War Novels: Compare and Contrast between Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' & Ernest Hemingway's 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'

Hello Readers

Today I'm going to write about two literary works that are based on War. I have selected the novel by Tolstoy's 'War and Peace' & Ernest Hemingway's 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'.

Summary of the novels :

1) War and Peace

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy, is a work of historical fiction written in 1860 about the Napoleonic Wars in Russia. This epic novel begins in July 1805. Russia and allies England, Austria, and Sweden are striving to prevent Napoleon’s expansion from France. The novel is broken up into four books, with two epilogues.

War and Peace broadly focuses on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the most well-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves his family behind to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman who intrigues both men.

A s Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy brilliantly follows characters from diverse backgrounds—peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers—as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. And as the novel progresses, these characters transcend their specificity, becoming some of the most moving—and human—figures in world literature.

2) For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls, novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1940.The title is from a sermon by containing the famous words "No man is an island,entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main...Any man's death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind. Any therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee".

The novel is set near Segovia, Spain, in 1937 and tells the story of American teacher Robert Jordan, who has joined the antifascist Loyalist army. Jordan has been sent to make contact with a guerrilla band and blow up a bridge to advance a Loyalist offensive. The action takes place during Jordan’s 72 hours at the guerrilla camp. During this period he falls in love with María, who has been raped by fascist soldiers, and befriends the shrewd but cowardly guerrilla leader Pablo and his courageous wife, Pilar. Jordan manages to destroy the bridge; Pablo, Pilar, María, and two other guerrillas escape, but Jordan is injured. Proclaiming his love to María once more, he awaits the fascist troops and certain death.

Narrative Technique

1) War and Peace

That's basically how Tolstoy's narrator is acting here. Sure, he knows the ins and out of his characters – their thoughts, their feelings, their decision-making. But he keeps his own moralizing out the equation. This is a technique that's unique to War and Peace – just check out Anna Karenina to see the difference. (Tolstoy can put on the 19th-century moralist voice like nobody's business.) And so suddenly you find yourself looking at passages like this one:

The moment he heard the firing and the cry from behind, the general realized that something dreadful had happened to his regiment, and the thought that he, an exemplary officer of many years' service who had never been to blame, might be held responsible at headquarters for negligence or inefficiency so staggered him that, forgetting the recalcitrant cavalry colonel, his own dignity as a general, and above all quite forgetting the danger and all regard for self-preservation, he clutched the crupper of his saddle and, spurring his horse, galloped to the regiment under a hail of bullets which fell around, but fortunately missed him. His one desire was to know what was happening and at any cost correct, or remedy, the mistake if he had made one, so that he, an exemplary officer of twenty-two years' service, who had never been censured, should not be held to blame.

2) For Whom Bell Tolls

For Hemingway, point of view is important. 'For Whom Bell Tolls' present the narrative through an omniscient point of view that continually shifts back and forth between the characters. In this way, Hemingway can effectively chronicle the effect of the war on the men and women involved. The narrator shifts from Anselmo's struggles in the snow during his watch to Pilar's story about Pablo's execution of Fascists and EI Sordo's lonely to help readers more clearly visualize their experiences.

Characterisation : War and Peace

- Anna Pavlovna Scherer

A wealthy St. Petersburg society hostess and matchmaker for the Kuragin family, whose party in 1805 opens the novel.

- Pierre Bezukhov

The large-bodied, ungainly, and socially awkward illegitimate son of an old Russian grandee. Pierre, educated abroad, returns to Russia as a misfit. His unexpected inheritance of a large fortune makes him socially desirable. Pierre is ensnared by the fortune-hunting Helene Kuragina, whose eventual deception leaves him depressed and confused, spurring a spiritual odyssey that spans the novel. Pierre eventually marries Natasha Rostova.

- Andrew Bolkonski

The intelligent, disciplined, and ambitious son of the retired military commander Prince Bolkonski. Andrew is coldly analytical and resistant to flights of emotion. Lonely after the death of his wife, Lise, he falls in love with Natasha, but is unable to forgive her momentary passion for Anatole.

- Lise Bolkonskaya

Andrew’s angelic wife, who dies in childbirth.

- Prince Bolkonski

Andrew’s father, a stodgy and old-fashioned recluse who lives in the country after his retirement from the army and subsequent retreat from social life. The old prince, cynical about modern life, is stern and sometimes cruel toward his daughter Mary. In the war with Napoleon, he returns to active military service, but dies as the French approach his estate.

- Mary Bolkonskaya

The lonely, plain, and long-suffering daughter of Prince Bolkonski. Princess Mary cares for her father, enduring his cruel treatment with Christian forgiveness. In the end, Nicholas Rostov weds Mary and saves her from an unhappy solitude.

