Critical Anaylsis of A Farewell to Arms
Critical Anaylsis of A Farewell to Arms
A Farewell To Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet placed against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story. The war affects the emotions and values of each character. The love between Catherine and Fredrick must outlast long separations, life-threatening war-time situations, and the uncertain whereabouts or condition of each other. This novel is a beautiful love story of two people who need each other in a period of turmoil.
Fredrick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Fredrick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Fredrick disagrees with the war he is fighting. It is too chaotic and immoral for him to rationalize its cause. He fights anyway, because the army puts some form of discipline in his life. At the start of the novel, Fredrick drinks and travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is discontent because his life is very unsettled. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle.
Further into the novel, Fredrick becomes involved with Catherine Barkley. He slowly falls in love with her and he finds commitment. Their relationship brings some order and value to his life. Fredrick sees the losing Italian army as total chaos and disorder where he had previously seen discipline and control. He can no longer remain a part of something that is so disorderly and so, he deserts the Italian army. Fredrick’s desertion of the Italian army is the turning point in the novel. This is the significance of the title, A Farewell To Arms. When Fredrick puts aside his involvement in the war, he realizes that Catherine is the order and value in his life.
At the conclusion of this novel, Fredrick realizes that he cannot base his life on another person or thing because, ultimately, they will leave or disappoint him. He realizes...