Jimmy N.

Sanchez 8-17-12 AP Lit

1. Why does Ernest Hemingway make the character Pilar break most of the female gender roles of the time? 2. Did Ernest Hemingway go a bit overboard when it came to detail of scenes, characters, and settings? Did this add to the imagery or take away from the story? 3. In chapter 10 do you feel like the peasants had become the people that they were trying to get rid of when they started to drink and things became out of control, when they became blood thirsty? 4. Does Pablos choice to shoot and kill the soldiers at point blank range in the beginning of chapter 10 say anything about his character or what type of leader he is? 5. What are some of the good and bad leadership qualities that Pablo possess?

When reading the book there were some things that I noticed about Hemingways style of writing. When It came to detail, Hemingway was good at giving plenty of it but sometimes I felt like the detail was a bit unnecessary and I times I felt like the added detail and description did a lot to enhance the imagery for me. One of the instances in which the excessive detail enhances the imagery was at the beginning of chapter thirteen. When he describes the moment when Robert Jordan and Maria are holding hands. he felt the girls hand firm and strong, the fingers locked in his. From it, from the palm of her hand against the palm of hi, from their fingers locked together, and from her wrist across his wrist something came from her hand, her fingers and her wrist to his that was as fresh as the first light air that moving toward you over the sea barely wrinkles the glassy surface of a calm, as light as a feather moved across ones lip, or a leaf falling when there is no breeze (Hemingway, 158) This bit of detail has some poetic flare to it which adds a lot to the story and a lot to the imagery. It adds to the story because in the book these are Robert Jordans thoughts and if he feels this passionate over a simple touch of hands then he truly must be in love with Mario and I also says a lot about how emotionally stable Robert Jordan really is. even when he tries to portray himself as rather stoic. Another instance in which this happens is in the beginning of chapter three in which Robert Jordan gets a first look at Maria and all of sudden all of these feelings start to arouse inside of him. So he thought about the girl Maria , with her skin, the hair and the eyes all the same golden tawny brown, the hair a little darker than the rest but it would be lighter as her skin tanned deeper, the smooth skin, pale gold on the surface with a darkness underneath. (Hemingway, 43) This part adds a lot to the story because it clues the reader and in a way

makes it predictable that Robert Jordan is going fall in love with her. But at the same time there are some parts of the book in which all of the extra detail dont do anything at all to enhance the story or the imagery; it seems to be rather boring as well. Like in the beginning of chapter when theyre on a look out and see some guards on a tower, the storyline then switches to conversation and thoughts of the story which dont relate at all and seems as though that chapter was just added as filler. Another moment like this happens in chapter thirty-five in the beginning when Robert-Jordan seems to be on a diatribe because he is angry that Pablo took all of his explosives. Oh, muck my grandfather and muck this whole treacherous muck-faced mucking country and every mucking Spaniard in it on either side and to hell forever. Muck them to hell together, Largo, Prieto, Asensio, Miaja, Rojo, all of them. Muck every one of them to death to hell. (Hemingway, 369) His diatribe goes one for aout six or seven more sentences and I feel like that could have been shortening by about five sentences. All of this extra detail and dialect reminds me of a Charles Dickens style of writing. Because he was paid by the word, he seemed to want to overwrite everything. I felt like Hemingway was adapting this style of writing in various parts of the book. For some scenes this really did help out the imagery but for others it became dull very quick.

My favorite character in the book has to be Pilar. She is a very interesting character and I enjoyed the role that Hemingway gave her in the novel. Hemingway made Pilar break most if not all of the gender roles of the time. Because at the time women were never seen as leaders, or independent, women would never disrespect a man, and women would never ever fight in any war. Women were meant to be stay at home wives; to cook and clean and care for their husbands. Pilar manages to do all of her duties and still break all of the social norms. Pilar is seen as the leader of the group and when her authority is challenged she is quick to step to the plate and make her authority known. She is also not scared to speak her mind and she doesnt care who she is talking to especially if it is Pablo. Did I live nine years with three of the worst paid matadors in the world not to learn about fear and about safety? Speak to me of anything but safety. And thee. What illusions I out in thee and how they have turned out! From one year of war thou has become lazy, a drunkard and a coward. (Hemingway, 345) again she doesnt hesitate to go into a diatribe. Shut up, the women of Pablo said to him and suddenly remembering what she had seen un the hand in the afternoon she was wildly, unreasonably angry. Shut up, coward. Shut up, bad luck bird. Shut up, murderer. (Hemingway, 343) I loved the way that Hemingway intentionally didnt give the reader the name of Pilar it seems until after she had come out of her shell and developed into this strong and powerful, very independent women. In the beginning when she is just known as the mujer of Pablo I feel like this was done because she was still rather tame. She had just met Robert Jordan and had a reputation for being quite angry but chose not to show it. Then once

she felt like she could become rather comfortable with Robert, that was when Hemingway gave us her name. which was also in fact when she starts to become very angry. She starts speaking her mind and creates this image for herself. Throughout the book there were many instances in which I had to put the book down and say WOW, I cannot believe Pilar just said that. One that comes to mind is in chapter forty-one. What are you two doing? Becoming maricones? Pilar said suddenly beside them in the dark. (Hemingway, 386) This line stood out to me because even to hear a women say this now-a-days is very uncommon and we are at a day in age when gender equality is big. But back in the day it could have been a crime. Another thing that made me like her so much as a character was her willingness to fight in the war. Especially in a time when women were not seen as fighters, she was the one to break that norm and did a damn good job at it. Pilar is the epitome of independent and is ultimately why the book was very enjoyable for me to read!