In February of 1944, America was fighting World War II in full force. As John
Hersey's first novel was hitting the shelves, American troops were heavily involved in both
Pacific and Italian campaigns. Meanwhile, the American public was rationing gas, and
making sacrifices with food, and more importantly with their loved ones. They listened to
their radios for news of troop movements, and dreaded the worst, patiently waiting for the
day when an official telegram might be delivered to their doorstep. They knew exactly
what was going on. They knew where the troops were, how we were doing at the time
and what headway if any was being made, and yet they knew surprisingly little about what
was actually taking place in their army and happening to the men in it. What a good time
for a war novel to come out! Especially one that dealt with those very same unknown
issues.
It is surprising that we think very little about what an army does with an area that
it has occupied. Hersey's A Bell for Adanocaptured, to a great degree, the many
different actions required to keep peace and order perfectly balanced.
The book was a best seller not because it's a masterpiece of literature, but because it
played well to its audience and because it has all the necessary elements to make its
readers feel proud of themselves and their country. Whether Hersey ment to or not he did
create a very patriotic offering, and it is reinforced by nearly every aspect of the major's
character; his looks, mannerisms, actions and dealings with the locals are all portrayed as
being appealing and correct. This is what is appealing about the book, and is why it sold
so well. By studying the major's character and the other characters, as well as the
audience for books at the time (i.e. topics and advertising ploys that would appeal to
them), we can understand why A Bell for Adano was a best seller.
"...I beg you to get to know this man Joppolo well. We have need of
him. He is our future in the world. Neither the eloquence of Churchill nor
the humanness of Roosevelt, no Charter, no four freedoms or fourteen
points, no dreamer's diagram so symmetrical and so faultless on paper, no
plan, no hope, no treaty -none of these things can guarantee anything. Only
men can guarantee, only the behavior of men under pressure, only our
Joppolos." -John Hersey
The story was based on an article Hersey wrote about his experiences in an Italian
village much like the fictional Adano. The article was the product of Hersey's observation
of an American major who worked in the AMGOT (American Military Government
Occupied Territories) department of the Army. The article, entitled "AMGOT at Work",
was published in Life magazine and after 6 weeks it had been transformed into the
completed novel A Bell for Adano. There is so much bustle, and so much going
on in the office of the major, that it is no wonder Hersey came away with much respect for
the major's situation and admiration of his character after the assignment was complete.
As far as the translation from fact to fiction goes, Hersey took every person mentioned in
the article and turned them into a character in the book. While most of the happenings in
the book were based on real events, a few elements like the Patton-like General Marvin
and the premise of the bell were purely fictional and served to fill out the storyline. The
book was published by Alfred A. Knopf on February 7, 1944. Knopf, along with all other
publishers at the time, was subject to the regulations on paper usage. However, their ad
campaign for the book was rather ingenious in its design. In the world of advertising there
is nothing better than a positive association of your product with another equally good
product. Inside of every first edition copy of the novel you are asked to buy war bonds. In
the print advertisements there is a blurb at the top of the page about war bonds and their
importance to the allied cause with the phrase "After you've read this -you'll buy
a war bond." Further down the page there is a write up on the author and the book, over
the picture of the book is another phrase, "After you've read this -you'll buy
another." To so boldly state that the book will make you want to buy war bonds, is the say
that it is heavily patriotic, and supports the allied cause. Futhur dissecting the
advertisement, we will notice that the picture of the author is not exactly ordinary. Hersey
is not lounging in his home, but rather is wearing his helmet and uniform. By seeing the
author clad in his "steel pot," one cannot escape thoughts of soldiers in combat and your
curiosity in the book is further heightened. Further more, advertising copy states how the
book was named as an "imperative," and makes the book sound very important and
prestigious. Knopf truly did a good job of marketing the book despite the restraints they
were facing. The book sold well, and remained on the best seller lists of both Publishers
Weekly and the New York Times Book Review for an extended period of time. No exact
sales figures could be found for the book as it did not make the overall lists of best sellers
in Hackett's 80 years of BestSellers. Coming at number nine on the 1944 best seller list,
the book did well, but did not find its way into 1945's list. This is probably due to the fact
that it wasn't a "great" novel, and it was obvious that many critics shared this belief. It
was not considered among the great World War II books like Harry Brown's A Walk
in the Sun (1944), or Thomas Heggen's Mr. Roberts. However, it is
interesting that the book won the 1944 Pulitzer Prize, which must say something about its
significance.
