in the retreat after bombing the bridge, stayed alone to stop the enemy in order to cover his comrades' safe retreat, which also showed his courage and courage.
In the process of carrying out the task, Jordan encountered all kinds of difficulties and obstacles: guerrilla captain Pablo opposed the bombing of the bridge, fascism's knowledge and understanding of the attack plan, the shortage of manpower caused by the sacrifice of the "deaf" group, the inconvenience caused by the bombing of the bridge in the early morning, the difficulty in completing the task caused by Pablo stealing the explosive device, Jordan's acquaintance and love with Maria, and the contradiction between the beautiful vision for a happy life in the future and the action itself. In the face of difficulties and resistance, Jordan showed extraordinary ability and perseverance. While fighting Pablo, he won the support of most guerrillas headed by pilar and won the support of the "deaf" group; Investigate the terrain on the spot, understand the enemy's defense situation, formulate a careful action plan, skillfully deal with the sudden enemy patrol cavalry, decisively consider the overall situation when fighting the deaf group, and decide to save strength; After observing and analyzing the situation, send a letter to suggest canceling the attack; Use grenades to detonate tactfully; I chose to fight for ideals and justice, sacrificing my love with Maria, and finally blew up the bridge at the beginning of the attack and completed the scheduled task (as far as Jordan is concerned). All this shows his extraordinary ability and perseverance.
Thirdly, Jordan has lofty characteristics in aesthetic sense. The sublimity of aesthetics often refers to the greatness and transcendence of human spirit and ideological character. Jordan could have chosen to live a comfortable life in an American university, but he came to Spain and chose the war associated with suffering and death. Although he didn't like his task, he resolutely accepted the almost impossible task-bombing the bridge on time. When his life is coming to an end, his thoughts and thoughts can't help but remind people of Pavel Colta King: "The only regret is that I won't be able to fight." "I have been fighting for the cause I believe in for a year. If we win here, we can win anywhere. This world is a beautiful place, worth fighting for, and I don't want to leave this world. He said to himself, you are very lucky. You have such a wonderful life. " Struggle for ideals and beliefs, never regret, and die without regret, which fully embodies Jordan's spiritual character and style.
In short, judging from his extraordinary ability, perseverance, courage, courage for the purpose of the group and lofty mental outlook, Jordan undoubtedly has lofty heroic qualities.
(2) Strong pessimism: Jordan is a lofty anti-fascist hero, but he is obviously and greatly different from our traditional hero. One of the outstanding manifestations of this difference is his strong pessimistic fatalism. Pessimistic fatalism accompanied Jordan's mission. At the beginning of accepting the task, he made it clear that he did not like it. Before reaching his destination, he was unexpectedly opposed by guerrilla captain Pablo to blow up the bridge. He thought, "It was bad enough at first"; On the night of arrival, in the face of bilal's request that he take Maria away, his answer was "As long as we are still alive after bombing the bridge, we must take her away"; When Pablo talked about the serious consequences of the bridge bombing, Jordan thought, "Old Pablo, old chap, I think so." You can see it, I can see it, and the woman can see it from my palm. Therefore, although Jordan said that he did not believe in the "superstition" of gypsy women, he actually agreed with Pablo's analysis of the situation and bilal's fatalistic judgment to some extent. In other words, he firmly believed in the disastrous consequences of the bridge bombing and his own unfortunate ending, and Jordan's final death ending just confirmed the pessimistic fatalism of Jordan and others. It is precisely because of this pessimistic fatalism that the anti-fascist hero Jordan is covered with a thick layer of pessimism, and his words and deeds are full of pessimism.
