Symbolism used in "Farewell to Arms" essay

It can be said that the name of Ernest Hemingway became a symbol of literary success and fame, honed skill, hard work and a deep and sincere love for human. The main content of his works in the 1920s lied in search for the true values ​​of life, reflecting on the fate of the “lost generation” – the generation of veterans of the World War First. A typical Hemingway’s hero is abandoned, “thrown” to another country, where his will is tested for durability on the background of a global conflict – the World War First. However, the main duel Hemingway’s characters conduct with themselves. A change of heart, loneliness – such feelings experience almost all Hemingway’s characters. It should be emphasized that Hemingway also belongs to the “lost generation”. However, he, as well as his characters, not only humbled with his destiny – he challenges the very notion of a “lost generation” as synonymous with doom.

Hemingway’s heroes are brave people in opposition to fate, who stoically overcome alienation; each of them is a part of the author’s personality, his unbending will to live. One these characters is Frederick Henry – the hero of the novel “A Farewell to Arms”.

The novel “A Farewell to Arms” is a story about a few months of the life of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, who served in the Italian army ambulance corps during the World War First. This is the story of a man who lived through the tragedy of war, the bitterness of enlightenment after the first wound and the loss of his comrades, an attempt to escape from the hell slaughter by signing a separate treaty with the war. In the title of his novel, Hemingway used a quote from a poem of XVI century, in which the English playwright and poet George Peele described the retirement of the famous warrior. Hemingway’s irony is obvious: in his novel Hemingway shows not the glory of arms, but its tragic defeat. But what kind of arms is that? THESIS: In “A Farewell to Arms” Hemingway describes that the time when honor was the most important thing for men have gone. That was the time when romantic idea of ​​war was closely associated with the figure of Napoleon. It is the idea of wars with planned attacks and retreats, with the official rituals of cities’ surrender. Unfortunately, the World War First has changed it once and for all: the use of chemical weapons, machine guns and rifles broke into the root ​​the notion of war. Since then, the main thing for any soldier became “life” instead of “honor” (Hemingway, 1995).

Thus, illogic, cruel absurdity of modern warfare destroys the illusion of Lieutenant Frederic Henry. When the young man firsthand saw the battlefield, he was finally convinced that the Italian people do not need this war. They forced to pay with their lives for the stupidity of their rulers. Henry realized that the calls to war for democracy are really just a cover for fratricidal carnage and lofty words, such as: “sacred civic duty”, “glorious achievement”, “victim”, which in reality means nothing. “I did not say anything. I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations, now for a long time, and I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stock yards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it.” (A Farewell to Arms Quotes, 2013).

Nevertheless, “A Farewell to Arms” is not an antimilitarist novel. Lieutenant Frederic Henry is not against war per se. War in his presentation is a craft for real men. However, according to Hemingway, this “craft” completely loses its high, universally significant sense on the background of the battles that are completely illogical and where people are played like puppets. It can be said that the front line in this “new” war, where in fact there is no them and us, is conditional (the Austrians in the novel are not personified). Henry not only realizes the mistake of his participation in the war, but also the fact that there is no “civilized” way out of it. Wound, hospital stay, the front again, the retreat of the Italian army – these are the steps of the military fate of the protagonist. The retreat ended tragically for Henry – he, as a deserter, without trial should have been shot by Italian gendarmes together with other Italian officers, deserted of their military units. Moreover, Henry sees that there is no hope of salvation; that the questioning did not give a chance to survive, so he decided to escape. In my opinion, the episode of the retreat of the Italian troops after the Battle of Caporetto, and shooting of transgressed officers is the most powerful scene of the book. It is the final moment of enlightenment, the ultimate understanding of the unnaturalness, irrationality of the war. As a result of this understanding, the soldier that adequately performed his military duty, finally refusing to participate in the “senseless slaughter” that benefit only a small circle of the ruling class (Corbett, 2005).

Undoubtedly, with this understanding Henry feels some relief. There is no more anger, a sense of duty is dropped, Henry tells himself: “I was not created in order to think. I was created in order to eat. Yes, dammit. Eat, drink and sleep with Catherine.” (A Farewell to Arms Quotes, 2013). Furthermore, as Henry begins to identify the war with absolute cruelty of the world, the most important thing becomes love. It should be mentioned that in the novels of “lost generation” writers, love and friendship are often the very beginning, which helps the protagonist to survive. However, Henry was not meant to be happy. The relationship with the nurse Catherine Barkley started as a flirtation. Before meeting Catherine, Frederick had a cynical attitude to love, believing that he does not need a serious long-term relationship. The beauty of an English nurse “with golden skin and gray eyes” captivated the Lieutenant, but broke out into the real sense in the moment when Catherine came into the hospital, where Frederick was lying after he was wounded (A Farewell To Arms: Analysis of Major Characters, 2012). Surprisingly, Henry tells about the feelings for his beloved wife almost as impartially as he told about his participation in military operations, attacks and retreats – he simply presents the facts, as if assessing their feelings on the part: “As soon as I saw her, I realized that I’m in love with her. Everything in me turned upside down… God knows I did not want to fall in love with her. I did not want anyone to fall in love. But, God knows, I fell in love and was lying on the bed in the Milan hospital, and all sorts of thoughts swirled in my head, and it was surprisingly good.” (A Farewell to Arms Quotes, 2013).

The feeling was mutual, both Frederick and Catherine believed that on that day, when Catherine came to the hospital, they became husband and wife. Summer of love became the most bright and cheery in their lives. There were understanding, caring, small signs of appreciation and great joy. There were a few months of happiness that young people felt in Switzerland. There were endless conversations, walks, dreams of a happy future together and great happiness. Unfortunately, this happiness ended up as suddenly as it began. The long painful childbirth has taken away from Frederick the woman he loved, and the newborn child, with whom they hoped to begin a happy and peaceful life (Corbett, 2005).

The death of the loved people convinces Frederick in the idea that sublime love is so impossible in the modern world, as “romantic” war. Lieutenant Henry’s generation looks at life without building any illusions about their future; these people know in advance that are doomed for life without love and joy. “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” (A Farewell To Arms: Top Ten Quotes, 2013).

To sum it up I would like to say that the novel “A Farewell to Arms” was a milestone in the work of Ernest Hemingway. Decades pass, but the interest in this novel continues to be high. The tragic story of Frederick Henry, a young American volunteer, who became a deserter, helped the writer to trace the formation of a “lost generation” – people who lived through the World War First and became spiritually devastated. It should be noted that the World War First has changed the rules of the “game”. If in XIX century, for any soldier the main value was honor, after the World War First the main value became life. This thesis is clearly emphasized in Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms”. The time of romantic wars has gone; from the XX century it has begun the time of disastrous wars.

Undoubtedly, “A Farewell to Arms” helps to explain why people renounce from recognition of any ideological dogma of military service, from what is usually called the public duty of every human being. Nevertheless, no matter of life circumstance, Hemingway’s heroes never give up. On the contrary, defeats make them stronger, they make them to search for and find the meaning of their existence in the most important human relationships – love and friendship. I think we all have something to learn from the heroes of Ernest Hemingway.