Despite a few minor flaws, the book was well received by most critics, with only a
handful of staunch detractors. The greatest accusation leveled at the book was that its
characters were purposely oversimplified in an attempt to idealize the American
characters, and foster a false representation of the situation in order to sell more copies.
This however, is a shallow comment, that doesn't hold true when the characters are
analyzed. In fact, much of what makes these characters (in particular the natives) loveable
and meaningful is their simplicity. You aren't bogged down by endless back stories, and as
a result you can pay the attention needed to see the truth in their words and how each
character is representative of a group or ideal. The same also seems to hold true for the
American characters in the book. Even the major, to a certain extent, is an incomplete
character. The question that must be asked its whether this was merely and oversight by
the author, that resulted from the haste of his work, or if it exists for a purpose.
Most of what makes the novel a good one is the interplay between the characters
in the book, and also many of the circumstances that they find themselves in. Much of the
time these instances would play to the vanities of the reader; however, there is great truth
in the characterization of the villagers put forth by Hersey. While many of the characters,
including the major, are lightly colored in some or many areas, they come together on the
whole to give meaning to the situation in both real life and in the book. Much of what
gives this book its meaning is attributable to the fact that this situation is real and this
holds true for most war novels. There is something concrete that makes the text instantly
credible, and perhaps that is why detractors like Diana Trilling took wild swipes at the
book's stance with the desire to sharpen the line between the fact and fiction. Trilling said
that Hersey "could have avoided the exaggeration and falsifying that go into a popular
book, and told the truth about the war as a reporter and an artist," but this is an obtuse
viewpoint because it comes from her refusal to recognize that this situation is almost
entirely rooted in the truth. This is supported by the fact that Hersey includes the unsavory
affects of occupation. Poignant vignettes such as drunken American M.P.s ransacking a
house, the dealings of the black market, and the shooting of an Italian cartman's mule by
General Marvin, show the dark side of the American occupation all too well. These facts
prove contrary to Ms. Trilling's ideas of unadulterated patriotism and singularity of view.
In addition to this, David Sanders makes a good point directed at Trilling's comments,
saying "Hersey wrote a simple book in a hurry, which is not the same as ?falsifying
simplification.'"
The major's character is a culmination of almost every admirable trait lumped into
one person. He is kind, open, generous, deliberate, and sensible above all else. The major
has an inborn tie to this small village, which is own Italian heritage. When characters like
General Marvin use the words like "wop" or "dego," in reference to the Italian villagers,
we automatically include the major with these targets and feel more connected to him.
Hersey's decision to make Joppolo an Italian, seems give the reader an instant reason to
like him, and serves to make his actions and feelings towards the town credible and valid.
It would simply not be enough for the major to be sympathetic, as Americans at the time
would have been loathe to sympathize with any of their "enemies." Of course this adds
another interesting dynamic to the books success. Why would people buy it, when its main
character was an Italian sympathizer? Part of this comes from the fact that these occupied
people were no longer seen as any threat, and the other part comes from the nobility of the
work and the candor with which it is performed by the major which reflects more on his
American position rather than his Italian heritage. The major said himself in his guidelines
for running the town, "....Always be accessible to the public. Don't play favorites...."
These words serve to show his good intentions, and yet also reaffirm his American
impartiality.
Many critics have had their say on Joppolo. Milton Hindus said, "Joppolo is
offered as a symbol of what is best in the American character or even in all of humanity."
This is for the most part true. Hersey, in his forward to the story, clearly states that
"Major Victor Joppolo, U.S.A., was a good man. It is the whole reason why I want you to
know this story." Hersey constantly reinforces this throughout the book. It serves as his
thesis, and he continually comes back to it in the course of the books events. Isn't that a
nice play to the American public? Here is a book seemingly dedicated to the glorification
of the American war effort, and to all the "fine young Americans" involved in it. It seems
to cry out "Look at all the great stuff we do for the world, even when those people don't
like us. Aren't we great?" The major always acts with goodwill and compassion, never
with the brunt aggression showed by General Marvin. Nancy L. Huse, however, seemed to
capture the unfortunate side of the major by saying, "he is only half alive, a shell, as
Hersey presents him. There is no one in the novel who can be his equal in compassion
because he does not understand his own idealism and cannot convey it to others." It is true
to a certain extent, we never know much about why the major is why he is, and we know
little about his family and his relationships outside of the army. However, we know what
he is, even if not why he is it.
