Sunday, October 13, 2013

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.  

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