book blog 2

"Do you know anything about a machine gun?" he asked the old man.
"Nada," said Anselmo. "Nothing."
"And thou?" to the gypsy.
"That they fire with much rapidity and become so hot the barrel burns the and that touches it," the gypsy said proudly.
"Every one knows that," Anselmo said with contempt.
"Perhaps," the gypsy said. "But he asked me to tell what I know about a maquiana and I told him." Then he added, "Also, unlike an ordinary rifle, they continue to fire as long as you exert pressure on the trigger."
"Unless they jam, run out of ammunition or get so hot they melt," Robert Jordan said in English.
"What did you say?" Anselmo asked him.
"Nothing," Robert Jordan said. "I was only looking into the future in English." (pg. 20)

This passage describes the type of people who are fighting this guerilla war in the mountains. The people, who were talking around a fire at a guerilla camp, were gypses and obviously were never proffessional soldiers, because they didnt know anything about weapons. Also, i had no idea that they were speaking spanish the entire time. I thought they were speaking english so Robert could understand, until that "Robert Jordan said in English" part.

Why are they talking in old english??? and thou??? whats up with that? i cant figure out if its just because its 1938 or it means something or its just completly random.

For Whom the Bell Tolls Blog 1

"He could see a trail through the grass where horses had been led to the stream to drink and there was the fresh manure of several horses. They picket them here to feed at night and keep them out of sight in the timber in the daytime, he thought. I wonder how many horses Pablo has?
He remembered now noticing, without realizing it, that Pablo's trousers were worn soapy shiny in the knees and thighs. I wonder if he has a pair of boots or if he rides in those alpargattas, he thought. He must have quite an outfit. But i don't like that sadness, he thought. That sadness is bad. That's the sadness they get before they quit or before they betray. That is the sadness that comes before the sell-out." (pg. 12)

I think this is an important passage in the build-up of the main guy's character (Robert Jordan). First of all, he seemed to know alot about horses, knowing how they were fed and why Pablo's pants were thin. Earlier in the story it says he is an american who came to spain to fight, making me think he was some random unexperienved eager revolutionary or something. This passage made me think he might actually know a thing or two, and probably had been in Spain for quite a while or had a tough childhood and grown up on a farm somewhere (which he probably did, in the depression and all). Secondly, his interpratation of Pablo's sadness leads me to believe Robert is an experienced soldier, but more importantly, cautious and not easily trusting. All of this builts a solid "noble" character for the main guy, which makes it easier for the reader to "feel sorry for" or whatever later in the story (assuming he gets into some tricky situations, which he probably will).

Questions:

Why did he volunteer to fight?
Does his suspicion of Pablo's sadness have anything to do with his own personal experiences with betrayal?