As for the other characters, it has been said that the narrator of a story need not be
intelligent to impart wisdom. This seems to be the case in A Bell for Adano. All
of the Italian characters play a role in the unfolding of the story, and in glorifying the
major. In a way, the villagers are like children, and the major is a father. They constantly
come to him with their problems, and he consistently finds manageable solutions. One of
the most interesting examples of this is how Hersey depicts each first meeting with the
major. In every circumstance the villager gives what Hersey calls an "absent-minded
fascist salute," and then goes on at length about how anti fascist they are, and how
valuable they would be to the American cause. This is comical because what most of these
people want is to be left alone, or be reunited with loved ones and relatives. And yet, they
still know who is in charge and that they must play by the rules that are not their own,
"they had learned during the years of Fascism how to swallow their protests."
Another interesting facet of the books success would have to lie in its almost
exposaic qualities. In writing the book, Hersey set down to say a few things about the
American military. He more clearly said what was right with it in the form of the major,
but there are some dark clouds present with the character of General Marvin. Hersey's
description of this character could be almost construed as libel if you believe Marvin to
represent Patton. "Probably you think of him as one of the heroes of the invasion; the
genial, pipe-smoking history-quoting, snappy-looking, map-carrying, adjective-defying
divisional commander; the man who still wears spurs (a direct reference to Patton's pearl
handled revolvers and cowboy-like dress) even though he rides everywhere in an armored
car....you couldn't be blamed for having this picture. You can't get the truth except from
the boys who come home and finally limp out of the hospitals and even then the truth is
bent by anger. But I can tell you perfectly calmly that General Marvin showed himself
during the invasion to be a bad man." There is truth to what Hersey was saying, and that
came to light often after the war was over. Patton was egotistical, and determined at all
costs to be the liberator of Italy. It was true that Patton was quick to anger, and was
reported to have struck a battle fatigued soldier accusing him of being a coward. Though
General Marvin is stated as being a fictional character, his similarities to Patton are
numerous. Hersey expresses his displeasure with the General repeatedly, and makes all of
his actions seem ridiculously stupid. Overreactions and impractical orders abound, and
Marvin is made into the supreme evil in the book. He is seen as more menacing then the
fascists and the Germans, and is certainly in a position to hurt more of our men then they
would be. By exposing this facet of our army, Hersey gives the story its conflict and
meaning.
However, when compared with many of Hersey's other writings, A Bell for
Adano is not nearly as powerful or exposaic. The conflict, although meaningful to a
good extent, isn't as powerful as that in Hiroshima (1945), and isn't as grand in
its scale as The Wall (1950). Yet, besides Hiroshima, the novel is
Hersey's most widely read. Timing might have played a part in this. When
Hiroshima was released, Americans were extremely eager to learn about the new
nuclear weapons and their effects. One of the major criticisms of The Wall,
according to Charles Angoff in his review of the book was that, "it is too soon to deal
with Nazi terror in literature; we need ?a prolonged brooding period.'" By all accounts,
The Wall , is a better book both in its message and its delivery. This goes back to
the reader though, and is commented on by John Cogley while he wrote up The
Wall. He said, "It is shameful that apathy permitted the holocaust; the entire debacle
evoked less outcry from American Catholics than has been expressed over one obscene
novel." So why then was A Bell for Adano a bestseller despite being a simpler
and somewhat less epic? Ben Ray Redman sums it up well, "Despite its subject, the novel
is gay--yet it conveys a powerful message. It shows Hersey's many-sided talent, playing
the range of humor from whimsy to farce and yet able to portray the sober and the serious.
Plot construction is tight and admirable; characters are types, but superb examples of good
and evil."
So, what conclusions can be drawn about the success of A Bell for
Adano? We have ruled out that it was a masterpiece of literature, if this was true it
would have continued selling long after the war was over. It was not a formulaic novel
such as many of today's Tom Clancy or Danielle Steele novels are. Hersey did not have
the opportunity to ride any of his past successes with this book, as it was a first novel.
What he did have, however, was a good story that was strongly rooted in fact and a brilliantly
constructed main character, that sent an important message about American involvement around the
world. Once again I will refer the Hersey's forward, "Until there is a seeming stability in Europe,
our armies and our after-armies will have to stay in Europe. Each American who stays may very well
be dependent on a Joppolo, not only for language, but for wisdom and justice and the
other things we think we have to offer Europeans." This holds true even for today, and is
easily recognizable in all of our N.A.T.O. involvements. A Bell for Adano was a
bestseller for the same reason most good books are bestsellers, its message was something
pertinent to the time, and was what its readers wanted to hear. While good advertising can
play a part, and name brand recognition truly goes a long way, no book can be shoved
down the readers throat if it is unworthy of their time. A Bell for Adano was
worthy, and for that reason it was bought and read.