A Farewell To Arms: Structure, Characters, And Significance

Ernest Miller Hemingway, born July 21, 1899 and died July 2, 1961, was recognized as a very
prominent novelist throughout his life. Hemingway based his novel, A Farewell to Arms, on
personal life experiences he encountered when he was involved in World War l. Hemingway
came from a very competent background as the son of a doctor, Clarence Edmond
Hemingway, and a talented but unsuccessful singer, Grace Hall Hemingway (Young). As a
child, Hemingway undertook many different hobbies including playing musical instruments,
hunting, fishing, and highschool sports but he eventually stumbled upon writing and fell in
love with it (McGovern). In school, he exceeded in writing for it was his strongest subject.
This is one of several contributing factors to why Hemingway proceeded to work for The
Star, a newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri, upon graduating highschool. It was there that
Hemingway perfected his writing style. Soon realizing that all of the eligible men around him
were leaving for the war going on in Europe, Hemingway tried enlisting for the military.
Unfortunately, a defect in his eyesight rendered his acceptance into the war. Hemingway
still pursued the war path but as an ambulance driver for the American Field Service instead
thanks to the advice of his fellow newspaper reporter, Theodore Brumback. Ernest
Hemingway wrote all about the encounters he faced during the war such as getting injured
at the Austro-Italian front and falling in love with the nurse who was treating him
(“Hemingway’s Short Stories”). These wartime adventures were altered and combined to
create one of Hemingway’s most notorious novels, A Farewell to Arms. Ernest Hemingway
would go on to win many awards for his striking writing styles and enticing content including
the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for fiction and the Nobel Prize in 1954 for literature (Young).
Hemingway proved to be very well-rounded and successful throughout his life. He left a
large impact on readers and writers alike and continued to inspire people in literature even
after his death.

Form, Structure, and Plot

The text is divided into five books and forty-one total chapters. The book is three hundred
thirty-two pages in length. Ernest Hemingway has a specific writing style which he emulates
through his use of a mixture of techniques. The plot itself is fairly simple and easily digested.

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There are some portions of the novel that diverge into side thoughts or emotions, but other
than that, A Farewell to Arms simply tells the story of a volunteer ambulance driver who has
fallen in love with a war nurse in the midst of the war. The relationship inevitably ends in
tragedy when Catherine passed away due to complications during labor and the protagonist,
Frederic Henry, is left feeling lost in the world. The general timeline for the text is during
World War l, between 1914-1918, so at least four years passed over the span of the book
(Bracken). The story is told in past tense, describing the flashbacks Lieutenant Frederic
Henry recalled during his time as an ambulance driver for the Italian army in World War l.
The very first line of the novel reveals that the events have already occurred and they are
just being told in a chronological order in Henry’s point of view. “In the late summer of that
year, we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the
mountains” (Hemingway 3). The story unfolds as one delves further into the book.
Hemingway is also known to use the concept of a stream of consciousness in his works in
which a person’s inner thoughts are continuously flowing. “-Then there was a flash, as when
a blast-furnace door is swung open, and a roar that started white and went red and on and
on in a rushing wind. I tried to breathe but my breath would not come and I felt myself rush
bodily out of myself and out and out and out and all the time bodily in the wind. I went out
swiftly, all of myself, and I knew I was dead and that it had all been a mistake to think you
just died. Then I floated, and instead of going on I felt myself slide back. I breathed and I was
back […] I tried to move but I could not move” (Hemingway 54). This quote reveals Henry’s
live thoughts and hysterical state of mind during the time of the incident considering that
neither Henry nor the readers are fully aware of what is going on. This feature strengthens
Hemingway’s book as it adds depth into the emotions and thoughts of the characters.
Ernest Hemingway is also well known for foreshadowing events in his novels. As Catherine
was lying on her deathbed after giving birth, Henry was pleading for her safety. “Don’t let
her die. Oh, God, please don’t let her die. I’ll do anything for you if you won’t let her die.
Please, please, please, dear God, don’t let her die […] You took the baby but don’t let her die
[…] You’re all right, Cat […] You’re going to be alright” (Hemingway 330). Henry’s intense
praying to keep Catherine alive foreshadows that something tragic will actually result from
the complications instead of a pleasant outcome like he wishes. This is yet another feature
that strengthens Hemingway’s writing. In the beginning of the novel, Frederic Henry is eager
to get a piece of the action whenever he can. Henry explains how slowly the war was

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proceeding and he lists some of the places he visited on his leave when the war was down.
During the beginning of the text, it is clear that Henry is new to many of the things that are
occuring. He gets a little too close to the action and badly injures himself in doing so. Henry
meets and falls in love with war nurse, Catherine Barkley, and the two proceed to meet as
often as they can over the span of the war. The beginning of the text sounds like the
average romantic comedy and the encounters are fairly expected. Towards the end, the
novel becomes slightly less predictable. Henry becomes very accustomed to the fatalities of
war and he matures a lot from his experiences. He and Catherine are expecting a baby boy
but complications with the pregnancy makes them lose not only the baby but Catherine as
well. Henry loses a lot more than just those he loves, Henry loses his sense of duty. He
chooses to part ways with the Italian army which shows just how much true love affects a
person. In the beginning, the reader would never have predicted such an eager boy, ready
to take on the world, choose to desert something as important as his duty (Bracken). He
becomes a lot less patriotic after suffering such a gut-wrenching loss.The end of the novel is
a realistic view on life without all of the sugarcoating, ending the reader off with the notion
that if true love could alter a person’s view on duty, it can move mountains. Hemingway
does this on purpose to strengthen his theme on love and war.

Point of View

One of the notable features in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms is the shifting of
point of view from first to second person narration throughout the book. Hemingway writes
a large chunk of the novel in first person point of view in which the narrator and
protagonist, Lieutenant Frederic Henry, reminisces on what life was like as an American
ambulance driver part of the Italian army during World War l. Lieutenant Henry describes
events that have already occurred therefore this novel is considered to be told in the past
tense. Readers grow accustomed to this perspective but it shifts partway through the book.
Second person perspective is introduced in book three, chapter thirty-two. Instead of using
the pronoun “I”, Hemingway uses “you”. “You were out of it now. You had no more
obligation” (Hemingway 232). The change of pronouns used is a clear indication that point
of view has now shifted showing that the narrator is thinking out loud. Narration or
perspective shifts are very important because they can alter the entire experience a reader

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will have while reading the book. Ernest Hemingway is able to smoothly transfer
perspectives back and forth, making his writing very clear and concise.

Character

A Farewell to Arms introduces a multiplitude of different characters throughout the book. It

consists of a variety of complex, dynamic, static, flat or round characters. The novel contains
around thirty minor characters, not including Catherine and Henry, and a majority of them
can be described as flat or static characters because they do not change a lot. The minor
characters are still very important to the character development of the main characters
because they contribute advice and warnings to the main characters. Some of the minor
characters, such as the priest, proved to be flat because his patient personality and kindness
towards Henry remained constant throughout the novel. Henry felt like he could confide in
the priest because he was always reliable and honest towards Henry. Catherine Barkley was
a static character in the novel because she also remained relatively the same in the sense
that she was always overly cautious and anxious before and after meeting Henry. She had to
constantly get reassurance that he loved her because she was naturally always worried. One
complex character in the novel was Catherine’s friend, Helen Ferguson. With Catherine,
Ferguson was very caring and concerned. With Henry, however; Ferguson was tougher and
showed less compassion because she was worried that Henry was bad for her friend. Helen
Furguson displayed a variety of different traits. Hemingway’s protagonist, Lieutenant
Frederic Henry, majorly developed as a character. Henry can be described as a dynamic
character because his personality changes the most. Though his age is not revealed, one can
assume that Henry is in his twenties because not only is he eligible for enlisting into the war,
but he easily heals from his injury, indicating that he is young. The readers are also left with
interpreting Henry’s physical appearance on their own because Hemingway does not give a
clear description. In a nutshell, Henry can be described as courageous, selfless, and loving.
Henry went through a personality shift in that he becomes more emotional and sentimental
rather than drinking and . He always remained modest.

Henry’s attitude on life shifted from enjoying the action and independence war provided to
choosing to devote his time to be with Catherine. Henry fluctuates a lot over the span of the
novel after having met Catherine because she ignites his emotional side. Henry serves as a

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reminder to the readers that loneliness is sometimes a choice. Once Henry found Catherine,
he realized all of the great feelings he was missing out on, including love, warmth and
stability. “We knew the baby was very close now and it (311)

Diction

Ernest Hemingway is able to make his writing come to life with the types of words he
chooses. This novel of his is very special because it involves a mixture of different types of
diction. It can go from being formal one minute to colloquial the next, depending on who is
doing the talking. For example, in the midst of the action, Henry’s fellow driver Passini
becomes injured and he starts screaming mercilessly. “Oh Mama Mia, Mama Mia! Dio te
salve, Maria!” (Hemingway 55). This speech is considered colloquial for it is regional and
informal. The shift in diction is clear as one starts reading the following paragraph in which
Frederic tries to save his friend but realizes it is hopeless. “I unwound the puttee and while I
was doing so I saw there was no need to try and make a tourniquet because he was dead
already,” (Hemingway 55). Compared to the first quote, this one is free of colloquialism and
uses higher vocabulary, indicating more formal diction. Another large distinction in the
diction is found in the way Henry speaks when he is talking about the army versus when he
is alone with Catherine. When describing things relating to the army, Henry uses very
specific and descriptive vocabulary. “My Austrian sniper’s rifle with its blued octagon barrel
and the lovely dark walnut, cheek fitted schuetzen stock hung over the two beds”
(Hemingway 11). When comparing this speech to a time where he is speaking to Catherine,
a large difference is noted. “I’ll love you in the rain and in the snow and in the hail and–
what else is there? […] Go to sleep darling, and I’ll love you no matter how it is,”
(Hemingway 126). The diction in this sense is much more personal and all around emotional.
The author relies heavily on the use of imagery to help readers picture whichever action
packed scenes it is that they are reading. “…Then came the chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh– then
there was a flash, as when a blast-furnace door is swung open, and a roar that started white
and went red and on and on in a rushing wind,” (Hemingway 54). The imagery provides the
reader with the sense that the action is occurring in front of their own eyes. The diction in
this novel indicates social status as well as region. In a dialogue amongst several men and
their singing abilities, regional diction is evident. “You’re just a wop from Frisco,” says one of
the men (Hemingway 120). A “wop” is “used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a

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person of Italian birth or descent” (Merriam-Webster). The diction shows that the
conversation is happening amongst a group Italians or possibly in Italy itself. This word
choice also refers to social status since the term is being used to belittle one of the singers,
noting his decent. Hemingway’s written language is far from plain. His use of metaphors
126=rain 178 and 48=dialogue

Much of the story consists of conversations had by characters. Hemingway formats

dialogues to be very concise. The conversations consist of many short sentences combined
to form between half a page to an entire page of dialogue. The narrative dialogue of
Frederic Henry usually drags on because he is sometimes narrating for long periods of time.
This differs greatly from character to character dialogue because that usually consists of
short bursts of sentences, packed with a lot of information. Sometimes the characters start
arguing and that tension is evident through the use of exclamation and reiteration. Dialogue
in the narrative voice is much calmer since the narrator has no one to argue with. A dialogue
found in book five, chapter forty-one, is occurring between Catherine and Henry as
Catherine is taking her final breaths:

“You’re all right, Cat […] You’re going to be all right.”

“‘I’m going to die […] I hate it.’ I took her hand”

“Do you want me to get a priest or any one to come and see you?”

“‘Just you,’ she said […] ‘I’m not afraid. I just hate it.’ […] ‘You won’t do our things with
another girl, or say the same things, will you?’”

“Never”

“I want you to have girls though.”

“I don’t want them”

“‘[…] Don’t worry, darling,’ Catherine said. ‘I’m not a bit afraid. It’s just a dirty trick.”

“You dear, brave sweet.” (Hemingway 330-331)

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This passage helps a reader dissect some of the characters, tone, and part of the story’s
theme. The theme of love requiring courage is very evident from this excerpt because both
Henry and Catherine had to be brave for one another. Catherine had to let Henry go and
vice versa. This relays a very somber and tragic tone to the text as a whole. Both characters
show bravery in the face of adversity. This next passage is from book one, chapter nine, in
which an injured Frederic Henry is being treated after getting badly injured:

“Are you hit badly?”

“In the legs.”

“It’s not serious I hope. Will you have a cigarette?[…] They tell me you’ve lost two drivers.”

“Yes. One killed and the fellow that brought you.”

“What rotten luck. Would you like us to take the cars?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you.”

“We’d […] return them to the villa. 206 aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a charming place. I’ve seen you about. They tell me you’re American.” (Hemingway 57)

The diction presented in this passage shows formality and hints that the man Henry is
speaking with may be English. Words such as “rotten” and the formatting of his questions
show that the doctor may be from England. This English doctor seems very polite based on
the way he is asking Henry all those questions. Henry’s character is also revealed because
this passage shows how patient he is. Even though his leg just got blown up, Henry is still
calmly answering the doctor’s questions, not making a great deal out of it. As readers will
find out later, patience is only one of many great parts about Frederic Henry’s character.
This passage also impacts the theme and tone. Henry’s selflessness and courage is shown in
this dialogue because it shows that he made sure to check on his other drivers before being
attended to. Otherwise, he would not have known the answer to the doctor’s question

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about the well being of Henry’s drivers. A tone of gloom and tragedy is set from this passage
because not only has Henry just lost two of his drivers, but his own wounds are looking very
alarming. With the help of diction, indicating tone and theme has become much simpler.

