Kashkin, Robert Jordan’s predecessor in the forest,
functions as a foil (a character whose actions or attitudes contrast
with those of another, highlighting the differences between them)
to Robert Jordan. Whereas Robert Jordan is steady and in control,
Kashkin was nervous, especially about his own death—in the guerrilleros’
terminology, Kashkin had “gone bad.” The differences between the
two men make Robert Jordan’s cool-headedness more pronounced. Kashkin
functions as a cautionary figure for Robert Jordan, making him aware
that, as a leader, his attitude affects those he leads. Kashkin’s
nervousness rubbed off on his guerrillas, so he did more harm than
good. Also, Kashkin’s capture and death remind us of the danger
of Robert Jordan’s work and suggest that a similar fate might befall
him.
The opening of the novel strips Hemingway’s famously uncluttered,
simple writing style even more bare than usual. Initially, we know
neither the names of the two characters nor what they are doing
in the forest. The narrator makes no comment on the action and restricts
observations to the physical world—what an observer might see, hear,
or smell. The names Anselmo and Roberto (as Robert Jordan initially
calls himself) are revealed to us on a need-to-know basis, at the
same time as they are revealed to the characters. The impression
that we are eavesdropping, watching a scene unfolding here and now,
creates dramatic tension because we want to figure out what is going
on. Typical of Hemingway’s style, the characters seem to leave very
much unsaid. It is not until Anselmo leaves and Robert Jordan is
alone that we are allowed to enter Robert Jordan’s head to know
his thoughts.
Throughout the novel, Hemingway uses older English vocabulary
and a number of grammatical structures that are more typical of
Spanish than English. These word choices and structures recreate the
spirit of the Spanish language, emphasizing its deep connection with
the past and giving the novel a distant and heroic flavor. Odd-sounding
phrases like “the woman of Pablo” and “I informed myself from the
gypsy” give the impression that the novel was written in Spanish
and has been translated word for word, retaining Spanish grammar.
Hemingway’s Spanish was not particularly strong—the Spanish in For
Whom the Bell Tolls is notoriously riddled with errors—so
he uses the language in order to evoke the spirit of his setting
rather than to add authenticity to the novel. The older English
forms that Hemingway uses—words like “thou,” “art,” “dost”—lend
a pre-modern, natural aura to the characters in Robert Jordan’s
band of guerrilleros and to the novel as a whole.
