Hemingway deviates from the story’s main chronology through flashbacks, closing the narrative gap between the pre-discourse backstory and ongoing narrative. This in turn highlights the brutality amongst fellow allies. When Jordan was drinking absinthe (a potent, anise-flavored liquor) in Pablo’s guerilla hideout, he recalls the things he had “enjoyed and forgotten”1, including the “the old evenings in cafés”, the “kiosques…galleries… the Parc Montsouris…”2 Jordan recalls the security and the familiarity of the neighborhood & surrounding parks (the Parc Montsouris is a small public park in the south of Paris3) and the everyday sights and sounds of Paris like food kiosks and art galleries. In contrast with the fond and happy tone of his flashback, Jordan contemptuously mocks Pablo in the present setting, tricking him into thinking that absinthe is a medicine rather than liquor, and nonchalantly boasting that …show more content…
Being a mere peasant, it is unlikely that Pablo would have visited Madrid and he likely remained in Segovia his whole life. Furthermore, Jordan had previously declined to offer his liquor to Pablo before the flashback, giving the reason that “There is little left”.4After the flashback, Jordan casually pushed his cup to Rafael for him to try the liquor. Such an act culminates in a brutal mockery of Pablo. In another flashback, Jordan fondly reminisces about his previous life as a Spanish professor teaching Spanish to undergraduates, and about the “valuable, informal discussions”5. Jordan dreams within the flashback about marrying Maria – according to Jordan, “Spanish girls make wonderful wives”6. Within the same flashback and dream of his old American home, Jordan juxtaposes these fond memories with recent memories of horrors and