Significance of Title

Book titles can have a large impact on how readers construe a work of literature. Readers
have interpreted the title, A Farewell to Arms, in several different ways. First off, the word
“arms” is a homonym meaning it has multiple different meanings. “Arms” can either mean
weaponry or it can stand for the upper limbs of the human body. This makes it so that
people can interpret the title in a multitude of ways. For example, some assume that
Hemingway borrowed the title from George Peele’s poem “A Farewell to Arms” written in
the sixteenth century in which a knight explains to Queen Elizabeth l that his old age no
longer makes him suitable to bear arms for her, or in simpler terms, to fight for her
(Bracken). Others say that the title refers to Henry’s desertion of the Italian army. In the
sense that “arms” means weaponry, the title expresses Henry bidding goodbye to the war
and weapons. Lastly, some readers understand the title to mean that Henry is simply saying
goodbye to the loving arms of his beloved, Catherine, as she departs from the existing world
and onto the next (Bracken).

Join 10A Farewell to Arms Novel Notes

1) How does the author begin the novel?

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, portrays the complicated relationship between

two devoted lovers, Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley, during the Italian campaign of
World War I. The novel begins with the author describing what daily life was like since the
war was the most important thing happening during this time period. He explained the
degree of fighting going on extremely nearby and how people’s lives revolved around the
war. The season was also changing from fall to winter, making the weather rainy and
gloomy. The author then sets the scene with Lieutenant Henry, an ambulance driver, taking
a winter leave from the battlefront as the war begins to slow down. When Henry returns,

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one of his friends, Rinaldi, introduces him to a lady that he was interested in named
Catherine Barkley. Catherine was described as a beautiful English nurse’s aide that worked
in a British hospital close by. Henry is immediately intrigued by her, and Rinaldi soon steps
away from the relationship after he realizes that Catherine finds Henry more desirable.
Catherine’s fiance perished in the war a year before, leaving her with lasting grief and
sorrow. This emptiness makes her eager for someone’s affection, and Henry’s trauma and
emotional scarring from the war makes him open to finding a partner. The beginning of
their relationship starts at this point, and they have to face many more challenges with their
relationship and war throughout the book.

2) What is the novel mostly about?

The novel is mainly about the strong relationship between Catherine and Henry as they
embark on their journey to survive through the hardships of World War I. The novel
portrays character development for both of the characters and shows how they struggle to
maintain their relationship despite the difficulties that distance them throughout the war.
As Henry and Catherine fall madly in love with each other, they must fight to stay together
and preserve through the obstacles presented by the war. When Henry went to serve in the
military, he was badly wounded, suffering a severe injury to his knee. He was transported to
a hospital in Milan where Catherine ended up meeting him shortly after. Here he began
rehabilitation, and his relationship with Catherine advanced and became more serious.
When his leg was healed, he was scheduled to return to the front which meant he would
have to leave Catherine once again. However, this time, it was harder for him to leave her
because she revealed that she was pregnant. Even though Henry was going to be a father,
that did not matter to the people in the military, and he was forced to fight in the war.
When he returned to the front, the Italians had to make a retreat, so Henry picked up
people on his way out of the area. Everything was going smoothly until he was discovered
by a German officer, and he made a desperate escape by fleeing into the river. After drifting
away with the current for a long period of time, he finally leaves the river and boards a train
to Milan. Henry planned on reuniting with Catherine when he arrived, growing more
impatient to see her. Catherine and Henry both meet up again and were more than happy
to see one another. The two finally felt relief since they were together, and their
relationship continued to grow a stronger bond.

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3) How does the novel end?

The novel ends with Henry believing he is not attached to the military anymore when he
flees to Milan to be with Catherine. When Henry arrives in Milan, he reunites with Catherine
in the town of Stresa. However, the couple must escape quickly so they use a boat to get to
their new destination. They row all night and they eventually arrive in Switzerland. In
Montreux, a town in Switzerland, the couple spends their last winter alone together
preparing for the arrival of their newborn baby. Although Henry is thrilled to become a
father, he still bears the numbing guilt of leaving behind his fellow companions when they
needed him at the battlefront. In the following spring, the couple makes the decision to
move closer to the hospital in another town called Lausanne. After feeling some initial pain,
Catherine goes into labor and it does not go as planned. Catherine experiences extreme
agony and her labor becomes complicated. They give her a substantial amount of gas to
relieve the pain, but Catherine still suffers. After a long labor that ultimately resulted in a
Caesarean delivery, Catherine gave birth to a baby boy. However, Henry states that he is not
proud of his son because he put his beloved wife’s life in danger. Henry is relieved to know
that it is over, but what he does not realize is that the baby was stillborn, crushing
Catherine’s dreams. Later that day, she endures many hemorrhages and slips into a coma,
passing away quickly. This is the most devastating thing that Henry could have imagined,
and he has a difficult time accepting that his only true love is gone. The novel concludes with
Henry walking back to his hotel room in the rain, heartbroken and full of immense sorrow.

4) Examine important themes in the work.

One of the major themes in the book is that love comes with loss. Hemingway portrays
many instances in the book where love ends up leading to a tragic loss. For example, at the
beginning of the novel, the author states that Catherine’s fiance died in the war. This shows
how Catherine’s first love ended in the devastating loss of her loving partner. This also
foreshadows that the relationship between Henry and Catherine will also result in a horrible
way. At the end of the novel, Catherine births a stillbirth baby boy, leaving them both
extremely heartbroken. To add to this pain, Catherine ends up passing away after suffering
fatal hemorrhages. By incorporating the idea of love and loss going hand in hand, it shows
that love is not perfect and it comes with its downfalls. Another important theme in the

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book is that love has the power to overcome difficult situations. The effects of war have a
tremendous burden on Catherine and Henry’s relationship, but this does not stop them
from loving each other immensely. Their love gives them the power to overcome the tough
hardships of the war. This proves that when a relationship goes through negative times, it
often strengthens it, rather than tearing it apart. In addition to the themes about love,
another main theme is that war takes a major toll on people’s lives. Whether someone was
actually participating in the fighting of the war or they were part of the medical team,
everyone’s lives were affected in one way or another. It was almost impossible for people to
live normal lives with the war being such a protruding burden to society. Henry was affected
both physically and mentally by the war, and it left a lasting impact on his personality. No
matter what position characters took in the novel, the war changed their lives in different
ways. All of these themes also transfer over into the real world and go beyond the words in
the book.

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The Lost Generation Image And Code Hero In A Farewell To Arms

Behind the best American novel to emerge from World War One, is the embodiment and
depiction of the many soldiers who returned to their states broken down and alienated
from the war. Lieutenant Fredric Henry, the protagonist in A Farewell To Arms, is a clear
illustration of Ernest Hemingway’s idea of the Lost Generation and the idealistic code hero.
Like many other of Hemingways’ code heroes, Fredric Henry existentially feels detached
from the world and the war. As Fredric faces the harsh traumas and realities of World War
One, he continues to reject the traditional values of religion and represents an abstract view
on the war. Essentially, Henry conveys the general loss of faith and religion in a convention
of morality of the code hero. Opposed to Henry in the poem “A Farewell To Arms” , the
knight is the clear depiction of the true ideals of a classic hero: loyalty, traditional values,
and a perfectionist. In A Farewell To Arms, Ernest Hemingway uses indirect characterization
to contrast the code hero and the classical hero through the ideas of loyalty, rejection of
traditional values like patriotism, and impurifications which reflect upon the lost generation.

The most evident contrast is the difference between Frederic’s loyalty towards the war and
the knight’s loyalty towards the queen. In the novel, A Farewell To Arms, the Italian Army
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starts to arrest and kill their own Italian men in search for disguised Germans. After Henry is
arrested and taken to the riverbank, Henry makes for a fight or flight moment. Henry’s
concise stream of consciousness after he takes action to escape into the Tagliamento river
describes his loyalty towards the war: “[I] ran for the river, my head down… The water was
very cold and I stayed under as long as I could.” (Hemingway 225). When he submerges into
the cold water of Tagliamento River, Frederic’s obligation towards the Italian army washes
away and shifts towards the love of his life, Catherine. In total, Frederic flees, not out of
cowardness, but out of unwillingness to make a sacrifice towards a large institution and
larger cause, such as the war, that is meaningless {in his eyes} showing his true loyalty
towards the war. His immersion from the river and flight from the war, signifies his inability
to be loyal to large institutions and embodies what it means to be a code hero as opposed
to the classic chivalrous hero. In contrast, in “A Farewell To Arms” poem, George Peele
describes loyalty as a knight as “And, lovers’ sonnets turn’d to holy psalms …A man-at-arms
must now serve on his knees,” (Peele) reinforcing what it means to be a classic hero. He
shows that a knight must abide to the loyalty of queen no matter what. Even when the
knight lays down his shining armor, he must continue to serve the queen in prayer and
spread his ideas to the good of the people. Hemingway’s illustration of Frederic’s loyalty
towards a small group as opposed to Peele’s portrayal of the knight’s loyalty towards large
institutions shows readers what it means to be a code hero versus a classical hero.

Frederic further differentiates from the knights ideal classic hero through his rejection of
traditional values. In the novel, A Farewell to Arms, Frederic presents an entirely different
perspective on the war. This is mainly presented when Henry meets the young patriot, Gino.
Gino prattles the sacredness of the italian army and his own willingness to die for his own
country. However, Henry displays his abstract traditional views of patriotism when he says,
“Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete
names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and
the dates,” (Hemingway 185). To Henry, such abstractions like honor, courage, and hallow
mean little to nothing for the chaos and destruction war brings upon the people. He
diminishes the romanticized “sacrifices” and puts aside the traditional worth of honor and

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glory of the war. He rejects the traditional values of patriotism and essentially what it means
to be a soldier. Contrarily, Peele creates a falsified image of the classic hero through the use
of the knight when he says, “And when he saddest sits in homely cell …He’ll teach his
*swains this carol for a song”. To Peele, the natural, chivalrous hero will continue to spread
his patriotic ideas about the queen as if it were a song. In this statement, Peele uses
figurative language to compare the spread of the patriotic ideas of the knight versus
teachings through a carol of a song. Overall, the knight doesn’t lose his traditional values of
patriotism and will continue to spread his ideas for his queen. The knights values of war and
patriotism greatly differentiates from Frederic’s rejection of the traditional values like
patriotism, and shows what it means to be a code hero in the eyes of Hemingway.

Frederic departs from the knights classical code hero in his ideas of perfection of an
individual. Ernest Hemingway uses the catastrophic events that broke down and alienated
the soldiers or the lost generation in order to develop a concept known as the “nada
principle.” The code hero’s conceptual idea of the ‘nada principle’ portrays the idea that
Henry’s life is filled with pain and suffering regardless of his actions. Henry views alcohol as
the only way to escape this reality of war and the “nada principle.” Ernest Hemingway
describes Frederic’s conversation with Miss Van Campen shortly after he finds out his world
is going to descend into chaos as he is called back to the front: “I suppose you can’t be
blamed for not wanting to go back to the front. But I should think you would try something
more intelligent than producing jaundice with alcoholism,” (Hemingway 144). Henry
believes the only way for him to cope with the emptiness is to continue to drink. The “nada
principle” or the code hero idea that life is meaningless has resorted Henry to drink away his
problems. In other words, Hemingways ideal code hero, represented by Frederic, uses the
imperfection of alcoholism as a way to cope with the problems he comes face to face with.
On the other hand, in “A Farewell to Arms” poem, George Peele uses the perfections of the
knight in order to effectively portray what it means to be a classic hero. George Peele
continues to describe the purities of the knight when he states “But though from court to
cottage he depart, His Saint is sure of his unspotted heart.” In reference towards perfection,
the poem confirms that even religious figures like the Saint believe that in order to be a
classical hero, it is necessary to have an unspotted heart or to be pure. From the time he
works with the queen in servitude to his death, the knight must remain perfect and pure.

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Hemingway uses the “nada principle” in order to portray the impurities that make up Henry
while Peele describes the knight as perfect and pure.

Hemingway uses the reflection of his own life and historical issues like the Lost Generation
in order to contrast Frederic Henry from the classical hero like the knight. During the late
1500s, the “Farewell To Arms” poem depicts what it means to be a classical hero through
indirect characterization. Overall, George Peele portrays the ideals of the classical hero
through the use of the knight of Queen Elizabeth. However, Hemingway speaks for the
scarred, depressed soldiers like the Lost Generation in order to present new ideas on what it
means to be a “hero.” In the novel, A Farewell To Arms, Hemingway presents ideas of flaw,
rejection of traditional values like patriotism, and loyalty through the use of the code hero:
Frederic Henry. Frederic Henry, suffers the harsh realities of war while trying to find his
purpose within life… by the end he finds life is meaningless. Like many other soldiers during
World War One, Henry is just one of 6 million soldiers who returned home with a shattered,
traditional image on what it means to be a “hero.”

A Farewell To Arms: Structure, Characters, And Significance

Table of contents

1. Form, Structure, and Plot

2. Point of View
3. Character
4. Diction
5. Significance of Title
Ernest Miller Hemingway, born July 21, 1899 and died July 2, 1961, was recognized as a very
prominent novelist throughout his life. Hemingway based his novel, A Farewell to Arms, on
personal life experiences he encountered when he was involved in World War l. Hemingway
came from a very competent background as the son of a doctor, Clarence Edmond
Hemingway, and a talented but unsuccessful singer, Grace Hall Hemingway (Young). As a
child, Hemingway undertook many different hobbies including playing musical instruments,
hunting, fishing, and highschool sports but he eventually stumbled upon writing and fell in
love with it (McGovern). In school, he exceeded in writing for it was his strongest subject.

