A Farewell to Arms Essay

The two novels The Grapes of Wrath & A Farewell to Arms both contain a main character who shares some of the same qualities depicting how they live their lives. The Grapes of Wrath, written in 1939 involves the character known as Tom Joad; A Farewell to Arms has a very similar character in ways that might not be open to the public eye known as Frederic Henry. Written by Ernest Hemingway in 1928, A Farewell to Arms discusses the reality of war, the relationship between love and pain, and the feeling of losing someone whom which you care for greatly. Written by John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath describes a man’s ability to want to survive. The book also talks about how Tom Joad transforms throughout the book into a different man. Tom Joad and Frederic Henry I believe both have a sort of unselfishness to them and how they go about life. After Tom was released from jail after 4 years he began devoting his time and energy to the present moment in every single and separate day. Tom began caring for other people first and always putting himself second. Henry exhibits the same type of characteristic I feel because after his experience in war he felt as if all he was doing was completing his duty for which he should get no type of praise or recognition for it. Tom and Frederic both share an unconditional feeling of love for someone. You can see how much Tom truly loves his family because he did anything he could to keep everyone together and to get the whole family to where they were trying to get to. Frederic on the other hand is deeply in love with Catherine. Because of how Hemingway narrates Henrys feelings for Catherine you can really see that his feelings are pure and honest. Both Tom and Frederic had to deal with the loss of a loved one. When Casy was murdered by a policeman, Tom turned around and killed the policeman. What he did was not necessarily the right thing to do nor was it the wrong thing to do. But in  his situation he didn’t know how else to deal with it, so he did what came natural to him. Frederic however lost the women of his dreams and went into a state of depression you might say. He had no friends or family and he was caught in a time of extreme loneliness. They Both lost someone who they cared the world of and still managed to stay on path even if it took them a little while to do so. The Grapes of Wrath and A Farewell to Arms contain two characters who I believe are very similar protagonist. They are both characters whom which the reader can feel for no matter who the reader is. Tom and Frederic are unselfish, caring men, who have the mentality to keep their eyes on the prize and keep doing what they set out to do. A farewell to arms Essay Ernest Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms is an examination of war, loyalty, desertion, love and loss. His novel tells the story of an American, Fredric Henry, serving in the Italian army during World War I. Using a first person narrative we witness the horrors of war, the beauty of love, and the pain of loss. While the novel is fiction there are many similarities to Hemmingway’s life, which he uses as inspiration in his work. These experiences add substance to his tale of love in a time of war. The story is broken into five books, each covering a different aspect of narrative structure. The first book is an excellent example building the exposition of a story, beginning with Lieutenant Henry describing the village where his unit is stationed. Through Henry’s eyes Hemmingway describes the beauty of the village and the neighboring countryside. He also alludes to the impending conflict that is soon to ravage the land, detailing the men and equipment that come through the streets. Book one also introduces love affair of the two central characters of the story; Fredric Henry, an American serving as a Lieutenant with the Italian Army and Catherine Barkley, an English working in the local hospital. Their relationship develops quickly but is just as quickly tested when Henry is severely injured in battle. Book Two continues to build on the love affair between Henry and Catherine. After Henry is moved away from the front to an American hospital, where he is soon reunited Catherine and they resume their affair. Henry is faced with the not only major surgery and a long recovery, but also having to hide his relationship with Catherine. Elements of both Henry and Catherine’s personalities are fleshed out in greater detail. Henry is a fairly aloof man. He does not care much for the war and he is not interested in the merits or the glory of war; however he is a good and dedicated soldier. Catherine is very submissive toward Henry. She often gives control of the relationship to Henry, becoming almost co-dependent. As their time together increases Henry finds himself growing more and more dedicated to his relationship to Catherine. As the fall arrives Henry is faced with two new major complications; he must return to the battle front and Catherine is now pregnant. Henry being a man of honor promises his love to Catherine and that we will not desert her. Henry moves onto the front where things