Static Characters In Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms

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Recommended: A farewell to arms literary analysis

In Book II of A Farewell to Arms, written by Ernest Hemingway, the narrator and main protagonist, Frederic Henry, traveled to Milan to recover from his injury from a battle in World War I. Frederic Henry is a dynamic character who, in Milan, builds his relations with his lover, Catherine Barkley. Also, Henry encounters many people who may or may not exhibit the traits of a “Hemingway Hero”, a man for whom it is a point of honor to suffer with grace and dignity, and who, sensing that defeat is inevitable, plays “the game” (of life) well. Throughout Book II, round characters, like Frederic and Catherine, build upon their relationship with one another, and Frederic meets many flat characters who may or may not exhibit traits of a “Hemingway Hero”. …show more content…

He wanted his audience to decide for themselves if either or both of the main characters were or were not “Hemingway Heros”. Throughout Book II of A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway introduced many minor, static characters who were introduced to his audience for the sake of displaying each of the traits of being (or not being) a Hemingway Hero. Such traits of a Hemingway Hero include: not having a traditional religion, loving action and adventure, being restless, drinking alcohol to dull the pains of life, not being concerned with honors, awards, and distinctions, and respecting competence and hating incompetence. Flat characters, including Doctor Valentini, and Ettore Moretti, were two characters introduced to show the Hemingway Hero …show more content…

From a literary standpoint, the relationship between Frederic and Catherine is very interesting: it seems only one changes (at least in Book II), and one does not change. And although Hemingway uses the relationship of Frederic and Catherine as characters to help further his purpose, but also uses minor characters like Dr. Valentini and Ettore Moretti to help further his purpose. From what I have read and using my knowledge of Ernest Hemingway, I believe that Hemingway’s purpose in writing A Farewell to Arms is to communicate with his audience that life must be lived instead of worrying about war and what society thinks of the individual. However, I do not know for sure, and will find out later (upon finishing the

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