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This is one of several contributing factors to why Hemingway proceeded to work for The
Star, a newspaper in Kansas City, Missouri, upon graduating highschool. It was there that
Hemingway perfected his writing style. Soon realizing that all of the eligible men around him
were leaving for the war going on in Europe, Hemingway tried enlisting for the military.
Unfortunately, a defect in his eyesight rendered his acceptance into the war. Hemingway
still pursued the war path but as an ambulance driver for the American Field Service instead
thanks to the advice of his fellow newspaper reporter, Theodore Brumback. Ernest
Hemingway wrote all about the encounters he faced during the war such as getting injured
at the Austro-Italian front and falling in love with the nurse who was treating him
(“Hemingway’s Short Stories”). These wartime adventures were altered and combined to
create one of Hemingway’s most notorious novels, A Farewell to Arms. Ernest Hemingway
would go on to win many awards for his striking writing styles and enticing content including
the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for fiction and the Nobel Prize in 1954 for literature (Young).
Hemingway proved to be very well-rounded and successful throughout his life. He left a
large impact on readers and writers alike and continued to inspire people in literature even
after his death.

Form, Structure, and Plot

The text is divided into five books and forty-one total chapters. The book is three hundred
thirty-two pages in length. Ernest Hemingway has a specific writing style which he emulates
through his use of a mixture of techniques. The plot itself is fairly simple and easily digested.
There are some portions of the novel that diverge into side thoughts or emotions, but other
than that, A Farewell to Arms simply tells the story of a volunteer ambulance driver who has
fallen in love with a war nurse in the midst of the war. The relationship inevitably ends in
tragedy when Catherine passed away due to complications during labor and the protagonist,
Frederic Henry, is left feeling lost in the world. The general timeline for the text is during
World War l, between 1914-1918, so at least four years passed over the span of the book
(Bracken). The story is told in past tense, describing the flashbacks Lieutenant Frederic
Henry recalled during his time as an ambulance driver for the Italian army in World War l.
The very first line of the novel reveals that the events have already occurred and they are
just being told in a chronological order in Henry’s point of view. “In the late summer of that
year, we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the

15
mountains” (Hemingway 3). The story unfolds as one delves further into the book.
Hemingway is also known to use the concept of a stream of consciousness in his works in
which a person’s inner thoughts are continuously flowing. “-Then there was a flash, as when
a blast-furnace door is swung open, and a roar that started white and went red and on and
on in a rushing wind. I tried to breathe but my breath would not come and I felt myself rush
bodily out of myself and out and out and out and all the time bodily in the wind. I went out
swiftly, all of myself, and I knew I was dead and that it had all been a mistake to think you
just died. Then I floated, and instead of going on I felt myself slide back. I breathed and I was
back […] I tried to move but I could not move” (Hemingway 54). This quote reveals Henry’s
live thoughts and hysterical state of mind during the time of the incident considering that
neither Henry nor the readers are fully aware of what is going on. This feature strengthens
Hemingway’s book as it adds depth into the emotions and thoughts of the characters.
Ernest Hemingway is also well known for foreshadowing events in his novels. As Catherine
was lying on her deathbed after giving birth, Henry was pleading for her safety. “Don’t let
her die. Oh, God, please don’t let her die. I’ll do anything for you if you won’t let her die.
Please, please, please, dear God, don’t let her die […] You took the baby but don’t let her die
[…] You’re all right, Cat […] You’re going to be alright” (Hemingway 330). Henry’s intense
praying to keep Catherine alive foreshadows that something tragic will actually result from
the complications instead of a pleasant outcome like he wishes. This is yet another feature
that strengthens Hemingway’s writing. In the beginning of the novel, Frederic Henry is eager
to get a piece of the action whenever he can. Henry explains how slowly the war was
proceeding and he lists some of the places he visited on his leave when the war was down.
During the beginning of the text, it is clear that Henry is new to many of the things that are
occuring. He gets a little too close to the action and badly injures himself in doing so. Henry
meets and falls in love with war nurse, Catherine Barkley, and the two proceed to meet as
often as they can over the span of the war. The beginning of the text sounds like the
average romantic comedy and the encounters are fairly expected. Towards the end, the
novel becomes slightly less predictable. Henry becomes very accustomed to the fatalities of
war and he matures a lot from his experiences. He and Catherine are expecting a baby boy
but complications with the pregnancy makes them lose not only the baby but Catherine as
well. Henry loses a lot more than just those he loves, Henry loses his sense of duty. He
chooses to part ways with the Italian army which shows just how much true love affects a

16
person. In the beginning, the reader would never have predicted such an eager boy, ready
to take on the world, choose to desert something as important as his duty (Bracken). He
becomes a lot less patriotic after suffering such a gut-wrenching loss.The end of the novel is
a realistic view on life without all of the sugarcoating, ending the reader off with the notion
that if true love could alter a person’s view on duty, it can move mountains. Hemingway
does this on purpose to strengthen his theme on love and war.

Point of View

One of the notable features in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms is the shifting of
point of view from first to second person narration throughout the book. Hemingway writes
a large chunk of the novel in first person point of view in which the narrator and
protagonist, Lieutenant Frederic Henry, reminisces on what life was like as an American
ambulance driver part of the Italian army during World War l. Lieutenant Henry describes
events that have already occurred therefore this novel is considered to be told in the past
tense. Readers grow accustomed to this perspective but it shifts partway through the book.
Second person perspective is introduced in book three, chapter thirty-two. Instead of using
the pronoun “I”, Hemingway uses “you”. “You were out of it now. You had no more
obligation” (Hemingway 232). The change of pronouns used is a clear indication that point
of view has now shifted showing that the narrator is thinking out loud. Narration or
perspective shifts are very important because they can alter the entire experience a reader
will have while reading the book. Ernest Hemingway is able to smoothly transfer
perspectives back and forth, making his writing very clear and concise.

Character

A Farewell to Arms introduces a multiplitude of different characters throughout the book. It

consists of a variety of complex, dynamic, static, flat or round characters. The novel contains
around thirty minor characters, not including Catherine and Henry, and a majority of them
can be described as flat or static characters because they do not change a lot. The minor
characters are still very important to the character development of the main characters
because they contribute advice and warnings to the main characters. Some of the minor
characters, such as the priest, proved to be flat because his patient personality and kindness
towards Henry remained constant throughout the novel. Henry felt like he could confide in
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the priest because he was always reliable and honest towards Henry. Catherine Barkley was
a static character in the novel because she also remained relatively the same in the sense
that she was always overly cautious and anxious before and after meeting Henry. She had to
constantly get reassurance that he loved her because she was naturally always worried. One
complex character in the novel was Catherine’s friend, Helen Ferguson. With Catherine,
Ferguson was very caring and concerned. With Henry, however; Ferguson was tougher and
showed less compassion because she was worried that Henry was bad for her friend. Helen
Furguson displayed a variety of different traits. Hemingway’s protagonist, Lieutenant
Frederic Henry, majorly developed as a character. Henry can be described as a dynamic
character because his personality changes the most. Though his age is not revealed, one can
assume that Henry is in his twenties because not only is he eligible for enlisting into the war,
but he easily heals from his injury, indicating that he is young. The readers are also left with
interpreting Henry’s physical appearance on their own because Hemingway does not give a
clear description. In a nutshell, Henry can be described as courageous, selfless, and loving.
Henry went through a personality shift in that he becomes more emotional and sentimental
rather than drinking and . He always remained modest.

Henry’s attitude on life shifted from enjoying the action and independence war provided to
choosing to devote his time to be with Catherine. Henry fluctuates a lot over the span of the
novel after having met Catherine because she ignites his emotional side. Henry serves as a
reminder to the readers that loneliness is sometimes a choice. Once Henry found Catherine,
he realized all of the great feelings he was missing out on, including love, warmth and
stability. “We knew the baby was very close now and it (311)

Diction

Ernest Hemingway is able to make his writing come to life with the types of words he
chooses. This novel of his is very special because it involves a mixture of different types of
diction. It can go from being formal one minute to colloquial the next, depending on who is
doing the talking. For example, in the midst of the action, Henry’s fellow driver Passini
becomes injured and he starts screaming mercilessly. “Oh Mama Mia, Mama Mia! Dio te
salve, Maria!” (Hemingway 55). This speech is considered colloquial for it is regional and
informal. The shift in diction is clear as one starts reading the following paragraph in which

18
Frederic tries to save his friend but realizes it is hopeless. “I unwound the puttee and while I
was doing so I saw there was no need to try and make a tourniquet because he was dead
already,” (Hemingway 55). Compared to the first quote, this one is free of colloquialism and
uses higher vocabulary, indicating more formal diction. Another large distinction in the
diction is found in the way Henry speaks when he is talking about the army versus when he
is alone with Catherine. When describing things relating to the army, Henry uses very
specific and descriptive vocabulary. “My Austrian sniper’s rifle with its blued octagon barrel
and the lovely dark walnut, cheek fitted schuetzen stock hung over the two beds”
(Hemingway 11). When comparing this speech to a time where he is speaking to Catherine,
a large difference is noted. “I’ll love you in the rain and in the snow and in the hail and–
what else is there? […] Go to sleep darling, and I’ll love you no matter how it is,”
(Hemingway 126). The diction in this sense is much more personal and all around emotional.
The author relies heavily on the use of imagery to help readers picture whichever action
packed scenes it is that they are reading. “…Then came the chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh– then
there was a flash, as when a blast-furnace door is swung open, and a roar that started white
and went red and on and on in a rushing wind,” (Hemingway 54). The imagery provides the
reader with the sense that the action is occurring in front of their own eyes. The diction in
this novel indicates social status as well as region. In a dialogue amongst several men and
their singing abilities, regional diction is evident. “You’re just a wop from Frisco,” says one of
the men (Hemingway 120). A “wop” is “used as an insulting and contemptuous term for a
person of Italian birth or descent” (Merriam-Webster). The diction shows that the
conversation is happening amongst a group Italians or possibly in Italy itself. This word
choice also refers to social status since the term is being used to belittle one of the singers,
noting his decent. Hemingway’s written language is far from plain. His use of metaphors
126=rain 178 and 48=dialogue

Much of the story consists of conversations had by characters. Hemingway formats

dialogues to be very concise. The conversations consist of many short sentences combined
to form between half a page to an entire page of dialogue. The narrative dialogue of
Frederic Henry usually drags on because he is sometimes narrating for long periods of time.
This differs greatly from character to character dialogue because that usually consists of
short bursts of sentences, packed with a lot of information. Sometimes the characters start

19
arguing and that tension is evident through the use of exclamation and reiteration. Dialogue
in the narrative voice is much calmer since the narrator has no one to argue with. A dialogue
found in book five, chapter forty-one, is occurring between Catherine and Henry as
Catherine is taking her final breaths:

“You’re all right, Cat […] You’re going to be all right.”

“‘I’m going to die […] I hate it.’ I took her hand”

“Do you want me to get a priest or any one to come and see you?”

“‘Just you,’ she said […] ‘I’m not afraid. I just hate it.’ […] ‘You won’t do our things with
another girl, or say the same things, will you?’”

“Never”

“I want you to have girls though.”

“I don’t want them”

“‘[…] Don’t worry, darling,’ Catherine said. ‘I’m not a bit afraid. It’s just a dirty trick.”

“You dear, brave sweet.” (Hemingway 330-331)

This passage helps a reader dissect some of the characters, tone, and part of the story’s
theme. The theme of love requiring courage is very evident from this excerpt because both
Henry and Catherine had to be brave for one another. Catherine had to let Henry go and
vice versa. This relays a very somber and tragic tone to the text as a whole. Both characters
show bravery in the face of adversity. This next passage is from book one, chapter nine, in
which an injured Frederic Henry is being treated after getting badly injured:

“Are you hit badly?”

“In the legs.”

“It’s not serious I hope. Will you have a cigarette?[…] They tell me you’ve lost two drivers.”

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“Yes. One killed and the fellow that brought you.”

“What rotten luck. Would you like us to take the cars?”

“That’s what I wanted to ask you.”

“We’d […] return them to the villa. 206 aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a charming place. I’ve seen you about. They tell me you’re American.” (Hemingway 57)

The diction presented in this passage shows formality and hints that the man Henry is
speaking with may be English. Words such as “rotten” and the formatting of his questions
show that the doctor may be from England. This English doctor seems very polite based on
the way he is asking Henry all those questions. Henry’s character is also revealed because
this passage shows how patient he is. Even though his leg just got blown up, Henry is still
calmly answering the doctor’s questions, not making a great deal out of it. As readers will
find out later, patience is only one of many great parts about Frederic Henry’s character.
This passage also impacts the theme and tone. Henry’s selflessness and courage is shown in
this dialogue because it shows that he made sure to check on his other drivers before being
attended to. Otherwise, he would not have known the answer to the doctor’s question
about the well being of Henry’s drivers. A tone of gloom and tragedy is set from this passage
because not only has Henry just lost two of his drivers, but his own wounds are looking very
alarming. With the help of diction, indicating tone and theme has become much simpler.

Significance of Title

Book titles can have a large impact on how readers construe a work of literature. Readers
have interpreted the title, A Farewell to Arms, in several different ways. First off, the word
“arms” is a homonym meaning it has multiple different meanings. “Arms” can either mean
weaponry or it can stand for the upper limbs of the human body. This makes it so that
people can interpret the title in a multitude of ways. For example, some assume that
Hemingway borrowed the title from George Peele’s poem “A Farewell to Arms” written in
the sixteenth century in which a knight explains to Queen Elizabeth l that his old age no
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longer makes him suitable to bear arms for her, or in simpler terms, to fight for her
(Bracken). Others say that the title refers to Henry’s desertion of the Italian army. In the
sense that “arms” means weaponry, the title expresses Henry bidding goodbye to the war
and weapons. Lastly, some readers understand the title to mean that Henry is simply saying
goodbye to the loving arms of his beloved, Catherine, as she departs from the existing world
and onto the next (Bracke

The Lost Generation Image And Code Hero In A Farewell To Arms

Behind the best American novel to emerge from World War One, is the embodiment and
depiction of the many soldiers who returned to their states broken down and alienated
from the war. Lieutenant Fredric Henry, the protagonist in A Farewell To Arms, is a clear
illustration of Ernest Hemingway’s idea of the Lost Generation and the idealistic code hero.
Like many other of Hemingways’ code heroes, Fredric Henry existentially feels detached
from the world and the war. As Fredric faces the harsh traumas and realities of World War
One, he continues to reject the traditional values of religion and represents an abstract view
on the war. Essentially, Henry conveys the general loss of faith and religion in a convention
of morality of the code hero. Opposed to Henry in the poem “A Farewell To Arms” , the
knight is the clear depiction of the true ideals of a classic hero: loyalty, traditional values,
and a perfectionist. In A Farewell To Arms, Ernest Hemingway uses indirect characterization
to contrast the code hero and the classical hero through the ideas of loyalty, rejection of
traditional values like patriotism, and impurifications which reflect upon the lost generation.

