For Whom the Bell Tolls (Primary source)
Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls, published in 1940, is a powerful and introspective novel set during the Spanish Civil War. The story follows Robert Jordan, an American volunteer fighting with the anti-fascist Republican forces. As a dynamiter assigned to blow up a bridge critical to an upcoming Republican offensive, Jordan’s mission becomes a lens through which Hemingway explores themes of duty, sacrifice, love, death, and the complex nature of war.
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“If we win here we will win everywhere. The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it. And you had a lot of luck, he told himself, to have had such a good life. You’ve had just as good a life as grandfather’s though not as long. You’ve had as good a life as anyone because of these last days. You do not want to complain when you have been so lucky. I wish there was some way to pass on what I’ve learned, though.”
Ernest Hemingway
“Never to go on trips with anyone you do not love.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“How did you go bankrupt? Two ways, gradually and then suddenly.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary source“Every day above earth is a good day.”
— Ernest Hemingway Primary sourceMore quotes by Ernest Hemingway →
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”
— Richard Feynman Primary source“A long life may not be good enough, but a good life is long enough.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“This is a good place,” he said.
“There’s a lot of liquor,” I agreed.
“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source