will go from bad to worse. Henry is moved back to the front and he begins to see how the war has changed not only the countryside but those around him as well. Because Henry is not Italian he does not feel the same sense of loyalty those around him feel and he begins to question his duty to the war efforts. His summer with Catherine has given Henry a new outlook on life and a different cause to commit to. This adds to the rising conflict of the story as now Henry is back in harm’s way and will soon see thing that will change his perception of war and his life and force him to make a choice that will change his life. The main crisis of the story is in Book Three. Not long after returning to the fight the Italian defenses are broken and the army is ordered to retreat. Henry must take his ambulances and drivers across the Italian country side to the rally point. As they trek through the ravaged landscape Henry begins to see the war as being hopeless and his thoughts move toward being with Catherine once again. During the retreat Henry is forced to kill another soldier for not obey an order. He also sees as one of his men is killed by fellow Italian soldiers. These two events cause Henry to detach completely from his duties as an officer. The story reaches the climax as Henry is being separated from his men and about to be executed. No longer feeling any commitment to the cause and knowing that he will be shot simply for being an officer Henry decides to flee and start his new life with Catherine. After escaping execution and reuniting with Catherine, Henry realizes that he longer has any associations to the war in Italy and is dedicated only to Catherine. The couple makes their way into Switzerland to begin a life and await the birth of their child. It is in this time that the story takes a moment for pause, almost as a build up for one final crisis. It is nearly 3:00 AM and Catherine has started going into labor, and this is where the final crisis comes in to play. As Catherine goes through hours of intense labor, Henry can only stand by and watch. He prays to God for her safety. He prays for the safety of the one thing he holds dear. He asks for the protection of the center of his universe, Catherine. The baby is delivered still born and Catherine dies shortly after. Henry says his final good byes to Catherine but they bring him no peace. He sees no purpose in their deaths, simply an event he was powerless to stop. He is left with nothing but a walk back to the hotel in the rain, bringing the story to its conclusion. Hemmingway’s tale of war, love and loss carefully uses each book of his story to bring all the narrative elements into play. The first two books build the exposition and set up the rising action. He uses book three to set the final crisis and bring about the climax. Book Four brings the action down to set up for the tragic conclusion in Book Five. A Farewell to Arms Essay â€Å"A writer’s job is to tell the truth† ? Ernest Hemingway. This quote means that it is a writer’s job to convey some sort of truth or accuracy to the reader. I agree. This is shown in the novel, A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway through the setting and characterization in the novel. It is also shown in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee through the themes and setting of the novel. In the war novel, A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway demonstrates that it is a writer’s job to convey some sort of truth to the reader through the setting of the novel. This novel takes place during a time of war and shows what war is like, realistically. For a war novel, there is not a lot of fighting but instead more of getting from one place to another and the situations that occur in the interim. This portrays a truth to the reader because it shows how war is in reality and that it is not all death and destruction. Hemingway expresses the emotions of the characters accurately for time of war and conditions or situations the characters are put into. The author shows us the characters interact with each other and how they deal with the war surrounding them. For example, in Book III of the novel, the priest says that people that summer finally realized the war and that people were gentler because they had been beaten. This, truthfully, shows how war affects people and their emotions because it shows how they are disappointed. Through the setting of the play, Hemingway tells the truth by stating that people are â€Å"trapped biologically† because of their setting and the fact that it is human condition. In the novel, Frederic feels trapped because of Catherine’s pregnancy. In the novel, A Farwell to Arms, the author establishes that a writer’s job is to deliver accuracy and truth to the audience of the piece of work through characterization in the novel. Hemingway shows the reader what war can do to a person. He shows this through Frederic’s personality and his change throughout the story. Frederic went from an innocent man who joined the army because he was in Italy at the time and spoke the language and after a lot of experience becomes cynical. This work of literature also shows how war can be dehumanizing on an individual. In Book III, Frederic shoots at a sergeant and thinks nothing of killing another human being because that’s what occurs in war. Another way that the author tells truth in this novel is by showing that some characters keep their morals and human values. For example, in Book III, Frederic stops his fellow officers from harassing the two young girls who needed a ride. During the war times, most men did not have respect for their fellow people but Hemingway shows the reader that a select few fight to keep their morals straight. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee confirms that a writer’s job is to tell the reader the truth through the themes of this novel. One theme of this novel is racism; the townspeople are prejudice towards Tom Robinson because he’s black. Even though, many know and believe that he is innocent and he did not rape Mayella they still blame him and find him guilty in court. Another theme of this novel, that shows truth as well, is the coexistence of good and bad. Harper Lee shows his reader that in his story, just like it is in the real world, good and bad exists. The good in this story is Atticus and him trying to fight for Tom and stands up for him as his attorney to show he supports him even though the town turns against him and he knows he can’t win. The bad in this story is racism and inequality. The author of this novel conveys a lot of truth because these problems still occur to this day in real life situations. Another important theme that expresses truth to us from the author is innocence and the loss of that innocence. When the novel begins, Scout and Jem seem very innocent to the evil in the world, mostly because they had not ever witnessed it. After they see the racism, prejudice and unjust treatment that are put onto many characters they start to lose that childlike innocence. This is a strong truth, to this day. Young innocent people are losing and missing out on a lot because of their environment and surroundings. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author shows the audience that the writer’s job is to distribute the truth to the reader through, the literary element, of setting. This story takes place in Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is home to many complacent, racist and prejudice people. The people of Maycomb try to ignore the truth that is plain to see by not acting on it. They let people in the town, who may be of different skin color like Tom Robinson, be stepped on and treated unfairly just because of his skin tone while many of the people of the town know he is innocent. During the course of the novel, the Great Depression is occurring. This sets the stage for poverty to be a strong point in this story. The characters make this a separation element. Another factor of setting that expresses truth in this novel being in the South in these days. The South had many rules and segregation laws concerning black citizens and white citizens. This caused an increase in the racism. As shown above, the two novels, A Farewell to Arms and To Kill A Mockingbird, both have many literary elements that help the author to express truth in his/her literary work. Some of these literary elements were setting, characterization and theme among many others. A farewell to arms Essay Hemingway bases most of his books on events that he has experienced. Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms is a book about war, identity, and individualism. His style of using in media res, character, and dialogue, and how he splits the book into five parts, changes the way readers interpret the book. Ernest Hemingway lived through World War I and World War II. During World War I, Hemingway wanted to join the American army, but he was not accepted into it because of his eye sight. Since he wanted to help in the war effort, he moved to Italy to become a Red Cross ambulance driver. During this time, he was severely injured in the legs by enemy mortar fragments. His time in Italy influenced much of his book, A Farewell to Arms. War is a reoccurring theme in the novel. The main character Frederic realizes more and more of how bad war really is throughout the story. One critic, Schneider, said, â€Å"War is not glamorized†¦ Instead, it is presented in a very real and horrifying fashion from the perspective of the ambulance driver† (Telgen 179). In the book Hemingway wrote, â€Å"I wiped my hand on my shirt and another floating light came very slowly down and I looked at my leg and was very afraid† (Hemingway 56). At this point in the novel, Frederic starts to realize the realities of war. Another critic, Markley, said, â€Å"It’s still a game to him† (Bloom 174). Near the middle of the book, Frederic and his fellow soldiers retreat from Caporetto. It this section, Frederic is fully awakened to the horrors of war, and sees it in a completely different way. Identity plays a big role in Frederic’s character. According to Schneider, â€Å"Frederic’s identity is displaced by the late introduction of his name to the reader, the fact of his being an American in the Italian Army, and his constant play with words† (Telgen 