The most evident contrast is the difference between Frederic’s loyalty towards the war and
the knight’s loyalty towards the queen. In the novel, A Farewell To Arms, the Italian Army
starts to arrest and kill their own Italian men in search for disguised Germans. After Henry is
arrested and taken to the riverbank, Henry makes for a fight or flight moment. Henry’s
concise stream of consciousness after he takes action to escape into the Tagliamento river
describes his loyalty towards the war: “[I] ran for the river, my head down… The water was

22
very cold and I stayed under as long as I could.” (Hemingway 225). When he submerges into
the cold water of Tagliamento River, Frederic’s obligation towards the Italian army washes
away and shifts towards the love of his life, Catherine. In total, Frederic flees, not out of
cowardness, but out of unwillingness to make a sacrifice towards a large institution and
larger cause, such as the war, that is meaningless {in his eyes} showing his true loyalty
towards the war. His immersion from the river and flight from the war, signifies his inability
to be loyal to large institutions and embodies what it means to be a code hero as opposed
to the classic chivalrous hero. In contrast, in “A Farewell To Arms” poem, George Peele
describes loyalty as a knight as “And, lovers’ sonnets turn’d to holy psalms …A man-at-arms
must now serve on his knees,” (Peele) reinforcing what it means to be a classic hero. He
shows that a knight must abide to the loyalty of queen no matter what. Even when the
knight lays down his shining armor, he must continue to serve the queen in prayer and
spread his ideas to the good of the people. Hemingway’s illustration of Frederic’s loyalty
towards a small group as opposed to Peele’s portrayal of the knight’s loyalty towards large
institutions shows readers what it means to be a code hero versus a classical hero.

Frederic further differentiates from the knights ideal classic hero through his rejection of
traditional values. In the novel, A Farewell to Arms, Frederic presents an entirely different
perspective on the war. This is mainly presented when Henry meets the young patriot, Gino.
Gino prattles the sacredness of the italian army and his own willingness to die for his own
country. However, Henry displays his abstract traditional views of patriotism when he says,
“Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete
names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and
the dates,” (Hemingway 185). To Henry, such abstractions like honor, courage, and hallow
mean little to nothing for the chaos and destruction war brings upon the people. He
diminishes the romanticized “sacrifices” and puts aside the traditional worth of honor and
glory of the war. He rejects the traditional values of patriotism and essentially what it means
to be a soldier. Contrarily, Peele creates a falsified image of the classic hero through the use
of the knight when he says, “And when he saddest sits in homely cell …He’ll teach his
*swains this carol for a song”. To Peele, the natural, chivalrous hero will continue to spread

23
his patriotic ideas about the queen as if it were a song. In this statement, Peele uses
figurative language to compare the spread of the patriotic ideas of the knight versus
teachings through a carol of a song. Overall, the knight doesn’t lose his traditional values of
patriotism and will continue to spread his ideas for his queen. The knights values of war and
patriotism greatly differentiates from Frederic’s rejection of the traditional values like
patriotism, and shows what it means to be a code hero in the eyes of Hemingway.

Frederic departs from the knights classical code hero in his ideas of perfection of an
individual. Ernest Hemingway uses the catastrophic events that broke down and alienated
the soldiers or the lost generation in order to develop a concept known as the “nada
principle.” The code hero’s conceptual idea of the ‘nada principle’ portrays the idea that
Henry’s life is filled with pain and suffering regardless of his actions. Henry views alcohol as
the only way to escape this reality of war and the “nada principle.” Ernest Hemingway
describes Frederic’s conversation with Miss Van Campen shortly after he finds out his world
is going to descend into chaos as he is called back to the front: “I suppose you can’t be
blamed for not wanting to go back to the front. But I should think you would try something
more intelligent than producing jaundice with alcoholism,” (Hemingway 144). Henry
believes the only way for him to cope with the emptiness is to continue to drink. The “nada
principle” or the code hero idea that life is meaningless has resorted Henry to drink away his
problems. In other words, Hemingways ideal code hero, represented by Frederic, uses the
imperfection of alcoholism as a way to cope with the problems he comes face to face with.
On the other hand, in “A Farewell to Arms” poem, George Peele uses the perfections of the
knight in order to effectively portray what it means to be a classic hero. George Peele
continues to describe the purities of the knight when he states “But though from court to
cottage he depart, His Saint is sure of his unspotted heart.” In reference towards perfection,
the poem confirms that even religious figures like the Saint believe that in order to be a
classical hero, it is necessary to have an unspotted heart or to be pure. From the time he
works with the queen in servitude to his death, the knight must remain perfect and pure.
Hemingway uses the “nada principle” in order to portray the impurities that make up Henry
while Peele describes the knight as perfect and pure.

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Hemingway uses the reflection of his own life and historical issues like the Lost Generation
in order to contrast Frederic Henry from the classical hero like the knight. During the late
1500s, the “Farewell To Arms” poem depicts what it means to be a classical hero through
indirect characterization. Overall, George Peele portrays the ideals of the classical hero
through the use of the knight of Queen Elizabeth. However, Hemingway speaks for the
scarred, depressed soldiers like the Lost Generation in order to present new ideas on what it
means to be a “hero.” In the novel, A Farewell To Arms, Hemingway presents ideas of flaw,
rejection of traditional values like patriotism, and loyalty through the use of the code hero:
Frederic Henry. Frederic Henry, suffers the harsh realities of war while trying to find his
purpose within life… by the end he finds life is meaningless. Like many other soldiers during
World War One, Henry is just one of 6 million soldiers who returned home with a shattered,
traditional image on what it means to be a “hero.”

The Effects Of War In A Farewell To Arms

The Effects Of War In A Farewell To Arms

As quoted, “If they killed men as they did this fall, the Allies would be cooked in another
year. He said we were all cooked, but we were all right if we did not know it. We were all
cooked. The thing was not to recognize it. The last country to realize they were cooked
would win the war.” (Hemingway). Warfare has always been a part of history throughout
the years. However, the aftermath of the war is a topic often left untouched by society. The
first world war had changed the youth of the 20th century, being put into a category of
illusion and influenced their way of thinking. In the book, WWI had internal effects on
people such as post-traumatic stress disorder (also known as PTSD), societal culture, and
how the war helped people understand why thing’s in life happen.

In Earnest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms, men involved in the battles were hurting
inside and out, some more than others. Those affected in WWI had some sort of
psychological decline, classified as “shell shock”. Doctors described shell shock as having a
dysfunctional nervous system, a high sense of irritability, traumatic dreams, and specific
reactions to noises. The book shows situations of confusion, and mental struggles, proving

25
that when a man is involved with war, there is a constant threat of injury, death, adaptation,
and pain. An example shown in the book would be when Henry is having pasta with other
Italian ambulance drivers when they are hit by shellings, causing an image of injury and
death that traumatized Fredric.

WWI had a big influence on the societal culture of the infamous roaring twenties, causing
domestic effects. Hemingway referred to the youth as The Lost Generation”, meaning that
the veterans, survivors, and society had different experiences as the war progressed. The
era is described to be full of drinking, partying, going out, emptying their pockets, mentally
harming people in a way that they became delusional. Men were seen to have lost their
masculinity, while the aftermath of the war made people want a much simpler time. As for
Fredric and Catherine, the delusional thought of raising a child and holding major
responsibilities was worse, as Fredric had no maturity over the concept of love. Fredric’s
idea of love wasn’t the same as Catherine’s, as the society had more of a free-will way of
thinking. The 20’s culture was seen as immature by the older generations, causing tension
within the era.

Within the book, WWI determined how those involved in the war understood and
processed the outcomes. This era was a blueprint for the after-war society to look back at
while it progressed, including the want to advance as a society that was delusional and
immature by the elders. As shown in Hemingway’s book, there was an understanding that
the troubled youth involved internally or externally in the war defined the generations after
while the war progressed, and while the war ended. The end of the war defined the fact
that as always, the world keeps spinning and societal views will decline or accept, which
Fredric realized his splitting with Catherine Berkley as a result of maternal death– pregnancy
was a result of love, and her death was a result of people loving each other. Henry and the
Priest’s perspectives of love were different, but Fredric came to understand love caused
Catherine and the baby’s death. Hemingway’s philosophy indeed showed how the war had
affected the decade in terms of how both people had their mannerisms and ways of seeing
things in life such as serving, aiding, loving, and leaving the warfare in Italy.

26
In understanding, not only did Earnest Hemingway’s “A farewell to arms” define the effects
of war on people and society itself, but he defined the universe’s symbolism for war: life and
death. Although the book went over Fredric’s life story as an ambulance driver for in the
Italian force during WWI, the book’s perspective here was observed into seeing how war
takes a psychological, physical, and emotional toll on those serving in the war, how the post-
war society influenced and semi-justified the way of Fredric’s thinking, and how Fredric’s
views towards the end of the war made him change the way he analyzed aftermath
realization and understandings of why things in life happen. Hemingway not only put his war
experiences in a form of a book, but he described the life events the war can have on
people, whether many soldiers had diagnosed with shell shock, how the war affected the
culture of the twenties, and how the aftermath of the war made Fredric realize why things
in life happen.

Works Cited

1. Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. New York: Scribner, 1957.

2. Harvard Health Publishing. “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.” Harvard Health,

www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-a-to-z.

3. Polakovic, Gary. “How Did WWI Reshape the Modern World?” USC News, 9 Nov.
2018, news.usc.edu/151487/impact-of-world-war-i-shaping-the-modern-world/.

4. “Popular Culture During WWI.” Remembering WWI,

rememberingwwi.villanova.edu/popular-culture/.

A Farewell to Arms Themes: Love and War

The theme in the story “A Farewell to Arms” is based on love and war. Ernest Hemingway
offered a different account of war that is unromanticized and more practical. Frederic Henry
is the main character of the story. Throughout the novel, his character progresses quite a
lot. Hemingway uses the war as an instrument to temporarily separate the two and bring
them together. The story is told in a first-person narrative to help readers picture the events
that take place. The author also uses weather as symbolism throughout the story.
Hemingway portrays the cruel realities of war and how relationships can be formed through

27
such a tough time. He shows that the people serving use their hopes as distractions of the
harsh reality they are living in.

The story takes place during World War One. World War one was a time full of sadness and
disillusionment. The main character in the story is Frederic Henry who serves as an
American ambulance driver in italy. The woman he ends up falling in love with is Catherine
Barkley who is an English nurse. In the beginning of the story Frederic was a cocky man; a
womanizer. When Frederic hurt his leg he met Catherine who was his nurse. The two spent
quite some time together and feelings grew quickly. Catherine wanted an emotional
connection whereas Frederic did not. This obviously caused problems. But before he knew it
he became madly in love with her and gave up his womanizing ways. Frederic became so
disillusioned from the war he then said his “farewell to arms”. He no longer wanted to be in
the war but he was not allowed to go home. To help maintain sanity he uses Catherine to fill
the void. They end up being separated for quite some time by the war and reunite in Milan.
From all of the recent trauma he had experienced, his level of maturity grew greatly to
match up with Catherine’s. After he spent a summer with her the change was noticeable
and forced him to grow up for good. Frederic’s change was demonstrated in Chapter 34.
Towards the end of the story his character development was even more apparent. He
started to realize things he never did before. But unfortunately, he has to carry that
understanding by himself forever.

From beginning to end, Hemingway uses the weather as symbolism to help enhance the
story. In the first chapter, there appears to be rain. The rain portrays death in the story. ‘In
the fall when the rains came the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches
were bare and the trunks black with rain,'(Hemingway 1). Catherine made the meaning of
rain clear when she says ‘I’m afraid of the rain because sometimes I see myself dead in it,’
she said to him. ‘And sometimes I see you dead in it.'(Hemingway 19). Hemingway kept his
audience at the edge of their seat each time rain appeared in the story. When his and
Catherine’s baby is pronounced dead he looks out the window and all he sees is rain. We
know that Henry will survive the rain because he is the narrator.

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“A farewell to arms” is a story based on love and war. Hemingway uses two star crossed
lovers to demonstrate how hard the war is mentally, spiritually and physically. He uses a
first-person narrative to enhance the audience’s imagery. Not only that but he uses
symbolism to create a better plot for the story. Hemingway uses war as an instrument to
show how two lovers can use each other to escape reality mentally; and he physically
separates them. This story demonstrates how cruel war can be, but how love can conquer
all.

Impacts Of War On Soldiers And The Society In A Farewell To Arms

Ernest Hemingway has always been a very popular writer among readers in the last part of
20th century not only because of his novels but also because of his life. It’s commonly
known that most of his writings present real life experiences from Hemingway’s past and I
have chosen 2 of his most representative ones: A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bells
Toll. Both novels focus on physical and psychological impact of war on soldiers and on their
loved ones as well. I chose these novels as they had a great impact on my passion for History
and World War I and how it was perceived not only by historians but also by writers of that
time. Hemingway’s perception, presentation and characters are alive, very much active and
the visual images he creates in his novels had a great impact on myself. I later on found out
that he himself was a soldier and his life experience is very much present in his writings.

