International Creation: Examining Cross-Cultural Influences in Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway is analyzed in this article from a cognitive literary perspective, keeping in mind recent advances in the field of creative cognition. Employing the “wave method of cognitive literature analysis” (a “wave theory” was previously employed in linguistic contexts by Bailey), a procedural methodology developed by the writer of this article, it attempts to display the importance of cross-cultural influences in transforming fiction from the first cognitive impulses of the writer to the final linguistic end product. In calling for a cognitive incorporation of the reader into the analytical process—what is referred to here as the “writer-reader dynamic”— various linguistic aspects with a solid foundation in linguistic paradigms such as blending theory are examined for their impact on the “creative spaces” of the prototype reader. In doing so, this analysis finds Hemingway’s creativity deeply entrenched in cross-cultural influences, specifically those of the Spanish Civil War, during which he was a reporter, as well as pointing to the artistic influences of the French painter Paul Cezanne as being of crucial importance in shaping linguistic choices. Hence, Stockwell’s assertion that an interaction takes place between texts and humans in the reading of literature is built upon in this article.