Because of pessimism, he even regarded this mission as an absurd "trick". "In such a bad move, try to get the cooperation of two groups of timid guerrillas and help you blow up the bridge under almost impossible circumstances to stop a counterattack that may be about to begin." In the process of carrying out the task, he hesitated about the task itself. "What are the consequences of a command that knows it won't work? Should he still carry it out? " ..... He should carry out these orders, because only in the process of execution can it be proved to be unworkable. How do you know if you can't do it without trying? "Obviously, in Jordan's mind, this task is not feasible. If carried out, it will bring disastrous consequences to himself and others, as if he went all out to carry out the order just to prove that it was not feasible. So no feeling of the future will appear in Jordan's mind. "Maybe this is all I can get from life now. Maybe this is my life, not 70 years, but 48 hours, or more accurately, 70 or 72 hours. Twenty-four hours a day, three whole days is seventy-two hours. ""Except now, of course, there is no yesterday and no tomorrow. How old do you have to live to understand this? "In his opinion, his love with Maria has no bright future." There will be no time, no happiness, no fun, no children, no house, no bathroom, no clean pajamas, no daily newspaper, no waking up, no waking up to see her around and you are not alone. No, it won't happen. "It is because of pessimism that he will think of the endless carousel on the playground when things are not going well, and he will say" Come on, Maria, because time is running out "when waiting to meet Maria. Thinking on the eve of the action, "This is something you don't want to face up to. You must go ahead and make a plan that you know you can't accomplish. You made a plan, and now it's useless to know. With your current strength, you can capture either of the two outposts, which is definitely not a problem. But you can't take both at the same time. I mean, you're not sure. Don't lie to yourself. It's dawn, don't lie to yourself. "It should be said that Jordan did not make sufficient and necessary preparations for the successful completion of the bridge bombing mission. He bombed the bridge with the belief of failure, that is, he must be pessimistic about the result of bombing the bridge. It can be said that Jordan could not have completed the task of bombing the bridge without Pablo accidentally taking someone to fight. So when he left alone to stop the enemy after being injured, he felt a sense of relief. " Come on, it's finally over, no problem. No matter what happened in the past and what will happen in the future, there is no longer any problem for him. "
In short, For Whom the Bell Tolls has a strong color of pessimism and fatalism. Pessimism is always accompanied by Jordan's actions. Pessimism is an important feature of Jordan, which makes the anti-fascist hero Jordan different from ordinary political heroes. There are three main sources of strong pessimism in Jordan. One is the hero Jordan himself, the other is the influence of others, and the third is the pessimistic narrative of the narrator. As far as Jordan himself is concerned, the cruel reality formed by the battlefield defeat in the past year and the arduous task before him are the root of Jordan's pessimism. * * * US Army Commander Ilz immediately added to Jordan that "this is exactly what we can't do", and then he issued a series of angry rhetorical questions in response to Jordan's confusion: "What can guarantee that my orders will not be changed? Is there any guarantee that this operation will not be cancelled? What can guarantee that the attack will not be postponed? What can guarantee that the difference between the actual attack time and the scheduled time is not more than six hours? Is it a planned attack? " Similarly, when fascist planes flew by in groups, Jordan immediately thought that the enemy might know the attack plan and asked himself, "Why not?" Didn't they know in advance every attack before? "After analyzing the actual situation, he sent Andres to write to General Ilz, suggesting to cancel the attack, and at the same time, he thought," I believe it will be launched. When Ilz received Jordan's late letter, he said, "We are finished. That's right. As usual. That's right. That's a real pity. "Jordan and Ilz's seemingly absurd words and deeds are the scars left by repeated wars and defeats in the past wars. It also proves that Jordan's pessimism is not groundless. It comes from the profound inner experience and rational analysis of the battlefield reality and arduous tasks. It comes from reality and does not belong to Jordan alone. In the Spanish civil war, Jordan naturally felt the seriousness of the situation because of the bureaucratic style and power struggle between * * * and the high-level command of the country, and the reality that power was concentrated, dispersed and contained each other. In this case, as the executor of the task, Jordan can only bravely "try his best" with the idea of "Man proposes, God disposes". Because of this, Jordan comforted himself with "doing his best" in the face of the obvious failure of counterattack and his own death.
Second, the old man Santiago in The Old Man and the Sea
"People are not used to be defeated. You can destroy a person, but you can't beat him. " This is the rule and way of the old fisherman Santiago. Like the author, Santiago in the work was also very competitive when he was young. In wrestling, in order to surpass a black Hercules, he tried his best and finally made the black man a loser with tenacious perseverance. In his later years, he lost his spirit and was unlucky. When fishing at sea, he couldn't catch a fish for 84 days in a row. But he will go fishing again. He must prove his skill and courage. On the 85th day, he finally caught a huge marlin symbolizing the beautiful things in nature, but it was taken away by a large group of sharks. He fought in despair until he was exhausted and was defeated in the battle with the shark. Finally, he can only return to the port with an empty fish skeleton. Although the old man's ending is tragic, we don't feel any sadness of pessimism and disappointment in him. On the contrary, I can see something beautiful and noble in him, and I can see something that inspires people's fighting spirit, because he is not intimidated by the power of sharks. In this inevitable failure, he won in manners, and he showed lofty dignity and optimism about the future. Santiago is by no means a pessimistic and depressed figure, but a resolute, strong and lofty figure, which is the embodiment of Hemingway's brave exploration and continuous progress in his long literary career. As the author himself said: "For a real writer, every book should be a new starting point for him to continue to explore those areas that have not yet reached. He should always try to do what no one has done or others have not done. In this way, he will be lucky enough to succeed. "