Hemingway is one of the writers considered part of the “lost generation.” The term “lost
generation” is generally applied to those who had actively participated in the First World
War and because of this they had realised that life was meaningless. The importance of the
First World War in the dethronement of moral and religious values cannot be over
emphasised. Those who had gone to the War had fallen into the impression that war was an
occasion to seek glory and assert one’s manhood.

Lost Generation, in general, was the post-World War I generation, but specifically a group of
U.S. writers who came of age during the war and established their literary reputations in the
1920s. The term stems from a remark made by Gertrude Stein to Ernest Hemingway, “You
are all a lost generation.” Hemingway used it as an epigraph to The Sun Also Rises (1926), a
novel that captures the attitudes of a hard drinking, fast living set of disillusioned young
expatriates in post war Paris.
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The generation was “lost” in the sense that its inherited values were no longer relevant in
the post war world and because of its spiritual alienation from a U.S. that, basking under
Pres. Warren G. Harding’s “back to normalcy” policy, seemed to its members to be
hopelessly provincial, materialistic, and emotionally barren. The term embraces Hemingway,
F.Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, E.E. Cummings, Archibald MacLeish, Hart Crane, and
many other writers who made Paris the centre of their literary activities in the ’20s. They
were never a literary school. In the 1930s, as these writers turned in different directions,
their works lost the distinctive stamp of the post war period.

It was the First War in which machine had played a very important role, more important
than the men who were fighting the war. The unprecedented hatred of man shook their
faith in the goodness of man and even the fact of their manhood. It was the first time that
soldiers and generals alike had come to realise that they were helpless in the hands of the
destructive weapons that they were using. The machines had become their masters instead
of being their slaves. As a result of the domination of the machine over men, men had felt
that they were extremely helpless, they were victims of a vast conspiracy in which machines
and gods had conspired to strangle the individual’s freedom. They had moved from one
trench to another in order to save their lives and when they were killed, they were killed by
accident and they did not have any chance what so ever to show their courage or bravery
which war is usually supposed to bring out in man.

In other words, it describes the disillusioned young men who survived World War I. It
defines the loss of morality and the aimlessness in the lives of soldiers, their feelings at the
time. The War destroyed their idea that if you were good, good things would come your
way. But for many men who went to the war and experienced death, they returned
physically and mentally damaged. The faith that had once given them hope and helped
them before had been destroyed by the countless number of deaths.

The novels written during the post war period showed these feelings. Hemingway’s A
Farewell to Arms is clear evidence of these new beliefs. Hemmingway explains all the
feelings that soldiers of his time felt during and after the war. In A Farewell to Arms
Hemingway uses painful experiences of his own life and places them in the novel. The main
character of the novel Henry is based on himself and his personal experiences. His personal
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pain enables him to describe him and his feeling to a great amount of detail. The characters’
views of the world change with war just as Hemmingway’s did. But Henry’s pain is greater
than the physically pain he experiences. In Hemmingway’s writing there is always an
emotional pain of a past love. Mentally Hemmingway was damaged by a past love. While he
was recovering from his wounds, Hemingway fell for a woman by the name of Hannah
Agnes von Kurowsky. She was older than him and not very interested in him. They dated but
Hemingway had the idea of marrying her. Agnes had another idea. The dating never went
farther than a date. So they ended things and parted their own ways. But this caused him a
great pain that led him to alienation and to make all his work including A Farewell To Arms
to have a tragic end when it comes to love.

War is a terrible event that can have a drastic effect on the soldiers who take part in it. It
can destroy their lives and families, but it can also destroy the emotions of innocent
civilians. In his novel A Farewell to Arms Ernest Hemingway exhibits this destruction with
the theme of love as a response to the horrors of war and the world.

As a lost generation writer, Hemingway, like many others, wrote about World War I. The
story takes place during the war where an American ambulance driver is in an Italian front.
This American, Frederick Henry, later slowly falls in love with an English volunteer nurse,
Catherine Barkley. In Hemingway’s novels, the female characters he writes about are
described as women who act in the service of men rather than in their own desires. The
women that he describes are more like most women of that time, where it is considered a
more traditional role.

However, in A Farewell to Arms, Catherine seems to be a more liberal character who has
escaped from the traditional roles of women. Catherine does not suppress her own needs to
care for Frederick; neither does she mask her own individuality. Catherine is not affluence
by the ambiance around her showing her independence and her strives for her dreams
display her ambitious needs, however, she does present some submissive behaviour.
Catherine has her own independent personality with an identity of her own. She has more
liberal views towards traditional matters. When she and Frederick were in love with each
other, Frederick suggests that they should get married. Catherine did not believe that being
wedded in a church is necessary for their relationship. Catherine felt that standing before a
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priest would not hold their union together. She saw doing rituals of any sorts are just empty
forms performed, she did not see it having any real effect. Similar to not getting married,
Catherine did not see baptizing a child as any useful form.

In this case it was Frederick who brings it up again. Catherine’s refusal to adapt religious
ceremonies in her life show that she does not do as Frederick pleases. Indeed, whenever
Henry and Catherine are blissful, something comes along to interrupt it, whether it’s Henry’s
injury, his being sent back to the front, his impending arrest, or finally, Catherine’s death
from childbirth.

Human life was completely devalued in this mechanised war that Hemingway seems to be
groping for new gods is apparent from not only the early works but also from the later
works. One of the new gods that Hemingway seemed to have accepted was the discipline
that a writer must exercise in his writings. He must be true to his talent and in which the
reader should experience by himself what the writer has described. Life is sad, tragic, and
there is no escape from pain. If this be so, it is useless to try to escape from the inevitable.
Therefore, what one can do is to be a man. When man is afflicted with misery, pain or
sorrow, or even death, the way to face it is to remain calm, be true to oneself and one’s
companions, endure pain as best as one can and to fight as brave as you can. To give up a
fight would be unmanly. The undefeated must remain morally victorious even though he
has nothing to win. That the winner takes nothing is the core of Hemingway’s philosophy
and the code is an attempt to face up to this truth and this is the only reward that man can
take with him from this world. There is also another underlying assumption in Hemingway’s
philosophy: there is no world beyond the grave. Therefore, one’s victories and losses are to
be measured in terms of this world and not in the world beyond the grave. So there is a
constant stress on the enjoyment of the good things of this world.

Theme Of War In A Farewell To Arms And All Quiet On The Western Front

World War 1 was once famously labelled as the ‘war to end all wars’, by President Woodrow
Wilson of America, but the grim truth of trench warfare and the senseless brutality was only

32
exposed after the countless deaths of military and civilian lives, accumulating to a huge
number of up to 40 millions deaths . One of history’s greatest wartime novels, A Farewell to
Arms, written by the terse and minimalist American author, Ernest Hemingway in 1929,
evocatively unravels the lugubrious experience of war in the fragmented setting of Italy,
during the World War 1 campaign, through the first person narrator point of view of the
despondent protagonist, Frederic Henry.

A bequest of wartime novels, most notably All Quiet on the Western Front, along with
poignant poetry, including ‘Dulce et Decorum’ represent war in a realistic and
unromanticised manner, conveying the concealed veracity of warfare, to condemn the
antiquated myth of war as a glorifying and patriotic experience, as signified in the tributary
sonnet, ‘The Dead’ (1914). In addition, Hemingway masterfully employs a range of prosaic
and generic techniques, including …in order to reveal the violent deterioration of nature, as
well as the sense of nihilism in Edwardian society in an era of devout Catholicism, caused by
World War One, a global tragedy, that ultimately annihilated a generation forever.

War time literature has profoundly impacted the notion of war, from a valorous and
sacrificial idealisation, to a grotesque and barbarous representation, that epitomises the
unimaginable truth. There are a myriad of romantic war poems encompassing the Victorian
ideal of heroism and patriotism, but the, ‘The Dead’, written by the renowned, English poet,
Rupert Brooke in 1914, communicates the obsolete paragons of war, that were supported
by the biased propaganda, during World War One. However, the time of production for his
tributary sonnet was during the rise of the World War 1 conflict, a time when the macabre
revelation of war was not exposed yet and biased propaganda gave enlisting soldiers a false
sense of security. Hence, Brooke skilfully constructs a sonnet, as a tribute to honour the
soldier’s gallantry and heroism, aligned with the Edwardian society’s romantic vision of war,
despite having died by sepsis in WW1. The opening stanza of the Plutarchan sonnet , ‘Blow
out, you bugles, over the rich Dead!’, implements assonance, along with an oxymoron in
‘rich Dead’, to promptly praise the soldiers, through the syntax in the exclamation mark and
the symbol of the ‘bugle’ – a trumpet that is used in military funerals. Furthermore, the
symbolism in ‘Sweet wine of youth…’,expresses the immense reverence for the noble
sacrifice of the soldiers and establishes the euphemistic tone of the sonnet, as it disregards

33
the heinous reality of death during wartime. The quixotic and flagrantly patriotic nature of
Brooke’s poetry, has lead acclaimed English poet, John Lehmann, amongst other literary
critics, to form a criticism against his flawed representation of war, that did not mirror the
egregious truth, labelling his poetry as ‘sentimental and unrealistic’. On the contrary,
various critics like Eder and Edward A. McCourt, assert that ‘Brooke’s war sonnets perfectly
captured the mood of the moment.’ As the atrocities of trench warfare in World War One
emerged and the astonishing death toll soared, esteemed poets of World War One such as
Wilfred Owen, encapsulated the terror and tragedy of modern warfare in poetry, in an
unromanticised and realist style, juxtaposed to Brooke’s idealistic abstractions of war –
glory, patriotism and heroism. The posthumous poem, ‘Dulce et Decorum Est’, was
published after the end of World War 1 in 1920, therefore all the heinous horrors of war had
transpired, resulting in the inherent disillusionment of soldiers, that Brooke had pre-WW1
blindly ignored. The use of pessimistic tone and metaphor in ‘Drunk with fatigue’ and ‘…
guttering, choking, drowning’, effectively represents the miserable atmosphere of the reality
of war, filled with agony and suffering. Furthermore, the iambic pentameter of the poem
together with the repetition in the use of caesura, constructs a fragmented and chaotic
mood, that resembles the true reality of war, which in turn negates the preconceived
illusions of war. He truly focuses on the melancholic condition of the disillusioned soldiers
and he bitterly ends with manifesting, ‘The old Lie: It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s
country’, to condemn the antiquated paradigms of war, that had caused one too many
individuals to willingly die, which deems war as futile cause. Owen’s excoriation of the
fallacious abstractions of war evident in Rupert Brooke’s poetry, has influenced authors part
of the ‘Lost Generation’ like Hemingway and Remarque to express similar paradigms of war,
that actively denote the disillusionment of the tormented soldiers, contrasted to early
idealisations of a glorious and chauvinistic war, that henceforth destroyed a generation.

Ernest Hemingway’s and Erich Maria Remarque’s memorable novels, A Farewell to Arms
and All Quiet on the Western Front, changed the face of war time literature by further
implementing realism and antiwar zeal to parallel the aesthetics of the work of Wilfred
Owen, in order to shed light on the physical and mental ‘wounds’ on soldiers post war. Both
compelling novels were published in 1929, more than a decade after the end of a gruesome
war and incorporated their personal war experiences to create a fictional plot, that reflected

34
their own autobiographical events of WW1. The literary sensation, All Quiet on the Western
Front, written by German novelist and pacifist , Erich Maria Remarque, elucidates the
psychological and physical impacts of war, by dramatizing the savagery of war, which
challenges humanity’s perception of a military conflict like WW1. The notable epigraph
echoes these sentiments and asserts;

This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of all an adventure, for
death is not an adventure to those who stand face to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a
generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the
war.

Consequently, this signifies the trauma of the ‘shell-shocked’ past of the soldiers part of the
‘Lost Generation’, highlighting the disorientation and aimlessness of society post WW1,
which identifies the destruction of a generation. Moreover, the observant first person point
of view narration of the protagonist, Paul Bäumer states, ‘Bombardment, barrage, curtain-
fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades — words, words, words, but they hold
the horror of the world.’ The use of asyndeton in successively listing various types of
armament, as well as the epizeuxis in ‘words, words, words…’, reinforces the inherent
power that weapons hold, to connote that war is simply a dark and heinous extension of the
world. It also highlights the advancement of chemical warfare in WW1; the senseless
brutality and immoral tactics rather than chivalrous, as the use of poison gas and nuclear
bombs emerged.

Similarly, the retrospective protagonist, Frederic Henry in the worldwide classic, A Farewell
to Arms, an American ambulance driver on the Italian front in WW1, challenges the obsolete
paragons of war about glory and heroism and provides an untarnished depiction of the true
reality of war. Furthermore, the emotionally detached narrator, Frederic, mentions, ‘I’m not
brave any more darling. I’m all broken. They’ve broken me’ to his love, Catherine in the
bleak setting of WW1. The pacing of the terse, sharp sentences part of the interior
monologue, emphasises his sense of despondence and anguish, as the war has ‘destroyed’
him completely, even though he has not died. Consequently, this recognises the extreme
internal conflict in the supposed war hero and protagonist, suggesting that the exposure to
35
a cruel war, can have detrimental and irreversible impacts on the mental wellbeing of
soldiers, leading to PTSD and perennial trauma. From analysing both war protagonists, it can
be denoted that the impacts of war were clearly not ephemeral and caused the destruction
of a generation – either through physical or mental ‘scars’, that haunted them perpetually.

