4th Post: Farewell to A Farewell to Arms

                Very few stories have left me with burning questions and thoughts bouncing through my head like Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms.  I would recommend this story to anyone interested in easily one of the best romance stories around.  Even after I put the book down I still had to process the ending alone in silence for a good thirty minutes because of the culmination of so many elements that Hemingway built up throughout the book.  With great tense moments, and fantastic descriptions of mundane moments that would otherwise be dull, Hemingway created a beautiful book that anyone who appreciates a good story will fall in love with.

            With a story as deep as Hemingway’s, I found myself quite close to falling into some bad-reader traps, simply because I could not put the book down.  As time progressed, I would have to do temporary reality checks to stop myself from identifying with Henry, or recount the events that just occurred.  Reading too much in one sitting was definitely one of my shortcomings as a reader, at least at first, partially because I had not developed good habits for remembering details.  To cure this, I used post-it notes to mark key details which helped me sustain my addiction.  I tried my best to clear my mind before every new chapter, but I found that I enjoyed some sections, like the retreat and the final hospital scene more when I read through them altogether at once.  The mental strains of reading for a longer time helped me better process the stressful atmosphere of the story.  In summary, while I made some mistakes as a reader at the outset of the story, I corrected a lot of my poor habits by the end. 

            As I mentioned in previous posts, Hemingway’s use of rain and weather in general is a phenomenal symbol that helps amplify the tension, sadness, or in some cases bluntness, of any event.  Rain is used throughout the story at some many various times, but some particularly varying mentions of rain are during the couple’s entrance to Switzerland as Catherine says “They never had rain like this in Italy.  It’s cheerful rain” (278), as well as the use of rain during Henry’s escape from the Italian soldiers.  The variation in the weather itself is not different in the slightest, but the contributions to the tone and mood could not be more different.  Hemingway’s ability to use such a simple environmental feature as a versatile tool is a legendary ability.  In one context, rain reflects the equality between Henry and the men who serve under him, while in another it shows the cleanliness of starting a new life in a new country with Henry’s wife.  Ultimately, I really enjoyed the use of weather throughout the story, because not only does it enhance the imagery of the situation, but the contribution to the emotions of the scenes is fantastic.

            Love is something absolutely quintessential to this story, and Hemingway has a lot to say about it.  The ending of the story is the culmination of so many emotions and ironies in simple short sentences that define love in an absolutely beautiful way.  Hemingway shows that love is pure, rich and comprised of service, while detailing the vulnerability, and infectious spirit of it at the same time.  Henry’s history of lustful relationships yield no emotional gain, but the ironic nature of Henry staying alive at the front and escaping death to love, only to lose his only love in perfect safety is profound and oddly beautiful.  In the final lines of the story, Hemingway writes “It was like saying good-by to a statue…I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain” (332).  This is the ultimate destination of Henry’s character: being ruined by tragedy with every tribulation overcome and every trial complete.  But Hemingway doesn't hesitate to reveal the joys of love, as he describes the relationship between Catherine and Henry beautifully throughout the text, even describing their love in the quiet Swiss home as a practically magical experience.  Hemingway’s description of the connection between the two characters is perfectly tragic and pure at the same time.  There is no grand finale of goodbyes and kisses and promises, there is calm conversation and death, followed by simple the simple act of entering a room and losing a connection.  Hemingway’s story defines love in all aspects; as we see the strong connection emerge from lust, endure under duress, blossom in reunion, and die, in absence.   

3rd Post: When it Rains it Pours

When I started Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, I never expected to find a section as intense and unpredictable as the one I just read.  I know I have previously mentioned Hemingway’s masterful use of weather in the story, but given the more hectic change of pace in the book, I have to continue my praise.  The mundane style of executing a retreat in unimaginably horrible weather conditions not only creates an immense sense of fear and dullness, but it also serves as a pivotal point, as we come to understand so much more about Frederick Henry as a soldier, instead of a civilian.  Seeing the protagonist make hard decisions after recovering from an injury provides a unique contrast to his otherwise pleasant and romantic demeanor while he spends time with Ms. Barkley.  I am particularly fascinated by Hemingway’s use of rain throughout the retreat, as it contributes so much to atmosphere whilst symbolizing pure actions of Henry.  What concerns me most about this part of the text is that while Henry is under extreme duress, he thinks of Catherine occasionally, but he also leaves some hints that she may not be as important to him as we expect.  Firstly, as Henry converses with Piani while officers like Henry are being rounded up and killed, Henry fails to even mention Catherine to his last friend even though the subject of marriage and relationships come up (220).  Also, even before Henry leaves his interactions with Catherine are not uncommon of how someone would treat a prostitute, and Catherine recognizes this, saying “I've never felt like a whore before…it isn't nice to feel like one” (152).  Despite Henry’s denial of treating Catherine like a whore, I think it is pretty clear that his intentions were less than mature for someone in a relationship that is a marriage in all but name.  While I still worry about the state of the relationship between Henry and Catherine, I find the more pressing issues of Henry’s escape from execution more surprising.  As Hemingway describes the execution of an officer “He walked in the rain…I did not watch them shoot him but I heard the shots” (224), I can’t help but notice the repeated use of rain at every major thoughtful moment in Henry’s adventure.  The use of rain helps paint this black and white picture with Italians killing Italian officers under this universal equalizer.  Even during the journey along the bleak road with cars getting stuck and stop and start traffic lasting for hours it is fascinating to see the rain show this equal burden and strain that essentially eliminates rank and law from the story, and helps reveal that Henry, like the rest of his men, wants no business with this war and knows just as much as they do when it comes to escaping.  The rain levels the playing field and helps shed light on the characters free of preconceived notions, and it significantly contributes to making this one of the best sections of the book.  

