"A Farewell to Arms"

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how in "A Farewell to Arms," Ernest Hemingway chronicles the life of Frederic Henry, an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army during World War I. The paper examines how Hemingway contrasts the death and despair of war with the loving relationship between Henry and an English nurse. The paper explains that this relationship, although an escape from the despondency of battle, actually culminates in more pain and misery, thus highlighting how despair is inevitable in war.

From the Paper:

"In his partially autobiographical novel, A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway chronicles the life of Frederic Henry, an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian Army during World War I. Hemingway conveys the idea of insensibility shared by Henry and the other soldiers and army personnel as they take pleasure in unscrupulous living and overt excess. Symbolic in nature, their unrestrained behavior discloses the sense of hopelessness felt among the soldiers as they realize the futility of war. Amid the tumultuous events taking place on the battlefield, Hemingway contrasts the death and despair with the loving relationship between Henry and an English nurse, Catherine Barkley. This relationship appears to be an escape from the despondency so prevalent on the frontlines of battle. However, Henry and Catherine's relationship culminates in more pain and misery as Hemingway weaves a tale that illuminates the insensate horror and devastation born out of war."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dekker, George, and Harris, Joseph. "Supernaturalism and the Vernacular Style in A Farewell to Arms" Publications of the Modern Language Association of America 94.2 (1979): 311-318. JSTOR Arts and Sciences. JSTOR. Lone Star Coll.-Kingwood Lib., Kingwood. 25 June 2008 http://www.jstor.org.
• "Ernest Hemingway Biography: World War I." The Hemingway Resource Center. 2007. The Lost Generation. 20 June 2008 http://www.lostgeneration.com/ww1.htm.
• Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. 1929. New York: Scribner-Simon, 1995
• Lewis, Wyndham. "Ernest Hemingway: The 'Dumb Ox'." Men Without Art (1934): 17-41Rpt. In Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Editor's Name. Vol. 115.
• Markley, Arnold A. "An Overview of A Farewell to Arms." Exploring Novels (1998). Literature Resource Center. Gale. Lone Star Coll.-Kingwood Lib., Kingwood 24 June 2008 http://infotrac.galegroup.com .

More papers on "A Farewell to Arms":

• Analytical Essay # 141424 : "A Farewell To Arms"
• Analytical Essay # 142239 : "A Farewell To Arms": A Review of Criticism"
• Analytical Essay # 16437 : "Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms"
• Analytical Essay # 59820 : "Destruction of War in "A Farewell to Arms"

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