The egregious truth of war did indeed lead to the disillusionment of soldiers and perennial
trauma, but also resulted in the loss of faith in God, that eventually destroyed a generation.
Italy in A Farewell to Arms and Germany in All Quiet on the Western Front, were both
demolished settings where devout Catholicism was prevalent pre-WW1. However, the
atrocious tragedies of war, caused the despondent soldiers to lose their faith in God and
turn to nihilism, as they became sceptical about the existence of such a divine force. The
spiritually lost protagonist, Frederic, discovers that people had ‘plastic and rubble in their
gardens and sometimes in the street’, due to the callous bombing of civilisations. The
intense visual imagery created together with Hemingway’s detached and melancholic
literary style, reveals the destruction of war, as the wall plaster was stripped from the
houses in Gorizia, but also religious beliefs and faith in God has been stripped, due to the
macabre reality of war. This conception is further evident in the cynical and hedonistic
officers interaction with the Priest, as they flagrantly disparage him, in the narrator
commentary in ‘this captain baited him often’. These recurring actions towards the reticent
Priest, communicates that the soldiers have minimal respect for religious institutions, as
they mock the Priest for his piety and devotion to God. The major asserts that ‘all thinking
men are atheists’, which acts as an indirect insult to the Priest and all other individuals who
identify with the Church, labelling them as illogical and preposterous for believing in God,
through the use of a generalisation, which creates dichotomy between the characters and
ultimately the Edwardian society. Society during WW1 turned nihilistic and upheld
existentialism, as they were void of the true meaning of life and became desensitised to the
inevitability of death, due to the futile brutality of war, that established an atmosphere of
violent chaos. The employment of pathetic fallacies and geographical metonyms throughout
the novel, in particular the symbols of rain, mud and sludge foreshadowed ominous
occurrences, like the countless casualties of war – Quote It functioned as a constant
reminder of the destruction of a generation that war caused, but also the lack of spiritual
connection to God and loss of religious beliefs in civilians.

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A Farewell to Arms Novel Notes: Reader's Reflection

1) How does the author begin the novel?

A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, portrays the complicated relationship between

two devoted lovers, Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley, during the Italian campaign of
World War I. The novel begins with the author describing what daily life was like since the
war was the most important thing happening during this time period. He explained the
degree of fighting going on extremely nearby and how people’s lives revolved around the
war. The season was also changing from fall to winter, making the weather rainy and
gloomy. The author then sets the scene with Lieutenant Henry, an ambulance driver, taking
a winter leave from the battlefront as the war begins to slow down. When Henry returns,
one of his friends, Rinaldi, introduces him to a lady that he was interested in named
Catherine Barkley. Catherine was described as a beautiful English nurse’s aide that worked
in a British hospital close by. Henry is immediately intrigued by her, and Rinaldi soon steps
away from the relationship after he realizes that Catherine finds Henry more desirable.
Catherine’s fiance perished in the war a year before, leaving her with lasting grief and
sorrow. This emptiness makes her eager for someone’s affection, and Henry’s trauma and
emotional scarring from the war makes him open to finding a partner. The beginning of
their relationship starts at this point, and they have to face many more challenges with their
relationship and war throughout the book.

2) What is the novel mostly about?

The novel is mainly about the strong relationship between Catherine and Henry as they
embark on their journey to survive through the hardships of World War I. The novel
portrays character development for both of the characters and shows how they struggle to
maintain their relationship despite the difficulties that distance them throughout the war.
As Henry and Catherine fall madly in love with each other, they must fight to stay together
and preserve through the obstacles presented by the war. When Henry went to serve in the
military, he was badly wounded, suffering a severe injury to his knee. He was transported to
a hospital in Milan where Catherine ended up meeting him shortly after. Here he began
rehabilitation, and his relationship with Catherine advanced and became more serious.
37
When his leg was healed, he was scheduled to return to the front which meant he would
have to leave Catherine once again. However, this time, it was harder for him to leave her
because she revealed that she was pregnant. Even though Henry was going to be a father,
that did not matter to the people in the military, and he was forced to fight in the war.
When he returned to the front, the Italians had to make a retreat, so Henry picked up
people on his way out of the area. Everything was going smoothly until he was discovered
by a German officer, and he made a desperate escape by fleeing into the river. After drifting
away with the current for a long period of time, he finally leaves the river and boards a train
to Milan. Henry planned on reuniting with Catherine when he arrived, growing more
impatient to see her. Catherine and Henry both meet up again and were more than happy
to see one another. The two finally felt relief since they were together, and their
relationship continued to grow a stronger bond.

3) How does the novel end?

The novel ends with Henry believing he is not attached to the military anymore when he
flees to Milan to be with Catherine. When Henry arrives in Milan, he reunites with Catherine
in the town of Stresa. However, the couple must escape quickly so they use a boat to get to
their new destination. They row all night and they eventually arrive in Switzerland. In
Montreux, a town in Switzerland, the couple spends their last winter alone together
preparing for the arrival of their newborn baby. Although Henry is thrilled to become a
father, he still bears the numbing guilt of leaving behind his fellow companions when they
needed him at the battlefront. In the following spring, the couple makes the decision to
move closer to the hospital in another town called Lausanne. After feeling some initial pain,
Catherine goes into labor and it does not go as planned. Catherine experiences extreme
agony and her labor becomes complicated. They give her a substantial amount of gas to
relieve the pain, but Catherine still suffers. After a long labor that ultimately resulted in a
Caesarean delivery, Catherine gave birth to a baby boy. However, Henry states that he is not
proud of his son because he put his beloved wife’s life in danger. Henry is relieved to know
that it is over, but what he does not realize is that the baby was stillborn, crushing
Catherine’s dreams. Later that day, she endures many hemorrhages and slips into a coma,
passing away quickly. This is the most devastating thing that Henry could have imagined,

38
and he has a difficult time accepting that his only true love is gone. The novel concludes with
Henry walking back to his hotel room in the rain, heartbroken and full of immense sorrow.

4) Examine important themes in the work.

One of the major themes in the book is that love comes with loss. Hemingway portrays
many instances in the book where love ends up leading to a tragic loss. For example, at the
beginning of the novel, the author states that Catherine’s fiance died in the war. This shows
how Catherine’s first love ended in the devastating loss of her loving partner. This also
foreshadows that the relationship between Henry and Catherine will also result in a horrible
way. At the end of the novel, Catherine births a stillbirth baby boy, leaving them both
extremely heartbroken. To add to this pain, Catherine ends up passing away after suffering
fatal hemorrhages. By incorporating the idea of love and loss going hand in hand, it shows
that love is not perfect and it comes with its downfalls. Another important theme in the
book is that love has the power to overcome difficult situations. The effects of war have a
tremendous burden on Catherine and Henry’s relationship, but this does not stop them
from loving each other immensely. Their love gives them the power to overcome the tough
hardships of the war. This proves that when a relationship goes through negative times, it
often strengthens it, rather than tearing it apart. In addition to the themes about love,
another main theme is that war takes a major toll on people’s lives. Whether someone was
actually participating in the fighting of the war or they were part of the medical team,
everyone’s lives were affected in one way or another. It was almost impossible for people to
live normal lives with the war being such a protruding burden to society. Henry was affected
both physically and mentally by the war, and it left a lasting impact on his personality. No
matter what position characters took in the novel, the war changed their lives in different
ways. All of these themes also transfer over into the real world and go beyond the words in
the book.

5) Include one important quote/passage with parenthetical reference (your quote should
illustrate theme, style or both). What does this quote illustrate? Why did you choose it?

“Often a man wishes to be alone and a girl wishes to be alone too and if they love each
other they are jealous of that in each other, but I can truly say we never felt that. We could

39
feel alone when we were together, alone against the others … But we were never lonely and
never afraid when we were together” (Hemingway 249).

This passage illustrates the strong bond between Catherine and Henry and it shows that
even though they may feel alone individually, they never feel lonely when they are with
each other. They have such a passionate love for each other that they are able to overcome
the feeling of being alone while they are together. This quote implies that just the presence
of each other is enough to satisfy their loneliness and worries. The author uses repetition in
this quote by stating the word “alone” repeatedly. This demonstrates the author’s style and
how he uses it to make a greater impact on the reader. By repeating this word, it helps the
reader understand that Catherine and Henry do not feel alone when they are with each
other, and their love overcomes their own loneliness. In addition, the use of repetition
reinforces the message the author is trying to convey and emphasizes a detail that is
important to the story. This quote also illustrates the theme of love overcoming hardships.
The love that the two possess for one another is so strong that it is able to conquer their
feelings of solitude to complete the empty void they feel. I also chose this quote because it
allows the reader understand that Catherine and Henry’s love was the driving force that
kept them from feeling alone and afraid. If they had not met each other, both of them most
likely would have suffered through a dreary life, distanced from the people around them.

6) Analyze the literary techniques the author uses. (How does the author craft the novel?)

Ernest Hemingway uses different techniques throughout the book to create a unique and
intriguing novel. One major technique that he uses is short lines of dialogue that go back
and forth between characters. Hemingway uses this strategy to make the situation seem
more real to the reader because it is easier to envision how the scene is happening. He also
uses a lot of repetition in his writing style because it enforces the main idea of the passage
and emphasizes the importance of whatever is being repeated. The author also makes his
writing simple and straightforward so it does not leave the reader questioning what they
read. He is very direct and does not make people guess what is going to happen next.
Another technique he uses in the book is he keeps everything in chronological order,
meaning things do not occur out of order. This makes the book easier to follow since you do
not have to continually refer back to past events. Along with these techniques, Hemingway

40
also incorporates some other literary devices such as imagery, diction, and tone to craft the
novel. Imagery helps set the scene and the tone affects the overall mood of the story. These
literary devices help the author convey some of the important themes in the book, such as
the power of love, by providing emphasis and clarity. By combining all of these strategies,
the novel is crafted in a more alluring and easy to comprehend way.

7) Discuss one excerpt of literary criticism written on your author. You should paraphrase
the critic’s comments in your own words and include a parenthetical reference.

Many people say that Ernest Hemingway is one of the most influential writers America has
seen. However, some critics have different opinions. Hemingway experienced and wrote
about World War I, making numerous people think he is the best American author. But,
critics have said that he is not technically an American author because a majority of his
novels were written in places outside of America during the war. They believed that this
made him look like he was on an opposing side, from an American’s point of view. He was
not portrayed as a true American author and scholarly experts have critiqued him about
this. In addition, many people believe that he has a boring writing style that does not keep
the reader engaged. A critic from the Hemingway Preservation Foundation states that
Hemingway, “is known for creating novels that usually follow a basic chronological order,
which some critics deem as boring and ‘typical’ for such a great American author”
(Hemingway Preservation Foundation). This means that although his novels convey
important messages and life lessons, they may sometimes be boring for the reader since he
does not put a twist on the order of his writing. Even though Ernest Hemingway was born an
American citizen, many people do not believe he is an American author because of his dull
and international writing. http://www.hemingwaypreservationfoundation.org/ernest-
hemingway-criticism.html

8) How successful is your author in your personal opinion?

In my personal opinion, Ernest Hemingway is extremely successful. He uses a combination

of his unique style, emotion, and organization to craft beautifully written novels that have
made a lasting impact on history. Ernest Hemingway is one of the most recognized authors
and has written books that most people have either read or heard of. His books convey
important life lessons and cause the reader to think deeply about what they have just read.
41
Specifically in A Farewell to Arms, he kept the book interesting by creating scenarios that
drove the plot forward. There were also many important messages that could be taken
away from the novel and incorporated into real life. The novels he wrote were so prodigious
that he went on to win a Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. His success also lead to a fairly
large accumulation of money. Although he wrote books that went on to make him
successful, he sadly ended up commiting suicide in 1961. Despite his tragic death, he is still
seen as one of the best novelists of the twentieth century and his legacy continues to inspire
others. Hemingway’s works have influenced a variety of people and inspired them to write
novels of their own. Overall, Ernest Hemingway is arguably one of the most influential and
talented novelists the country has seen.

General Overview Of A Farewell to Arms: Critical Analysis

We are here today because the value of the literary canon and its influence on the current
school curricula has been attacked and questioned. Classics, for English teachers like us, are
the ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’; the microscope and periodic table; the abacus and
calculator. Harold Bloom, a giant defender of the literary canon, once stated that “All
canonical writing possesses the quality ‘of making you feel strangeness at home’.” Every
word in this type of books seems to express beauty, intellect and creativity. However, we all
know that there is something more important than the flowery language. It is clearer than a
crystal that classics should still be taught because these are works of literature that had
stood the test of time. These are the literary books that continue to have relevant context
and message because our society still accept the values and ideologies, we used to have
hundred years ago. With this in mind, students will then be exposed to issues and outlooks
beyond their immediate experiences, and hopefully will be more prepared for the ‘real’
world once they leave the comforting gates of our school. The pieces ‘A Farewell to Arms’ by
Ernest Hemmingway and ‘Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D Salinger are perhaps the greatest
examples of classics featuring literary and figurative devices intentionally used to reveal the
sociological concerns and cultural norms we had, and still have today.

42
Inspired by the personal experiences of the author himself, Ernest Hemmingway wrote ‘A
Farewell to Arms’ in 1928 in which the novel is primarily set during and after the Italian
campaigns in World War I. Hemmingway, similar to the protagonist Lieutenant Henry, joined
the Red Cross Ambulance Corps during World War I, where he was struck with a trench
mortar along with three Italian soldiers. During his recovery, he met and immediately fell
head over heels with a Red Cross nurse Agnes von Kurowsky, the real-life version of
Catherine Barkley.