2nd Post: Love and Other Battlefield Injuries

                While working through the next hundred pages or so of Earnest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, I have begun to finally appreciate the way the love story is told.  Before reading I understood that a man was to fall in love with a woman in Italy during World War One, and once Catherine Barkley is detailed as a nurse I knew they would no doubt end up loving each other in a hospital.  I really do enjoy the way Hemingway slowly develops Henry as a character, along with the relationship in such a way that you aren't quite sure if Henry loves Catherine, or if she is just another outlet for his lust.  Part of this might be attributed to Catherine’s constant question throughout the story of “Do you love me?”  Henry always says yes, but it’s hard to understand if he is just comforting her or if he is being genuine.  With love as such a pivotal and entertaining point of the story, the priest’s definition is extremely relevant as he preaches to Henry on his hospital bed “When you love you wish to do things for.  You wish to sacrifice for.  You wish to serve” (72).  This quote reflects just the opposite of Henry’s attitude toward affection, as he really doesn't care for love or deep relationships as we see through the rest of his conversation with the priest.  What entertains me through all of this is the split nature of Henry, because if he was talking to Catherine he would definitely express his affection for her over and over.  I fear that there may be two Henry’s in this story: one who relaxes through sweet nothings with strangers while on leave, and one who does his job in the army to the best of his ability.  This alleged dual personality would not concern me save for the fact that Catherine Barkley is ridiculously attached to Henry.  With the priest’s definition of love falling perfectly into her voice, it is hard to predict what the next step in the relationship between Henry and Catherine will be.  Catherine expresses her love for Henry with a strong flame, as she tells him “I want what you want.  There isn't any me any more.  Just what you want” (106).  This shows Catherine’s undying will to serve Henry, which worries me because I am not sure if she is setting herself up to get burned or if Henry can really abide by his romantic promises to her.  This mystery is what keeps me turning pages and analyzing every conversation between them.  I truly believe that Henry is playing Catherine just as he’s played his other lustful pleasures while on leave.  I can hope for the best, but given the evidence of Henry’s honest conversation with the priest, I do not think there will be a clean end to this relationship.  

1st Post: A Hello to Arms

                After reading only the first pages of Earnest Hemingway A Farewell to Arms I am already enjoying so many aspects of the text.  The book is about a young American man named Frederic Henry, who is an ambulance driver for the Italian forces fighting the Austrians in World War One.  While occupying a small town just below a mountain range in Italy, Henry, who also narrates the story, remarks on the weather and the region in a masterful way, creating an interesting atmosphere, and helping the reader really connect with Henry’s life as an ambulance driver in a war zone.  Even on the first page of the story there is clear evidence of this fantastic ability to describe the environment with great imagery, as Hemingway writes “In the dark it (artillery) was like summer lightning, but the nights were cool and there was not the feeling of a storm coming.” (3)  This quote shows how Hemingway uses imagery in a phenomenal way to describe Henry’s perspective on the war.  With lightning symbolizing the action and direct violence of the war, Henry has the luxury of observing it from afar.  Also, the absence of the presence of a storm shows that Henry actually feels little danger from his position.  This scenic introduction to the book makes it easy to understand the protagonist and the region where the story takes place in a unique fashion.  Henry’s nature and perspective has already been outlined even before he has been formally introduced into the story.  Moreover, Hemingway uses the weather to describe other events besides just his perspective on the war, as a he states “looking out at the snow falling slowly and heavily, we knew it was all over for that year.” (6)  In this passage, the war has reached a lull, because of the winter.  But in describing the snow falling, Hemingway really shows the peace and equalization between the forces, as the snow falls on everything in the town and up the mountains.  This temporary break from war allows for more focus to be put on understanding the relationship between Henry, his companions, and his relationship with the town and, of course, Ms. Barkley, the wonderful British nurse who Henry pursues.  The description of the town is extremely enjoyable, and all of the characters thus far are interesting as they fall into different facets of Henry’s life.  Ultimately, it seems as though the town is almost too beautifully described, leading me to believe that this is the lighter side of what is to be a dark contrast later in the book.  The peaceful snow, distant thunder of artillery, and huge mountains will need to end, be heard, or hiked eventually.  With the descriptions from Hemingway as eloquent as they are, I am looking forward to whatever outcome happens, so long as his parallels between weather and the mood stay brilliant.