A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is a novel set in Italy during World War I. It tells the story of its protagonist, an ambulance driver named Frederic Henry (most often referred to as simply Henry), and his love for a nurse named Catherine Barkley during a time in which Henry has sought to escape from the war around him. A Farewell to Arms, which is notable for its melancholy plot, strongly resembles some aspects of Hemingway’s own life; he committed suicide after a lifelong case of depression, and he too experienced the tragedies of war. He communicates one major theme through A Farwell to Arms—the inevitability of the loss of happiness. Hemingway expresses this idea through his ingenious use of symbolism, motif, and irony. The first …show more content…
Specifically, he uses foil to compare characters to one another. The first example of this is the comparison between several doctors. When Henry’s knee is injured, three doctors refuse to operate on him, saying that he needs to wait possibly six months before operation will be safe. However, a fourth doctor, Dr. Valentini, is eager to operate “to-morrow morning” (97). The first three doctors, who appear timid and overly-cautious, provide a standard that is easily surpassed by the lively, ambitious Dr. Valentini. Another example of foil is Hemingway’s comparison of Henry’s roommate, Rinaldi, and the local priest. Rinaldi, an oversexed and audacious young man, contrasts greatly with the priest, who lacks almost all characteristics that Rinaldi may consider masculine. Several times throughout the novel, the priest is the object of many of the men’s hilarity, who compare his abstinent nature to Rinaldi’s habits, which is Hemingway’s clever juxtaposition of the two. Each of these examples of foil relate to the novel’s dominant theme because they again present the idea that gain is never without loss; when one character is presented in a superior manner, it is only because he or she is being compared to another character who is inferior. An additional motif is that of illusions and desires. Henry and Catherine at first find comfort in the idea of being in love …show more content…
Throughout the novel, many characters dismiss the war as necessary and remain ambivalent about it, stating that the only way to have happiness is to first have war. Perhaps the most prominent example would be the union of Catherine and Henry; they would have never met if the war did not exist, nor, as Catherine states, “I wouldn’t have met you [Henry] if he [her fiancé] hadn’t died” (112). A further example of irony is the relationship between love and pain. The loss of Catherine’s fiancé prompted her to find love in Henry, and his life in the war made him seek refuge in Catherine’s love. Henry sacrifices any chance for honor in the war for her; he would have received medals for his outstanding service, but he decides to abandon his past to be with Catherine. When the couple is living together in the Swiss mountains, Catherine has complications during her pregnancy and gives birth to a stillborn. Only hours later, she too passes away. This unfortunate yet inevitable sequence of events that links initial happiness to subsequent pain shows that even love, sometimes said to be the most compelling force on Earth, is still only
Irony is not always funny; verbal, dramatic, and situational irony are often used to assert truth or to add depth to an author’s writing. In Erich Maria Remarque’s book, All Quiet on the Western Front, the reader experiences years of life on the front of World War I through the eyes of a young German man, Paul Bäumer, who has enlisted with his classmates at the expectation of their schoolmaster. Remarque uses irony throughout his novel, best displayed in the names of the characters, the various settings, and in the deaths of the characters.
“This is true.” (O’Brien, 420) – with this simple statement which also represents a first, three-word introductory paragraph to Tim O’Brien’s short story, “How to Tell a True War Story”, the author reveals the main problem of what will follow. “Truth” – when looked up in a dictionary, we would probably find definitions similar to sincerity and honesty on the one hand, and correctness, accuracy or reality on the other hand. When looking at these definitions, one can make out two groups of meaning: While sincerity and honesty are very subjective, correctness or accuracy are supposed to be objective by nature. One can be sincere and still not report the truth, due to the simple fact that one does not know any better. Accuracy, however, is supposed to represent facts, bits and pieces of information that paint a picture of an event, untouched by opinion or attitude.
Hemingway uses the book to explain the brutality of war and the burdens it places to those who becomes victims of it. It is a lesson Lieutenant Henry learns early on during the book, and it is one that we as a society should keep in mind especially in these ever cautious time we live in. It also gives the reader a chance to view the insight of those who participated in the action of wars, and in chapter XXVI we are reminded of these peoples’ views through the statements made by the priest in Henry’s quarters. He proclaims, “You cannot believe how it has been. Except that you have been there and you know how it can be. Many people have realized the war this summer. Officers whom I thought could never realize it realize it now.
The novel "A Farewell to Arms" should be classified as a historical romance. Many people in reading this book could interpret this to be a war novel, when in fact it was one of the great romance novels written in its time. When reading this book you notice how every important event of the war is overshadowed by the strong love story behind it.
Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. His mother, Grace Hall, was a trained opera singer and later on, a music teacher. His father, Clarence Hemingway, was a doctor and an avid naturalist ("Ernest Hemingway: An Inventory”). Just after graduating high school, at the age of eighteen, Hemingway enlisted in the army to fight in World War I ("The Big Read"). After being severely wounded in the war, he moved to Paris in 1921, and devoted himself to writing fiction (Baker). It is said that, “No American writer is more associated with writing about war in the early 20th century than Ernest Hemingway” (Putnam). Hemingway’s book A Farewell to Arms was published in 1929, and was based off of the events that happened to him in the war and what happened in his love life. Fredrick Henry, the protagonist, is an American ambulance driver fighting for the allies during World War I. He is introduced to a nurse named Catherine, who he later on falls in love with. Henry was hit by a trench mortar shell and was very badly injured. He is then sent to Milan, where Catherine later on comes to help nurse him to health. The two fall in love and Henry no longer is involved with the war, so they try and have a child, but both Catherine and the child die during labor, and Henry is left alone. Psychoanalytical approach views the psychological motivations of characters, which refer to the dynamics of personality development and behavior based on the unconscious motivations of a person ("Psychoanalytic Theory”). Hemingway’s writing was greatly impacted by his real life tragedies, which consist of witnessing the gruesomeness of war and his discovery and loss of love, this helps exhibi...