177). In the novel, the narrator, Frederic, is not introduced until the fourth chapter, and the jokes he tries to make in the story don’t translate well into Italian. This shows how Frederic’s identity sticks out compared to the rest of the soldiers. Another critic, Waldhorn, said, â€Å"Frederic Henry absorbs what others teach, then acts at last on his own resolve. His situation is again different, however, for he has no wholly exemplary male figure before him. † (Waldhorn 118). Throughout the novel, Rinaldi influences Frederic until the climax. Rinaldi is the one who introduced him to Catherine, and along with Catherine, he was the one that was there for him when he was injured. At the climax, Frederic doesn’t listen to Rinaldi, and deserts the army for Catherine. This shows that Frederic’s identity became clearer throughout the novel. He ends up doing what he feels is the right thing to do. Individualism is shown mostly by Rinaldi, a surgeon and a friend of Frederic. Schneider said, â€Å"For example, Rinaldi has the satisfaction of having become a better surgeon through practice. He is also better with women for the same reason. † (Telgen 178). In the novel, Frederic says that there is more to life than women and being a surgeon, Rinaldi says, â€Å"Go to hell† (Hemingway 13). This shows that those two things are very important to Rinaldi, and that he doesn’t like it when others say bad things about it. Hemingway opens the story in the middle of World War I. According to Markley, â€Å"A Farewell to Arms opens in media res – literally, in the middle of the thing† (Broom 172). In the beginning paragraph of A Farewell to Arms, it says, 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. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels. Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees. The trunks of the trees too were dusty and the leave fell early that year and we saw the troops marching along the road and the dust rising and leaves, stirred by the breeze, falling and the soldiers marching and afterward the road bare and white except for the leaves. (Hemingway 3) In this paragraph, Hemingway describes the setting of the book, and starts off the book in the middle of World War I. Hemingway bases his characters from his experiences. According to Waldhorn, â€Å"What is perhaps most remarkable is the absolute trust Frederic inspires in his reliability as a narrator. Never again in a novel would Hemingway maintain the precisely appropriate distance between himself and a hero so like him. A perfect apprentice, Frederic blends admirably the familiar traits of the hurt, uprooted young man who must†¦ learn ‘how to live in it’† (Waldhorn 116). In the novel, the characterization of Frederic only reveals his thoughts and emotions. This style allows the reader to have their own thoughts on what Frederic looks like. Hemingway uses short and direct dialogue to tell the story. Another critic, Graham, said, â€Å"They are active, direct and, one might argue, uncomplicated people with an almost fatalistic acceptance of life†¦ There is nothing new to learn: even with the various cases, the characters simply observe†¦ While they seem to understand what they do and what goes on about them, they never seem to assimilate the knowledge† (Bender 19). In the novel, the length of the dialogue between the characters varies very little. This style of writing allows readers to have their own thoughts on what’s happening, not Hemingway’s, when reading, because readers interpret what the characters say in different ways. The form of the novel is broken up into five parts. Waldhorn said, â€Å"In large measure, Hemingway achieves his effect by correspondences. Each of the five paragraphs of the opening chapter, for example, is roughly proportional in length to each of the five books of the novel, and the pace anticipates the cadence of the novel as a whole† (Waldhorn 117). In the novel, the five parts are divided to represent the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and conclusion. This set-up of the novel is like an English five-act play. Book one introduces the characters and situation; book two develops a romantic plot; book three is the climax, when Frederic deserts the army for Catherine; book four makes it seem as though Frederic and Catherine have successfully escaped the war; and book five is the tragic ending when Catherine dies. In conclusion, A Farewell to Arms is a book about war, identity, and individualism. His style of using in media res, character, and dialogue change the way readers interpret the book. Also, the five book structure of this novel splits the book similar to an English five act play. All of these factors plus parts of Hemingway’s life contribute to the final product, and play a big role in how the reader reads and interprets the content. Bibliography Bender, David, ed. Readings on Ernest Hemingway. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Views of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. Oliver, Charles. Critical Companion to Ernest Hemingway. New York: Facts on File, Inc, 2007. Telgen, Diane, ed. Novels for Students. Detroit: Gale Research, 1997. Waldhorn, Arthur, ed. Ernest Hemingway. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc, 1972. A farewell to arms Essay NAGARE ASHWINI TUKARAM 14110080SUMMARY: After a wintertime leave spent visiting the nation, the protagonist, Lieutenant Henry comes back to the captured town at the front where his unit lives. One night his flatmate, a specialist, and lieutenant in the Italian armed force named Rinaldi, acquaints Henry with two British medical caretakers: Catherine Barkley and her companion Helen Ferguson. Catherine and Henry discussion of the war and of her life partner, executed in battle the prior year; plainly she has been damaged by the experience. On his second visit to the British healing facility, they kiss. At the point when Henry again visits Catherine, she reveals to him that she adores him and asks whether he cherishes her. He reacts that he does. One night, Lieutenant Henry and his kindred emergency vehicle drivers sink into a burrow over the waterway from the foe troops. While the drivers are eating, the Austrian siege wounds Henry in the leg and murders one of the alternate drivers. Henry is transported via prepare to an American doctor’s facility in Milan. Catherine Barkley touches base at the healing center, to which she has been exchanged. By and by, she and Lieutenant Henry announce their affection for each other, after which they engage in sexual relations in the healing facility bed. Henry and Catherine spend the mid-year together while he recovers from an operation on his leg, going by eateries around Milan at night and afterward putting in evenings together. At summer’s end, be that as it may, Lieutenant Henry is requested back to the front, and Catherine discloses to him she is three months pregnant. On their last night together in Milan, Henry purchases a gun, and he and Catherine consume a space in a lodging. Not long after Lieutenant Henry’s arrival to the front, the Austrians (now joined by German troops) shell the Italian armed force and in the long run get through the lines close to the town of Caporetto. Henry and the other emergency vehicle drivers withdraw with whatever is left of the Italian powers in a long, moderate moving segment of troops and vehicles. They get two Italian architect sergeants. At last, the ambulances pull off the principal street. When one of the vehicles winds up noticeably stuck in the mud, the two sergeants decline to aid the push to unstick it and ignore Lieutenant Henry’s request to stay with the gathering. He discharges at them, injuring one; another rescue vehicle driver at that point utilizes Henry’s gun to complete the activity. Henry and the three drivers desert the ambulances and set out by walking for the Tagliamento River, crosswise over which lies security. Before long they spot German troopers out yonder. One driver is shot to death by kindred Italians discharging in mistake. Another driver escapes, to surrender to the Germans. At long last safe from the foe, Lieutenant Henry watches that Italian armed force officers like himself are being shot by the military police for forsaking their troops. He additionally fears being confused for a German covert agent. Thus he jumps into the Tagliamento River, betraying the Italian armed force, and swims shorewards downstream. Henry crosses some portion of the Venetian plain by walking, at that point sheets a moving train, covering up among weapons put away underneath a canvas. Frederic Henry touches base in Milan, in secret. Catherine Barkley and Helen Ferguson are truant from the healing center, having gone on vacation to the Italian resort town of Stresa. So, Henry makes a trip through prepare to Stresa, where he discovers Catherine and Helen. Finding late one night that Henry will be captured as a miscreant in the morning, Henry and Catherine rapidly get ready to escape into nonpartisan Switzerland. Through the stormy night, they go in a little, open watercraft crosswise over Lake Maggiore. The next day they are captured and quickly confined by Swiss authorities, after which they are discharged. Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley move into a chalet on a mountain above Montreaux and spend an ideal winter there. At winter’s end, they leave the mountains for an inn in Lausanne. At long last, Henry takes Catherine to the healing facility, where her child is stillborn. Catherine dies soon because of numerous hemorrhages. He tries to say goodbye to her, but it is like saying goodbye to a statue, and he walks back to his hotel room in the rain. INTRODUCTION World War I started in 1914 and finished on Nov. 11, 1918. Battled principally between the Triple Alliance forces of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Triple Entente nations of England, France, Russia, Italy, and the U.S. (Italy abandoned from the Triple Alliance in 1915; the U.S. joined the war in 1917), the Great War, as it was called, with its huge extension, modernized weaponry, and unclear political battle over land, destroyed to Europe’s scene and populace. Generally, 50% of the 70 million men and ladies serving in the war were slaughtered, harmed, or taken prisoner. A Farewell to Arms is significantly