This essay compares Salinger's Catcher in the Rye to Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls in order to reveal the common plight of the two protagonists.

In the book, For Whom the Bell Tolls, the main character, Robert Jordan, is assigned the task of blowing up a bridge during the Spanish Civil War. He is faced with many conflicts and because of the ambiguity of his future, he does not think ahead about what his life might be like once he is free and the war is over. He is unable to face complexity and tries to avoid thinking at all …

…he was forced to come to the realization that there might not be a tomorrow for him. He lived the life of many fighters in many wars. As with fighters in war, it was because of his responsibilities to his country that Jordan did not face the complexities that he had to deal with in his life. He did not look at what his future would be like if he were to survive the battle.