‘A Farewell to Arms’ is considered a classic due to Hemmingway’s unique and outstanding

writing style – simple, direct and concise; every single word included is necessary in
delivering the context. Another characteristic that identifies this piece as part of the literary
canon is its relevant theme. The author presents us with complex insights into human life,
particularly during the most difficult times of existence, through the theme reality vs
fantasy. This dominates the novel as all characters continuously dream and create fantasies
of better lives after war; however, due to the truths of reality, it was just simply impossible.
We may not be living during a period of a war, but the unfair conditions still existing in
today’s world force some people to live in such hardships and struggles.

Hemingway structures the plot of ‘A Farewell to Arms’ where harsh reality always insinuate
and destruct the dreams that the characters construct to make them persevere and hopeful.
Both Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley foolishly tries to escape the war itself in
multiple occasions, but complications and problems always seem to find and destroy them.
For instance, even at the start of the novel, both of them pretended to be in love with each
other in the expectations of escaping the pain of reality. However, their ‘love’ for each other
was immediately challenge when Henry almost lost his life as he was hit by a mortar shell
(p.50). The couple, again, used love as an excuse to escape the ‘real’ world and peacefully
live in the mountains of Switzerland where Catherine got pregnant. It was almost perfect,
but not quite. Henry was attacked with reality when Catherine had numerous haemorrhages
during her childbirth leading to unfortunate death (p.293). By incorporating these incidents
in the plot, Hemmingway positions the readers to realise the bitter reality of life- that
sometimes, even positive forces such as courage, love and hope appears to be insufficient
and worthless.

43
Throughout the classic, Hemmingway incorporated symbolisms in order to foreshadow the
important events that are about to happen. Rain, not only in the ‘A Farewell to Arms’ but
also in real life, symbolises death, defeat and darkness. From the beginning of the story,
Henry vividly describes the destructive manner of rain:

“At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera. But
it was checked and, in the end, only seven thousand died of it in the army.” (p.4)

This fact already associates the rain with death and notifies the readers that weather plays a
vital role in this novel. Catherine’s fear towards rain and her acknowledgement to the
connection of rain and death is the most obvious evidence of this weather’s symbolic
meaning (p.118). Her perception was further justified when the novel ended with Henry
coming back to the hotel, drenched from the rain, mourning for Catherine’s death (p.294).
Hemmingway successfully reminds the readers through this symbolism that tragedies are
inevitable and are thrown unexpectedly; it might be like a light rainfall or it might be a
disastrous, life changing rainfall. But, no matter how hard we try, it is impossible to avoid
and escape these challenges.

Aside from the similar writing manner, ‘Catcher in the Rye’, published in 1951, is also
inspired by the personal reflection of the author J.D Salinger. Before joining the army in
World War II, Salinger moved to different universities but was unable to graduate in any of
those schools. These life events are similar to the experiences of Holden Caulfield, the
protagonist of the novel, who was living in post-World War II conditions and has not
managed to finish any of his studies. Although criticisms and controversies were developed
due to the novel’s features of adolescent sexuality, this is still included in the literary canon
as the dominant theme of isolation is still significant, especially in younger generation. It is
apparent that this kind of books should be in taught in school because students are at their
point of their lives in which they can feel isolated. Often, older generations tend to just
brush it away and deal with it lighter that they should have, making them feel more
abandoned. Holden Caulfield represents young people who feels isolated and excluded by
the ‘heartless’ and ‘selfish’ society we had and, to be honest, still have today.

44
Salinger included dialogues throughout his novel in order to lucidly displays Holden
Caulfield’s desire for someone who will understand him. He attempted to communicate
with others to talk about his emotions and perspectives towards life in general, but their
conversations always ended up with him being awkward or the other rejecting him. For
example, on the way back to his hotel, he invited the driver for a drink: ‘Would you care to
stop on the way and join me for a cocktail? On me, I’m loaded.’ (Chapter 9). Despite his offer
to pay, the cab driver declined, making Holden, once again, lonely. He again attempted to
speak with someone by paying offering five dollars to a prostitute named Sunny, starting the
conversation with the usual “What did you do during the day?” (p.14). Sunny
instantaneously replied ‘Sleep. Go to the show.’ (p.14), evidently exposing that she is
uninterested with any discussions and all she wants to do with him is the paid sex. By using
dialogues like the examples above, the author positions the readers to understand how
difficult and challenging it is for a teenage person like Holden to reach out and reveal his
personal issues with others. Salinger was also successful in subtly demonstrating the act of
selfishness of some people within the society and how they ignore and disregard the
emotions of others.

In the society where the value of the widely considered books are declining, it is our
responsibility as English teachers to exert effort in bringing back its power and influence. All
of the books in the literary canon demonstrate technical brilliance, universal themes of
significance and creation of new consciousness thus, they deserve to be part of the current
school curricula. Aside from the literary and vocabulary skills, students will be able to
comprehend perspectives that they might not be able to experience in real life. They will
also be more prepared to enter the real world as they are now aware of the cultural norms
that still underpins today’s society. For instance, by reading ‘A Farewell to Arms’, the
students will realise that life is unfair and they should be fully prepared to take on any
hardships in life because sometimes, there will not be any rainbows after the rain:
sometimes, there will be challenges straight after challenges, to the point that it will push
them to give up. Classics like ‘Catcher in the Rye’ will teach students that there will be times
where circumstances will be tough, and they will feel isolated and rejected. But it will also
teach them that once they have overcome these feelings, they will find true happiness and

45
hope again. Overall, classics should only be disregarded in the curricula once the themes
and messages presented are no longer relevant to anyone in this society.

We are here today because the value of the literary canon and its influence on the current
school curricula has been attacked and questioned. Classics, for English teachers like us, are
the ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’; the microscope and periodic table; the abacus and
calculator. Harold Bloom, a giant defender of the literary canon, once stated that “All
canonical writing possesses the quality ‘of making you feel strangeness at home’.” Every
word in this type of books seems...

A Farewell to Arms: Summary, Characters and Themes

Catherine Barkley is an English nurse, who eventually falls in love with Henry and she is
beautiful and is described to have the most amazing hair. In the beginning of the novel, she
mourns for her dead fiancé, which describes her nature as reckless and longs for love to
remove her emptiness and so she accepts Henry’s love and they both escape the
devastating world and stay away from war.

Themes:

Love has been the prominent theme of the novel as it describes both for the country and for
a person but it’s rare to find love in this destruction of the world. As mentioned in the novel
Henry always saw war and killing which made him disbelieve in love and happiness.
However, when he fell in love with Catherine, they underwent through many situations but
never gave up and it seems the world could not see them happy as each time they seemed
to be blissful, something negatives comes along to destroy them and soon he gets injured, is
sent back to front or his arrest order and eventually the death of Catherine.

The novel is covered basically about war and how it affects different lives in different ways
and makes the reader think about how war can leave a person devastated and realize that
war is nothing but just a senseless loss of life. In the novel, Henry always disliked war but the
same time stood for his people to protect them though at times he and his team soldiers are

46
broken down due to the violence they are part of it but soon he realized that this does not
lead to anything and so he runs away from the damaging world and settles with Catherine.

Masculinity has also been shown through to the story in the strength needed for war, fight
for the country and loyalty and also as being men, they drink, smoke and be heroically
brave. But as in the end we are human, they too suffer, love and hurt and Henry has all the
qualities of masculinity. He ends the end for his love and escapes the army to live peaceful
and as an individual refuses to contribute in senseless war and brutality.

World war1 that caused death to million of military and civilians fought between United
states, France and Russia on one side and Germany on other and bloodshed everywhere.
The main aim of Italian’s were prevent the German troops from reinforcing the Austrian
troops on the front as they were an ally of Germany and Austria. The most important event
shown in the novel is the Italian retreat that happened on October 24, 1917. Fredric Henry is
a volunteer who has...

Disasters of the First World War and the Negative Psychological Impacts in a Farewell to
Arms

The historical sources of human history are telling us that there were many disastrous wars,
fights, killings which had happened between enemies and hostile groups to control most
area of world until now. The leaders of the countries employed young and inexperienced
soldiers by giving them a particular job with salaries in the army forces to fight, also is using
different types of weapon system to fight between the countries they spent huge
economical sources throughout of war to buy new weapons, tanks, and other necessary
items used in military.

One of the most famous wars during the twentieth century is the First World War or the
Great War from 28th of July, 1914 to 11th of November, 1918. This period of war presents
itself as the background to the novel A Farewell to Arms by Earnest Hemingway. The war, in
the previous century, was between some huge countries at that time, and they were divided
into two major groups: the first one consisted of France, Russia and Britain which were

47
called Triple Entente, and the second group consisted of Germany, Austria, Hungry and Italy
which were called Triple Alliance. That was one of the most destructive wars throughout
human history because of some several reasons; the war caused huge population areas to
be burned and damaged by fire, explosion, and destructive devices systems like bombs. No
one could live in the damaged areas; therefore, most of the farmers and the people of the
villages had to leave their own farms and houses groups that caused in the stations some
men who worked in military services just fell to pieces and other men did not recover.
However, beside the injured, other parts who were related to the military were victims –
like medical health specialists, doctors and nurses were dead and lost because of they were
apart of military health since there was no food, no clean water and security for their lives.

The population who lived under the hostile groups were in a bad condition in life and
needed help for the basic services especially for those countries which had a major role such
as Britain, this can be considered as one of the most effective strategic way between the
enemies countries as Rosanne states that; ‘When Britain became a belligerent, every
country in the world was affected. Those who were Britain’s enemies were progressively cut
off from overseas trade by the naval blocked'(Rosanne et. al 7).

For a better understanding of the topic we can ask questions about the psychological and
emotional status of the soldiers, the kind of diseases they faced, the use of emotional
treatment to help them escape from war, and finding empathy and kindness during war.

It is clear war had more negative impacts on the soldiers than anyone else due to being
attacked by enemies. The First World War did not only have physical impacts on human
body; it also had psychological and mental effects on the human minds. Among them the
soldiers and their family were the most vulnerable people to face diseases because they
were the center of the war and the most important part of the military. According to a
British psychologist Philip Vernon once described ‘the 1900s as ‘the most exciting decade in
psychology since the death of Aristotle’’ therefore, they had an important role in ground
forces and military services.

Most of the soldiers were in a bad economic condition. Poor or the working-class who
needed money and salary to supply their families had to leave home to participate in the

48
army, navy or air forces because that life condition forced the people to join military
services as a way to get limited income for their life

As one of the researchers of soldiers’ life in his reports that, ‘Nearly a quarter of soldiers had
a simple explanation for their decision to enlist: They ‘needed to make money,’ especially
given the economic turmoil the country’s faced in recent years, The Army can provide me
with great education benefits, great career benefits later on,’ one soldier told the
researchers.'(keller).

Another reason was motivating the soldiers by the leaders of the countries against enemies
to make their country have more energy, power, and control over their desires to be able
use weapon devices. Therefore, they trained in national services to be regular professional
soldiers to use weapons such as TNT, driving cars, using bombs and others. This had
negative impact of most of the soldiers at the beginning of the war. Also some of the
soldiers were not aware of the rules and the strategies in horrible states.

‘Life was really hard for the soldiers and their families because of the torment they went
through on the brutal battlefields of WWI. None of the soldiers were prepared for the
torment, neither were their families truly able to understand the full effects of the War
upon their loved ones. WWI ultimately ended in 1919 but not before the lives of
millions'(W.W.1 experiences on the Western Front), This quote above declares that they
had to briefly fight against enemies and create the pride of their nation, however they were
not ready to this war perfectly and not had enough experience because the soldiers were in
a social condition which was common.

The heads of military armies of the most of countries had other responsibilities, because the
war was to control and rule the most geographical area of the hostile groups there for one
of the effective way to guide the soldiers political ideology was to keep the pride of their
nation, as Bloom points it out in Earnest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms on page 78: ‘these
are not simply men fighting but men fighting for (their country, freedom, each other, their
pride)’

49
Another negative psychological issue which faced most of the soldiers and the most
common psychological disorder among the soldiers and the military army was Shell Shock, a
according to Riddle as an author ‘Shell shock was one of the major side effects of WWI.
Many soldiers suffered from it, as it was caused by the heavy explosions and constant
fighting associated with the war. Troops suffering from shell shock struggled with sleep.
They panicked on hearing gunshots, loud noises, shouting and similar. Sometimes it affected
their ability to walk and talk. Shell shock was a scary thing.’ Shell shock could be an
emotional and psychological shock brought about by the many horrors that men heard
while in the trenches. This situation resulted from the soldiers’ experience of the screams of
others in agony, torture, pain and the thought of their own death.

Those who suffered from it might be hypnotized, electrocuted, rested or shocked. Due to
the same cause, so many men were lost to it; and after the end of the war, they
psychological negative impacts and suffering from the diseases. Otherwise, beside the
physical injury, most of the soldiers had psychological diseases or disturbances of their
emotional pain without caring about it. Professor Joanna Bourke says ‘By the end of World
war one the British army had dealt with 80,000 cases of Shell shock, including those of
Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen.’ It means the war ended, but still there were many
other people, who suffered, and they were in a bad situation, and they need to be helped,
as one of the journals declared the treatment of the soldiers by;’ For most patients,
treatment in PIE centres involved rest, hot food and a programme of graduated exercise,
culminating in route 216 E. Jones et al. marches.'(Jones et. tal 215¬¬-223).

Then in the same journal in anther data proves the age of the soldiers who had
psychological diseases and issues throughout the war ‘The mean admission was 25 days,
and the longest period of treatment was 150 days. The mean age on admission was 26.6
years. The youngest referral was 17 years'(Jones et. tal 215¬¬-223).

Although another way of healthy mental treatment, the soldiers can be cured by emotional
and careful treatment with calmness, love, sound relationship and caring about family
relations as a way to relaxation of mind which women had the main role to fulfilling
emotions and coming out of the surrounding war.

