Harsh Reality

Peter Nguyen

A Farewell to Arms

By Ernest Hemingway

When we think of war novels, we think of heroes who die fighting for a good cause and a generic moral lesson to go with it. Instead, Hemingway writes about soldiers dying and sustaining injuries trying to get macaroni. A Farewell to Arms is a love tragedy that takes place on the Italian front during World War 2. An American ambulance in the Italian Army named Henry and an English nurse named Catherine both fall in love with each other in a time of suffering. Through the horrors of war, both reignite their ability to love. After Henry is injured from a mortar, he is hospitalized for a period of time and Catherine transfers to his hospital to be with him. In this period of time, both grow deeper in love with each other and find out that Catherine is pregnant. Once Henry escapes the war, the pair move to Switzerland to fulfill their dream of living a happy and peaceful life together. After months of labor, Catherine’s baby comes out as a stillborn and she dies later from hemorrhaging. Henry is at her side when she dies but for some reason, he feels no sadness and had no words for her. He leaves the hospital and goes back to his hotel as if nothing had happened, leaving a dark and gloomy closing to the novel.

I enjoyed A Farewell to Arms because it was written in a slightly unconventional method. He uses informal diction and simple sentences such as “I don’t give a damn.” (Hemingway 174) and “Jesus Christ, ain’t this a goddam war?”(Hemingway 35). I felt that these phrases provided a nice cadence that accurately portrayed the life that Henry lived. In addition to the short phrases, Hemingway also includes beautiful and lengthy descriptions of different scenery such as the mountains. At times, I even felt that his descriptions were a bit excessive despite the vivid imagery they provided. The unique writing style of the novel also portrays raw emotion such as love and guilt, as seen with dialogue between Henry and Catherine and the subtle details that Hemingway incorporated in between. Hemingway himself lived through the events and did the same things that Henry does which makes the text feel much more genuine.

Throughout the novel, almost every chapter has hints of alcohol with scenes at the bar with Henry and the officers. In this case, alcohol is used as a means to escape. The soldiers drank their hearts out to drown out and escape the horrors of war. However, this was just a temporary buffer and soldiers drank to gain some sense of control during a war they had no control over. In addition, Henry’s drinking was detrimental to his relationship with Catherine. After forgetting his date with her, he states “I had treated seeing Catherine very lightly, I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow.”(Hemingway 89) The theme of drinking throughout the novel can bring comedic relief but also emphasize the heartbreak and tragedy the characters experienced.

What I also noticed that Hemingway accurately portrays masculinity with ‘manly’ characters such as Rinaldi, an officer that acts as Henry’s wingman. We see that the men in the novel ooze masculinity with men drinking at a bar and soldiers fighting hard. Even their dialogue is masculine. For instance, Henry states, "My legs are full of trench-mortar fragments, old screws and bedsprings and things." (Hemingway 100) Cleary, he implies that he is strong with the mention of shrapnel in legs but also includes sexual undertones with ‘old screws’ and ‘bed springs.’ Hemingway also shows the other side with the portrayal of male weaknesses. While alone vulnerable, Henry thinks to himself, “Lying on the floor of the flat-car with the guns beside me under the canvas, I was wet, cold, and very hungry.” (Hemingway 155), which shows us that men have limits and weaknesses too.

What stood out to me the most was how much of the book reflected Ernest Hemingway’s life. He was an ambulance driver in World War 2, experiences the hardships of war, and also falls in love with a nurse while enlisted. Henry endures tragedy after tragedy, which also reflects Hemingway’s life. When he talks about the soldiers not knowing what was going on during the war and the awful emotions associated with war, he speaks from the heart. This is most likely why the text was written so informally and casually. Another parallel with his life was alcohol. Hemingway was known as a raging alcoholic and almost every page of the novel breathes alcohol and depression. Readers can truly get a feel of Hemingway's emotions through his inclusion of alcohol and drinking problems in A Farewell to Arms. The ending, where Henry leaves Catherine behind without any feelings of sadness or anything at all shows Hemingway’s depression and feelings of emptiness. The ending leaves readers feeling empty and discontent, much like how Hemingway was feeling.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that doesn’t mind a relaxed and more casual style of writing. Hemingway captures so many feelings that people can relate to. For instance, he captures of the irony of war with people dying over macaroni and he portrays the emptiness of words such as honor and courage. Laying down harsh realities, this text really makes people think. The ending leaves an open end that can leave readers angry at how harsh the real world is. This book is great for anyone that seeks to be compelled and question certain aspects of life.