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Teaching For Whom the Bell Tolls

Hemingway...maybe you've heard of him?

  • Activities: 13
  • Quiz Questions: 67

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For Whom the Bell Tolls is classic Hemingway: it's got war, romance, and some pretty austere writing. In an interview, Hemingway once called this book the most important thing he'd ever done; here at Shmoop, we feel similarly about this teaching guide.

In this guide, you will find

  • a theme-spotting Tic-tac-toe game.
  • salacious consideration of just how much the character Martha is based after Hemingway's IRL ex-wife.
  • tweeting, both to develop character and practice Hemingway's concise writing style.

#shmoopactivitiesFTW. Let's get started.

What's Inside Shmoop's Literature Teaching Guides

Shmoop is a labor of love from folks who love to teach. Our teaching guides will help you supplement in-classroom learning with fun, engaging, and relatable learning materials that bring literature to life.

Inside each guide you'll find quizzes, activity ideas, discussion questions, and more—all written by experts and designed to save you time. Here are the deets on what you get with your teaching guide:

  • 13-18 Common Core-aligned activities to complete in class with your students, including detailed instructions for you and your students. 
  • Discussion and essay questions for all levels of students.
  • Reading quizzes for every chapter, act, or part of the text.
  • Resources to help make the book feel more relevant to your 21st-century students.
  • A note from Shmoop's teachers to you, telling you what to expect from teaching the text and how you can overcome the hurdles.

Want more help teaching Teaching For Whom the Bell Tolls?

Check out all the different parts of our corresponding learning guide.



Instructions for You

Objective: In the film Hemingway & Gellhorn (forewarning: rated TV-MA), Nicole Kidman plays Martha Gellhorn, a war correspondent who fell in love with, married, and divorced Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway and Gellhorn began their relationship while they were both in Spain writing about the Spanish Civil War (sound familiar?), and Hemingway dedicated For Whom the Bell Tolls to Gellhorn when he published it the same year they were married.

Now, plenty of literary types like us love to speculate that Maria might be modeled after the real Martha, but we'd like to throw this question your students' way.

Is Martha, Maria? Is Maria, Martha? They'll have to do some digging to find out.

This lesson should take two-three class periods.

Materials Needed:

  • For Whom the Bell Tolls
  • Hemingway & Gellhorn film (Optional: available on Amazon Prime) 
  • Computers with Internet access

Step 1: Let's start with a discussion about Maria. Who is this girl? What drives her? And why is everyone in love with her?

  • Describe what you know about Maria. What are her character traits?
  • What do we know about Maria's life experience? How have these experiences shaped her?
  • Can you explain her connection to Robert Jordan? Why do they fall in love so quickly? 
  • Do you believe their love is genuine? Why or why not?
  • Describe Maria's relationship to the other characters. Why is everyone so taken with her?
  • Do you see Maria as a complex, well-developed character, or a flat, simplistic character? Explain your reasoning.
  • How does Maria function as a symbol in the novel? What does she represent?

Step 2: Now it's time to do some digging on Martha. Just who is Ms. Gellhorn? Have students check out the following resources in small groups, jigsaw-style (meaning, if you're new to the jargon, that each group will read one article, and then report back to the class using the discussion questions below—so each group gets a piece of the puzzle and through whole-class discussion, we put it all together, starting with the borders of course—get it?).

As students read, they should consider the following questions and be ready to report their answers back to the class:

  • Describe what you know about Martha. What are her character traits?
  • What do we know about Martha's life experience? How have these experiences shaped her?
  • What do we know about Martha's relationship to Hemingway? What similarities and differences do you see between their relationship and the one in the novel?
  • How do you think Martha would feel about being compared to Maria?

Optional: If you'd like one final (and fun) bit of information-gathering: Watch Hemingway & Gellhorn (or a few clips of it) with your class. Ask students to keep those same discussion questions in mind, paying special attention to the dynamics of the relationship. Does the film give any clues to how Hemingway might have perceived Martha and their relationship? What about Martha's perception?

A word of caution here: The film is, of course, a fictionalization of their relationship, so be careful about drawing too many assumptions from the film alone. Rather, encourage students to look for places where the film seems to echo and support the other research they've done so far.

