A Farwell To Arms Essay, Research Paper
I. Ernest Hemingway’s literary works have proven him to be one of the most
famous American writers in the 1900’s. His works have also been some of the
most influential of this time.
Hemingway, born in Oak Park, Illinoise in 1899, started his career as a
writer as soon as he graduated high school. He briefly worked as a reporter for the
Kansas City Star. Hemingway also was a volunteer ambulance driver in Italy
during WWI. Then he served as a infantryman in the Italian War.(World Book 182)
Hemingway developed a certain style of writing that has been imitated by
many writers in the 20th century. he had a plain yet forcefrul prose style. Simple
sentences and few adjectives or adverbs portrays his style of writing.(World Book
182) One characteristic of his writing was his exact descriptions of places and
things. Hemingway was a very vivid author in many ways, including his dialouge.
One fact that has been proven to be true in many of Hemingway’s books is
his type male character. Also known as the Hemingway Hero, this character is
always faced with violence and destuction. His wartime experiences help explain
why this “hero” faces both physical and psychological violence and the need for
courage. This is a trait of “grace under pressure”.(World Book 182) These
characters’ behaviors are quite unemotional, even in highly dangerous situations.
Hemingway’s first published work, Three Stories and Ten Poems, first came
out in 1923. His next work was In Our Town, published in 1924. His earlier works
consist of The Sun Also Rises(1926), A Farwell To Arms(1929), Death in the
Afternoon(1932), and The Green Hills of Africa(1935). Across the River and Into
the Trees came later in the 1950. In 1952, Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize for
The Old Man and the Sea. During the 1950’s, Hemingway suffered physical and
mental illnesses. He had adrinking problem that increased over time. He
eventually followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps and commited suicide.
Even after his death in 1961, Hemingway’s works continued to influence
otherwriters and still do today. Two more of his works came out after his
death:Islands in the Stream(1970) and the unfinished The Garden of Eden.(World
Book 183)
II. The setting of A Farewell To Arms is mostly in Italy during World War One.
They are located in the many parts of Italy. The story moves from the front of the war,
then to town and citys where the ambulance drivers are, then it move back again to the
front of the war. The setting (when on the front) is always described as very dark and
gloomy. They also say that it is constantly raining and always muddy. This setting is a
metaphore for darkness and death. During WWI many countries were fighting, but the
main character, Fredrick Henry persisted on being in the Italin army (even though he is an
american). Fredrick Henry was an ambulance driver. He and his buddys pick up hurt or
injured victims and took them to the hospital. Now his job as an ambulance driver lets him
meet the other main charcater in the story, Catherine Barkley. She is a nurse during the
war. She helps bring light to the story because when you think of any kind of doctor or
nurse you think of happiness and people being save from death. The setting of the story
helps bring the two characters together. They are constantly in contact with each other.
But in an other sense it pulls the two main character away from each other. In the book
some of the specific scenes are: When Fredrick Henry gets his legs blown off by
fragments. This happenes while Henry is eating a piece of cheese during the war.
Obviously he thinks that he i
Another setting in the book is at the hospital. This is a dreary place. It is full of dead and
injured people from the war. Here is where a good bit of the action happens. This is the
meeting place for Henry and Cathrine. All the other scenes happen in the field. And
depending on the mood of the book is where the troops where stationed. For example if
the bopk had a sad mood the people were located low, in the mud and rain. But if the
mood was happy, they were located high up, in the bright sunshine.
III. The two main characters of the story are Fredrick Henry and Cathrine Barkley.
Both of the characters are very differnt in very many ways. Fredrick Henry changes his
life through out the story, whereas Cathrine does exactly the opposite. The main
characters fall in love, but end up having to live a life without one another.
Fredrick Henry was a man without a cause. He was wondering the world looking
for some type of system or order from which he could follow. Henry is also a lonesome,
confused and restless man. He goes to the priest to look for some type of order, but he
can only find more and more confusion. The only thing that really save his life is his
relationship with Cathrine. He discovered love with his relationship with Cathrine. This
helped him relize that the life he had been living was wrong. That the prostution and drug
needed to stop because now he had something better, love. Also the main reason for him
to join the Italien army was because he thought he could find order in this organization.
But he ends up find that there is no order here either. Because the soilders are running
away from each other, They are disobeying orders, and don t care about the war effort
any more. For the most part Henry finds his way in the love that he has for Cathrine.
Cathrine Barkley on the other hand is completely differnt from Henry. Unlike
Henry she stays static through out the book.( meaning that she never changes). She
already has meaning in her life and loves what she does. She has made her own relgion,
loving Henry. Cathrine works as a nurse in a hospital. She is doing this during World
War One. She works under the care of Miss Van Campen. Cathrine plays an improtant
role in the book because she helps change Henry s life. She gives him a sense of direction,
and helps him get back on his feet. This allows him to get away from the life of bad
inhabitions.
IV (b). In all of Hemingway’s books, including A Farwell to Arms, he created a
type male character. This character, the Hemingway Hero, always faces violence and
destuction with courage. This “hero” is almost always faced with highly dangerous
situations in which he shows no emotional behavior. He has a concept of
death.(Cliff’s Notes ) The hero was a very masculine person who was engaged in
many wild activities. For example, he enjoyed drinking, bull fights, and love affairs.
And yet, although you know this character is Hemingway’s Hero, he never once
would speack of the code himself.
In A Farwell to Arms, Fredrick Henry was Hemingway’s Hero. Henry was a
volunteer ambulance driver in thr Italian war. Just like the code hero, Henry
enjoyes drinking and tries to treat war as a joke.(Cliff’’s Notes ) He also gets
involved in a love affair with one of the British nurses. Henry fits himself into the
mold of the code hero by all these things. His courage, duty, and actions show
him to be a true Hemingway Hero.
The code hero is a very easily identified character in all of Hemingway’s
books. Fredrick Henry proves to be one of these characters. Even though, in the
end, he has to give a farwell to arms.