influenced by Hemingway’s own particular wartime encounter. Rejected from the U.S. armed force for his poor vision (which he later erroneously guaranteed was because of boxing), Hemingway’s assurance to join the war exertion landed him a post with the Red Cross as an emergency vehicle driver on the Italian front. He seized the opportunity to be a canteen supplier on the bleeding edges, giving out chocolate and cigarettes to the troops amid fight, and on July 8, 1918, he was hit in the leg by an Austrian mortar shell. Regardless of the injury, he figured out how to convey an Italian trooper to the close-by summon post. Be that as it may, automatic weapon discharge struck him in the knee and foot, and he was at the end sent to a doctor’s facility in Milan, Italy. Comparable damage comes to pass for Henry in the novel. Amid his recuperation, the 19-year-old Hemingway had an affair with an American Red Cross nurse seven years his senior, Agnes von Kurowsky. This experience aroused Henry’s sentiment with Catherine in the novel, however Hemingway in all probability decorated it; most researchers trust Agnes, a conferred nurture, never let him move past kissing and did not respond his extraordinary emotions. In spite of the fact that she didn’t kick the bucket amid the war, as Catherine does, Agnes, in the end, dismissed Hemingway through a letter. The painful emotions of a broken body and heart no doubt embittered Hemingway. CHARACTER SKETCH: Lieutenant Frederic Henry The hero and genuinely detached storyteller, Henry is a youthful American ambulance driver with the Italian armed force. Nonetheless, he doesn’t feel emphatical about the reason and unquestionably isn’t out for wonderfulness. He turns from the revulsions of war to an enthusiastic, dreamer relationship with Catherine Barkley, and the all-devouring adoration occupies him from the fierceness around him. All things considered, he is great at his activity; an even-tempered, unselfish man who practices beauty underweight when he is harmed and when he should shoot a forsaking designing officer, Henry satisfies the code of the â€Å"Hemingway legend.† He influences him â€Å"to isolate peace† when he concludes that he never again has any commitment to the armed force and that his devotion is to Catherine. Catherine Barkley A British Voluntary Aid Detachment, Catherine is in sorrow over her life partner’s current demise toward the begin of the novel. Henry offers an enticing bounce back, and she plunges into this new occupying love. She later concedes that she was marginally â€Å"insane† when she initially met Henry, and her conduct backs this up: she gives herself so promptly to a close odder, and her diversions of tease and prodding verge on the adolescent. Notwithstanding, she increases some measure of autonomy later on, as when she enables Henry to push the pontoon over the lake for their escape, however, she is ordinarily meek and anxious to please with Henry (though, surprisingly, so is he with her). Like Henry, she trusts the world is out to pulverize individuals’ satisfaction. THEMES: LOVE AS A RESPONSE TO HORRORS OF WAR AND WORLD Hemingway more than once underlines the horrendous destruction war has created for everybody included. From the opening record of cholera that executes â€Å"just† 7,000 men to the realistic depiction of the ordnance barrage to the degenerate brutality amid the Italian withdraw, A Farewell to Arms is among the most forthcoming against war books. Be that as it may, Hemingway does not only denounce war. Or maybe, he arraigns the world everywhere for its environment of devastation. Henry as often as possible reflects the world’s emphasis on breaking and slaughtering everybody; it is as though the world can’t stand to give anybody a chance to stay upbeat and safe. Surely, at whatever point Henry and Catherine are happy, something goes along to interfere with it – be it Henry’s damage, his being sent back to the front, his looming capture, or, at long last, Catherine’s passing from labor. With such hopelessness going up against them every step of the way, the two swing to each other. Catherine, particularly, dives too effortlessly into adoration when she initially meets Henry. She concedes she was â€Å"insane† at, to begin with, no doubt finished the genuinely late passing of her life partner, however Henry, as well, capitulates to the allurements of affection. Love is a pleasurable preoccupation (see Games, beneath) that occupies darlings from the outside world; the two regularly disclose to each other not to consider whatever else, as it is excessively excruciating. Covered up inside the safe house of Catherine’s delightful hair, Henry and Catherine feel shielded from the savage outside world. The significant issue with such idealist adore is, as Henry and different characters bring up a few times, one doesn’t generally know the â€Å"stakes† of affection until the point that it is finished, or that one doesn’t think about something until the point that one has lost it. Henry barely enables himself to consider existence without Catherine while he is infatuated, and once he loses her, it appears to be far-fetched that he will recuperate.