Step 3: It's time to put this puzzle together. Dump the pieces on the coffee table and start hunting for those straight edges via class discussion:

  • What did you learn about Martha Gellhorn in your research?
  • Did you notice any similarities between Martha and Maria?
  • How are Martha and Maria different?
  • What about the two relationships (Gellhorn and Hemingway and Maria and Robert Jordan)? How are they similar and different?

Step 4: That was the easy part. Now it's time for the millions of pesky middle pieces that could go anywhere—also known as some serious inference and analysis.

  • Based on your research, how would you characterize Hemingway's attitude toward women?
  • Based on the novel, how would you characterize Robert Jordan's attitude toward women?
  • How might Hemingway's attitude influence his depiction of male and female characters? 
  • How might it influence his depiction of romance between a man and a woman?
  • Is Maria a representation of Martha, or a representation of Hemingway's attitude toward women?

Step 5: Enough talk; let's take some action. It's time for students to make a decision. Is Maria Martha? Is Martha Maria? Or perhaps, is Maria Martha only in Hemingway's eyes? Students should write a brief essay on the subject, supporting their opinion with evidence from the text and from their research.

If students need help, send them on a stroll through the Shmoop Essay Lab to get all the writing support they need.

Instructions for Your Students

Once upon a time, there was a woman named Martha Gellhorn. She fell in love with a writer while they were in Spain together writing about the Spanish Civil War (remind you of anything?). True story, and guess what? The writer in this case was Hemingway, and he dedicated For Whom the Bell Tolls to Gellhorn when he published it the same year they were married.

Now, plenty of literary types like us love to speculate that Maria might be modeled after the real Martha, but we'd like to throw this question your way.

Is Martha, Maria? Is Maria, Martha? You'll have to do some digging to find out.

Step 1: Let's start with a discussion about Maria. Who is this girl? What drives her? And why is everyone in love with her?

  • Describe what you know about Maria. What are her character traits?
  • What do we know about Maria's life experience? How have these experiences shaped her?
  • Can you explain her connection to Robert Jordan? Why do they fall in love so quickly? 
  • Do you believe their love is genuine? Why or why not?
  • Describe Maria's relationship to the other characters. Why is everyone so taken with her?
  • Do you see Maria as a complex, well-developed character, or a flat, simplistic character? Explain your reasoning.
  • How does Maria function as a symbol in the novel? What does she represent?

Step 2: Now it's time to do some digging on Martha. Just who is Ms. Gellhorn? You'll each check out one of the following resources in small groups, and then report back to the class with your information haul. We call this method jigsaw-style, because each group gets a piece of the puzzle and through a class discussion, we put it all together to see the whole picture. Clever, right? Plus, you only have do some of the work and your classmates help you out with the rest.

As you read, you should consider the following questions and be ready to report your answers back to the class:

  • Describe what you know about Martha. What are her character traits?
  • What do we know about Martha's life experience? How have these experiences shaped her?
  • What do we know about Martha's relationship to Hemingway? What similarities and differences do you see between their relationship and the one in the novel?
  • How do you think Martha would feel about being compared to Maria?

Step 3: It's time to put this puzzle together. Let's dump the pieces on the coffee table and start hunting for those straight edges via class discussion:

  • What did you learn about Martha Gellhorn in your research?
  • Did you notice any similarities between Martha and Maria?
  • How are Martha and Maria different?
  • What about the two relationships (Gellhorn and Hemingway and Maria and Robert Jordan)? How are they similar and different?

Step 4: That was the easy part. Now it's time for the millions of pesky middle pieces that could go anywhere—also known as some serious inference and analysis.

  • Based on your research, how would you characterize Hemingway's attitude toward women?
  • Based on the novel, how would you characterize Robert Jordan's attitude toward women?
  • How might Hemingway's attitude influence his depiction of male and female characters? 
  • How might it influence his depiction of romance between a man and a woman?
  • Is Maria a representation of Martha, or a representation of Hemingway's attitude toward women?

Step 5: Enough talk; let's take some action. It's time for you to make a decision. Is Maria Martha? Is Martha Maria? Or perhaps, is Maria Martha only in Hemingway's eyes? You will write a brief essay on the subject, supporting your opinion with evidence from the text and from your research (you knew all that research had to be for something, right?).

For extra help, report to the Shmoop Essay Lab to get all the writing support you need. You can always count on us for some good advice.