- Mademoiselle Bourienne

The French companion of Princess Mary, who lives with her on the Bolkonski estate. Mademoiselle Bourienne becomes the object of the old prince’s affections shortly before his death.

- Julie Karagina

Mary's friend and pen pal. Julie, anheiress, lives in Moscow and eventually marries Boris.

- Nicholas Rostov

The impetuous, eldest Rostov son, who joins the Russian forces in 1805 and spends much of the novel on the front. Nicholas accumulates gambling debts that become burdensome for his family. However, we see his commitment to his family upon his father’s death, when he supports his mother and cousin Sonya on his meager salary while continuing to pay off the family’s debts. Nicholas eventually marries the heiress Mary, saving his family from financial ruin.

- Sonya Rostova

The humble cousin of Natasha and Nicholas, who lives with the Rostovs as a ward. Sonya and Nicholas were childhood sweethearts, but as adults, Sonya generously gives up Nicholas so that he can marry a rich woman and save the Rostov finances.

Petya Rostov

The youngest Rostov son, who begs to join the Russian army. Petya, who is close to Natasha and beloved by his mother, is killed in partisan fighting after the French begin their withdrawal from Moscow.

- Vera Rostova

The eldest Rostov daughter. Vera is a somewhat cold, unpleasant young woman, and her only proposal of marriage comes from the officer Berg, who is candid about his need for her dowry.

- Vasili Kuragin

An artificial and untrustworthy Russian nobleman, and a special friend of Anna Pavlovna. Vasili continually tries to maneuver his children into lucrative marriages.

- Anatole Kuragin

Vasili’s roguish and spendthrift son, who is on the hunt for a rich wife. Anatole falls for Natasha Rostova at the opera, causing her rift with Andrew Bolkonski.

- Helene Kuragina

Vasili’s cold, imperious, and beautiful daughter, who seduces Pierre into marriage, only to take up with another man immediately. Helene, though known in social circles as a witty woman, is actually stupid and shallow.

Characterization of For Whom the Bell Tolls

Robert Jordan An American college instructor of Spanish, fighting as a demolition expert with the Loyalists in the Spanish Civil War.

Pablo Leader of the guerilla band whose aid Jordan enlists in the destruction of a bridge.

Pilar Pablo's mujer, who has kept the band together in spite of the fact that Pablo has "gone bad."

Maria A young girl whom the guerillas have rescued from enemy captivity and who falls in love with Jordan.

Anselmo An old man, one of the few members of Pablo's band whom Jordan trusts.

General Golz A Russian officer, one of the many military "observers" sent to aid the Spanish communists in the war, who is directing the forthcoming attack.

Kashkin Another Russian, Jordan's predecessor as demolition man with Pablo's band. He is dead when the book opens.

El Sordo The leader of another guerilla band which is hiding out in the vicinity of Pablo's cave.

Joaquin A young boy, member of El Sordo's band.

Eladio, Agustin, Andres, Primitivo, Fernando, and Rafael Members of Pablo's band.

Historical Context:

1) War and Peace

War and Peace is known for its realism, something Tolstoy achieved through intensive research. He visited battlefields, read history books on the Napoleonic Wars, and drew on real historical events to create a novel of living history. Tolstoy had originally planned to write a novel centring on the Decembrists, whose revolution in 1825 against the tsar attempted to end autocratic rule in Russia. The Decembrists failed, however, and those who were spared execution were sent to Siberia. Tolstoy wanted to depict a Decembrist, now old, returning from exile. As Tolstoy wrote and revised, however, the novel evolved into the War and Peace known today—a novel that takes place more than a decade before the Decembrist movement. The novel’s primary historical setting is the French invasion of Russia in 1812, which was a turning point in the Napoleonic Wars and a period of patriotic significance to Russia. Some historians argue that this invasion was the event that metamorphosed into the Decembrist movement years later.

2) For Whom the Bell Tolls

Each of the characters in For Whom the Bell Tolls loses his or her psychological or physical innocence to the war. Some endure tangible traumas: Joaquín loses both his parents and is forced to grow up quickly, while Maria loses her physical innocence when she is raped by a group of Fascist soldiers. On top of these tangible, physical costs of the war come many psychological costs. Robert Jordan initially came to Spain with idealism about the Republican cause and believed confidently that he was joining the good side. But after fighting in the war, Robert Jordan becomes cynical about the Republican cause and loses much of his initial idealism.

The victims of violence in the war are not the only ones to lose their innocence—the perpetrators lose their innocence too. The ruffians in Pablo’s hometown who participate in the massacre of the town Fascists have to face their inner brutality afterward. Anselmo has to suppress his aversion to killing human beings, and Lieutenant Berrendo has to quell his aversion to cutting heads off of corpses.

Thank you...