Nihilism In Hemingway's For Whom The Bell Tolls

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In For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway demonstrates nihilism through Jordan’s view of death. Coming to face death, Jordan states, “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” (FWTBT, 470). Faced with death alone, Jordan views death as not even an event; he believes it as an escape from the current complications of his life. On this idea, Emil Cioran, a famous nihilist philosopher, explains, “The deepest and most organic death is death in solitude…In such moments you will be severed from life, from love, smiles, friends and even from death. And you will ask yourself if there is anything besides the nothingness of the world and your own nothingness.” Death …show more content…

For example, Jordan has an idealized expectation of his time with Maria: “He felt the earth move out and away from under them” (FWTBT, 159). Jordan romanticizes his love for her, even clouding his perception of reality. His strong feelings for Maria seem to take Jordan away from the reality of fate. Although noble, Jordan realizes his vision is colored by love: “What nonsense, he thought. What rot you get to thinking by yourself” (FWTBT, 166). Jordan is more wrapped up in his ideal than the suffering that stares him in the face. Killinger explains, “Hemingway’s Jordan dreams often of a day when the war will be over for him, and he can resume his freedom.” Sadly, this reality is impossible to accomplish because of his orders. Despite Jordan’s idealistic expectation, the hopelessness of his situation is always present.
Although Hemingway gives an existential picture of his characters, their ideals clash with the hopelessness of their surroundings. This paradox is present in all of Hemingway’s works, yet the contradiction only strengthens the intent of the application. Viewing A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls, readers see the heroes create their own inner meaning in the face of a meaningless universe. How is this paradox ultimately solved in Hemingway’s works? In light of the topic, readers solve this problem with the philosophy of Albert

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