The reaction of one soldier to another is the basis of war, as camaraderie is the methodology by which wars are won. Henry gave witness to the horrors of war, the atrocities of battle, the deaths of his friends, and later a life of victory. The ultimate transformation in Henry's character leading to a mature temperament was found by finding himself in the confusion of war and companionship.
In the midst of pervasive evil, Frederick finds salvation in the form of love. His relationship with Catherine Barkley is a respite from the savagery. Their "union" leads him to establish his own principles and is ultimately his refuge from the massive chaos of war. Hemingway gives several clues throughout the novel that foreshadow Catherine's role in Frederick's development as well as the impact that their relationship has on his life. The reader can trace a pattern of regression from the war, each time mirrored by a progression in his attachment to Catherine. Conversely, a period of deeper devotion to Catherine predicts a revolution in his regard to the war. By the novel's conclusion, a reformation has occurred in Frederick Henry. He is transformed from a disillusioned young man, into a weathered soul that has suffered life's greatest agonies: to lose in love and to lose in war. When Henry is first introduced, he is arrogant and dissolute and h...
The similarities between the people of Hemingway’s life and his fictitious characters can also be found between Lieutenant Henry, the main character of “A Farewell to Arms”, and Hemingway himself. Once again, the similarities between these characters is astonishing; so much that Lieutenant Henry seems to be Hemingway’s idea of his younger self rather that a fictitious character.
The first, most obvious trait of Catherine’s heroism is that she values human relationships above materialism. Nothing is more important to Catherine than her lover, Henry, and as the novel goes on, her baby. When Henry is injured and sent to Milan, she has no trouble transferring to the new hospital there. Catherine loves Henry and would drop anything to be with him. Nothing material holds her back from being with him. Even when they live in Switzerland, they don’t have many material possessions. They live very simple lives because all the couple really needs is each other. In chapter forty, Henry describes their time together with this quote, "When there was a good day we had a splendid time and we never had a bad time. We knew the baby was very close now and it gave us both a feeling as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together." Catherine obviously values her time with Henry more than anyone else, but it isn’t the physical aspect of getting out and doing things that satisfies her. What satisfies Catherine is the extra time she gets to spend with the love of her life b...
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a story about love and war. Frederic Henry, a young American, works as an ambulance driver for the Italian army in World War I. He falls tragically in love with a beautiful English nurse, Miss Catherine Barkley. This tragedy is reflected by water. Throughout the novel Ernest Hemingway uses water as metaphors. Rivers are used as symbols of rebirth and escape and rain as tragedy and disaster, which show how water plays an important role in the story.
When the two first meet, Catherine is still dealing with the death of her fiancé in battle. This presents her as a woman who knows the dangers and possibilities of war. As a nurse physically present during the war, she is rightfully not perceived as grieving and mortified by her fiancé¹s death. She did not marry him because he wanted to enlist in the war, ³I would have married him or anything ... But then he wanted to go to war and I didn¹t know² (Hemingway, 19). Typically, many women married their sweethearts in lure of the war. She goes onto say that she ³didn¹t know anything then,² but the fact that she did know that the war was not an excuse to get married presents her as perceptive and intellligent (19). The war alone could not justify her love for her life long friend and fiancé. This tragic event explains her confusing emotional behavior towards Henry at first.
Another important part of the plot is Catherine and Fredricks love for each other. At the beginning they are starstruck lovers, but Henry starts to regret it. “You don’t have to pretend like you love
The state of affairs and the grim reality of the war lead Henry towards an ardent desire for a peaceful life, and as a result Henry repudiates his fellow soldiers at the warfront. Henry’s desertion of the war is also related to his passionate love for Catherine. Henry’s love for Catherine is progressive and ironic. This love develops gradually in “stages”: Henry’s attempt at pretending love for Catherine towards the beginning of the novel, his gradually developing love for her, and finally, Henry’s impas... ...
Hemingway’s involvement in warfare provided many of his works with a central—or at least a supporting—theme. In The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway used war as a major theme such as the effects of World War One, the gruesome reality of war, and the loss of innocence during the war, respectively. He devoted his life to write authentically on every piece of his work including and particularly the subject of warfare and its effect during his time period. Although his literary works are not primary sources of the war experiences during the early half of the Twentieth century, they provide close to the truth surrounding those wars as accurately as possible.
Book II describes a slight transformation when Henry, wounded, spends time in hospital. He is suddenly more involved with the war, but, as a release from the war, he now acknowledges his great love for Catherine. The war is never far away, though. Protest riots take place in Rome and Turin and there are intimations that the war is becoming a stalemate, the army disillusioned; ”there was a great contrast between his world pessimism and personal cheeriness” (127), the prospects of victory evaporating; ”the war could not be much worse” (129).