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 is in the clear until he gets hit by fragments and hurts his legs.

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.