In Ernest Hemingway's novel, For Whom The Bells Tolls, he develops each
character and his attitude towards death in the environment of the Spanish Civil War. First this can be seen through Pablo. He is intensely loyal to his band of guerrillas, however his dedication to the Republic has declined from his greatness at the massacre in his hometown. He takes extraordinary steps to protect those for whom he cares, but he does not value other people's lives. Second, Anselmo detests the killing of fellow men. However, he knows that he is in a war and he has faith in "the cause," so he forces himself to kill, hoping to make penance later on. Third, Lieutenant Berrendo Feels
strongly that human lives should not be played with. As a commander of other men, he knows he must risk their lives, but not unnecessarily so.
The first impression of Pablo is seen through his reaction to Jordan's
mission. He says in response to Jordan, "If it is in this territory it
is my business. You cannot blow bridges close to where you live. You
must live in one place and operate in another. I know my business. One
who is alive now, after a year, knows his business." He is a survivor,
and his words show how he is reluctant to have anyone else interfere
with the life that he has built for his band. However, many such as
AgustÃn and Pilar feel that he is but a shadow of his former self.
Pilar tells the story of Pablo's first uprising against the fascists.
It is a bloody story of Pablo's capacity for homicide and viciousness.
It shows the greatness of Pablo as a leader and how terrible were the
acts he committed. Now he is content to stay where he is and has not
made an attack since the train with Kashkin. For most of the three
days, Pablo was against the attack because he felt that it was doomed to
failure. In desperation, "a moment of weakness," Pablo stole ...