50
Love and emotional states have an important role of our daily activities. Human emotions
can force us to take actions and influence our decisions, love has many positive impacts on
individuals especially when they are in horrible conditions, for example soldiers during war
time, they got injured, as mentioned before, faced some psychological disorder like shell
shock, they ruined psychologically they needed a cure to escape from that terrible
conditions, for alone depressed the suppressed soldiers love was not a bad treatment to
heal their psyche.

The role of love is the source of relief for depression of human beings. Love has different
forms to show this emotional state, but Sometimes woman is a main character to play this
role and give sense of love in different ways to her circumstance, especially nurses
throughout First World War proved that love replace war and have positive impacts on the
life of the most of the soldiers, and how soldiers use it to reduce their mental illness, Nurses
played a major role in that war according to the proofs. They stayed at hospitals for many
hours they cleaned soldiers wound, and took care of them, sometime dalliance happened
between them, young Red Cross one of the stations of the treatment for the military
services says ‘nurses spent many hours on the wards tending to wounded soldiers. The
men’s conversations, jokes and songs must have provided a welcome relief from all the
cleaning; making beds and gangrenous limbs the nurses had to deal'(knight). Sometimes
While they serve patient soldiers they fell in love with them, because soldiers saw these
women as their cure, and they helped the injured, , One negative impact of these
psychological diseases among the soldiers was effecting other members of their families
specially women but most of the time besides responding economical condition of the
family, women had to manage and get responsibility household duties for the children and
their soldiers husband, after coming back many the men who worked in military armies they
were injured physically and mentally, suffered because of various diseases and abnormal
functions in psychologically like Shell Shock, effects of mustard Gas, depression; for this
state they need psychological help treatment to recover from their experience of war, also
physical form appearance of their body were in a bad situation of sometimes they got in
pieces, they needed a long time to get well again and had long¬-life injured. This condition
shows that women had been got more responsibility for entire members’ of family, they
rolled source of relief to keep unity to household.

51
In a farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway the two protagonists are in the same condition,
Fredric with Catherin when they met they fell in love and sharing their feeling the come out
of the depression of war, because he found love strong enough to feel safe during that
bloody and disgusting war.

A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell to Arms, third novel by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1929. Its depiction of
the existential disillusionment of the “Lost Generation” echoes his early short stories and his
first major novel, The Sun Also Rises (1926). A Farewell to Arms is particularly notable for its
autobiographical elements.
Plot summary

The plot of A Farewell to Arms is fairly straightforward. While working with the Italian
ambulance service during World War I (1914–18), the American lieutenantFrederic Henry
meets the English nurse Catherine Barkley. Although she still mourns the death of her
fiancé, who was killed in the war, Catherine encourages Henry’s advances. After Henry is
badly wounded by a trench mortar shell near the Isonzo River in Italy, he is brought to a
hospital in Milan, where he is eventually joined by Catherine. She tends to him as he
recovers. During this time their relationship deepens. Henry admits that he has fallen in love
with her. Catherine soon becomes pregnant by Henry but refuses to marry him.

Britannica Quiz
The Literary World (Famous Novels)
After the hospital superintendent, Miss Van Campen, discovers that Henry has been hiding
alcohol in his hospital room, he is sent back to the front. During his absence, morale on the
front had significantly worsened. During the Italian retreat after the disastrous Battle of
Caporetto (1917), he deserts the army, just barely escaping execution by Italian military
police. Back in Milan, Henry searches for Catherine. He soon learns that she has been sent
to Stresa, some 95 miles (153 km) away. Henry journeys to Stresa by train. Once there, he
reunites with Catherine, and the couple flee Italy by crossing the border into neutral
Switzerland.

52
Upon arrival, Henry and Catherine are arrested by Swiss border authorities. They decide to
allow Henry and Catherine—who masquerade as architecture and art students seeking
“winter sport”—to stay in Switzerland. The couple pass several happy months in a wooden
house near Montreux. Late one night Catherine goes into labour. She and Henry take a taxi
to the hospital. A long and painful labour ensues, and Henry wonders if Catherine will
survive. Sadly, their son is stillborn. Soon after, Catherine begins to hemorrhage and dies
with Henry by her side. He tries to say goodbye but cannot. He returns to their hotel alone,
in the rain.
Analysis

In A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway provided a realistic and unromanticized account of war.

He wanted readers to experience the events of the novel as though they were actually
witnessing them. Using a simple writing style and plain language, he omitted inessential
adjectives and adverbs, rendering the violence of the Italian front in sparing prose. To give
readers a sense of immediacy, Hemingway used short declarative clauses and made
frequent use of the conjunction and. Many years after the publication of A Farewell to Arms,
Hemingway explained that he used the word for its rhythmic quality: it was, he said, a
“conscious imitation of the way Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach used a note in music when he
was emitting a counterpoint.” The same language animates the protagonist’s voice,
thoughts, and dialogue. The effect is similarly lifelike. Hemingway authentically replicated
the way soldiers speak in times of war—profanities and all. (At the request of the publisher,
Hemingway’s editor, Maxwell Perkins, replaced the profanities with dashes. Hemingway
reportedly reinserted the words by hand in a few first-edition copies of the novel, one of
which he gave to Irish novelist James Joyce.)

Although Hemingway referred to the novel as his Romeo and Juliet, the tone of A Farewell
to Arms is lyric and pathetic rather than tragic. Grief turns the hero away from, rather than
toward, a deeper examination of life. Hemingway’s depiction of Henry reflects the pathos of
the Lost Generation, whose members came of age during World War I. The conclusion of
the novel—in which Catherine and the baby die, leaving Henry desolate—is emblematic of
the Lost Generation’s experience of disillusionment and despondency in the immediate
postwar years.

53
Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Subscribe Now
Interpretations of the title vary. The novel may take its name from a 16th-century poem by
the English dramatist George Peele. In Peele’s lyric poem, conventionally called “A Farewell
to Arms (To Queen Elizabeth),” a knight laments that he is too old to bear arms for his
queen, Elizabeth I:

His helmet now shall make a hive for bees;

And, lovers’ sonnets turn’d to holy psalms,
A man-at-arms must now serve on his knees,
And feed on prayers, which are Age his alms:
But though from court to cottage he depart,
His Saint is sure of his unspotted heart.

Peele’s poem reflects some of the core themes of Hemingway’s novel: duty, war, and
masculinity. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Hemingway knew of the poem’s
existence, let alone took its title. As some scholars noted, Hemingway selected the title
relatively late in the publishing process, while performing manuscript revisions. These
scholars argued that the title—and, by extension, Peele’s poem—had no influence on the
writing or shaping of the novel.

Another interpretation of the novel’s title stresses the dual meaning of the word arms. In
deserting the Italian army, the protagonist bids farewell to “arms” as weapons. When
Catherine dies, he bids farewell to the loving “arms” of his mistress. This interpretation of
the title blends the two major themes of the novel: war and love.
Alternate endings

In 1958 Hemingway told George Plimpton of The Paris Review that he “rewrote the ending
to [A] Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied.” He
claimed that he had trouble “getting the words right.” Historians have since determined that
Hemingway actually wrote 47 endings to the novel. The endings range in length from a few
sentences to several paragraphs. Some endings are bleaker than others. In one particularly
grim ending, titled “The Nada Ending,” Hemingway wrote, “That is all there is to the story.
Catherine died and you will die and I will die and that is all I can promise you.” In another

54
ending, Henry and Catherine’s baby survives. This ending—appropriately titled “Live-Baby
Ending”—was the seventh conclusion Hemingway wrote.

Hemingway sought advice on the ending from F. Scott Fitzgerald, his friend and fellow
author. Fitzgerald suggested Hemingway end the novel with the observation that the world
“breaks everyone,” and those “it does not break it kills.” In the end, Hemingway chose not
to take Fitzgerald’s advice. Instead, he concluded the novel with these last lines:
But after I had got [the nurses] out and shut the door and turned off the light it wasn’t any
good. It was like saying good-bye to a statue. After a while I went out and left the hospital
and walked back to the hotel in the rain.
Publication and reception

Hemingway wrote and revised A Farewell to Arms in 15 months. The work was first
published serially in the United States in Scribner’s Magazine between May and October
1929. Charles Scribner’s Sons reportedly paid Hemingway $16,000 for the rights—the most
the magazine had ever paid for a serialized work. In the late 1920s, Scribner’s Magazine had
an average annual circulation of about 70,000. Despite attempts by the publisher to censor
Hemingway’s work, many subscribers cancelled their subscriptions to the magazine. They
cited (among other things) Hemingway’s bad language and “pornographic” depictions of
premarital sex as reasons for terminating their subscriptions. Authorities in Boston outright
banned the magazine. On June 21, 1929, The New York Timesreported :

The June issue of Scribner’s Magazine was barred from bookstands...by Michael H. Crowley,
Superintendent of the Police, because of objections to an installment of Ernest Hemingway’s
serial, ‘A Farewell to Arms.’ It is said that some persons deemed part of the
installment salacious.
Scribner’s defended Hemingway’s work, claiming “the ban on the sale of the magazine in
Boston is an evidence of the improper use of censorship which bases its objections upon
certain passages without taking into account the effect and purpose of the story as a
whole.” The publisher argued that the work was neither immoral nor “anti-war.”

A Farewell to Arms first appeared as a novel in the United States in September 1929.
Scribner’s ordered an initial print run of about 31,000 copies. Hemingway numbered and

55
signed 510 first-edition copies. The novel was Hemingway’s first best seller; it sold some
100,000 copies in its first 12 months. Unlike the serial, the novel enjoyed a generally warm
reception. A New York Times review described it as “a moving and beautiful book.” In
November 1929 the London Times Literary Supplement deemed it “a novel of great power”
and Hemingway “an extremely talented and original artist.” The American novelist John Dos
Passos—Hemingway’s contemporary and sometime friend—called the novel “a first-rate
piece of craftsmanship by a man who knows his job.”

In Italy, news of the novel’s publication was not received well. Many Italians resented
Hemingway’s (highly accurate) depiction of the Italian retreat after the Battle of Caporetto.
The fascist regime under Benito Mussolini banned the novel. Some scholars speculated that
the ban was instituted in part because of a personal conflict between Hemingway and
Mussolini. Years before, Hemingway had interviewed Mussolini for The Toronto Daily Star.
In an article published in 1923, Hemingway referred to Mussolini as “the biggest bluff in
Europe.” A Farewell to Arms was not published in Italy until 1948.

Since its publication in 1929, Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms has been translated into
many languages, including Arabic, Italian, Japanese, and Urdu. A number of revised editions
have been published. Notably, in July 2012, Scribner’s published an edition of the novel
containing all 47 alternative endings, in addition to pieces from early drafts.
Autobiographical elements

A Farewell to Arms has been praised for its realistic depiction of war. Its realism has often
been attributed to personal experience: the novel is informed in no small part by
Hemingway’s own wartime service. Although Hemingway spent less time and had a more
limited role in World War I than his protagonist, the resemblance between his experience
and Henry’s is nonetheless striking.

During World War I, Hemingway worked as an ambulance driver for the American Red
Cross. Like Henry, he served on the Italian front and suffered a severe injury on the Austro-
Italian front. On the night of July 8, 1918, while handing out chocolate and cigarettes to
soldiers, Hemingway was struck by fragments of an Austrian mortar shell. He was wounded

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in the foot, knee, thighs, scalp, and hand. In all, he absorbed more than 200 pieces of
shrapnel—by his own count, 237.

Agnes von Kurowsky and Ernest Hemingway

In the aftermath of the explosion, the injured Hemingway reportedly carried a man to
safety. (He was subsequently awarded a medal of valour for this action, among several
others.) Hemingway was ultimately taken to a Red Cross hospital in Milan, where he met
and fell in love with a nurse named Agnes von Kurowsky. At age 26, von Kurowsky was
seven years his senior. Although she did not fully reciprocate his love, von Kurowsky was
fond of Hemingway and enjoyed his company. In a diary entry on August 25, 1918, she
wrote that Hemingway “has a case on me, or thinks he has. He is a dear boy and so cute
about it….” Once Hemingway began to recover from his injuries, the pair attended operas
and horse races together. In September 1918, about two months after Hemingway’s injury,
von Kurowsky volunteered for service in Florence during an influenza outbreak. She and
Hemingway maintained correspondence. In her letters, von Kurowsky called Hemingway
“Kid.” He called her “Mrs. Kid” and “the missus.”

Von Kurowsky’s feelings for Hemingway were never as deep as his affection for her. She
broke off the relationship in a letter dated March 7, 1919, not long after Hemingway
returned to his home in Oak Park, Illinois. In the letter, von Kurowsky explained that she was

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“still very fond” of Hemingway but “more as a mother than as a sweetheart.” According to
his sister, Marcelline, Hemingway vomited after reading the letter. Years after Hemingway’s
death in 1961, his son, Jack, called the loss of von Kurowsky the great tragedy of his father’s
early life.

Von Kurowsky almost undoubtedly served as the source for the heroine in A Farewell to
Arms. When asked about Hemingway’s novel in 1976, she said, “Let’s get it straight—please.
I wasn’t that kind of girl.” She objected to the insinuation that she and Hemingway were
lovers, insisting that Catherine Barkley was an “arrant fantasy” and that the affair in the
hospital was “totally implausible.”
Legacy

A Farewell to Arms was one of the most widely read war novels of the 20th century. It was
published during the period between World War I and World War II, a time when war novels
were very popular in the United States and around the world. A Farewell to Arms was
published in the same year as Erich Maria Remarque’s magnum opus Im Westen nichts
Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front), which details the daily horrors of war on the
Western front in laconicunderstatement. Remarque’s characters, like Hemingway’s, are
remarkably disillusioned with the war. Hemingway and Remarque together set the
precedent for future war novelists Evelyn Waugh, Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, Tim
O’Brien, Sebastian Faulks, and others whose work expresses a cynical attitude toward war
and violence.

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