Plot Summary of "A Farewell to Arms"
Plot Summary of "A Farewell to Arms"
The novel A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway opens with a portrayal of artillery troops marching through the rains. One of these men is Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver. Henry is currently in the Italian army, at the Italian front during World War I.
The response of these first few chapters begins when Henry returns from winter leave in early spring. His roommate, Rinaldi, is infatuated with a British nurse, Catherine Barkley, at a nearby British hospital. Rinaldi convinces Henry to visit the hospital with him and Henry finds himself attracted to Catherine. A few days later, Henry comes back to see Catherine and the two kissed.
The relationship between Henry and Catharine becomes more defined as Henry begins to pay her regular visits. However, the relationship is one devoid of love to Henry, it is as if they are playing a game. Catherine recognizes this as well, and finally declares that it is a "rotten game we play," (A Farewell to Arms 31) putting an end to the false lovemaking.
Meanwhile, the offensive is about to resume, and Fredrick Henry is dispatched to the front to drive the wounded back to hospitals. At the front, Henry and his fellow ambulance drivers sit in a dugout, eating pasta and waiting for the offensive to commence. As they talk, shells shatter over their heads until a trench mortar shell blasts open the dugout. Passini's leg is blown off and he dies; both of Henry's legs are severely wounded.
At a field hospital, Henry is first visited by Rinaldi, then by the priest. Rinaldi tells Henry that he will get a medal of bravery from the Italians, and jokes about developments. The priest, on the other hand, has more serious matters to talk about. The priest tells Henry that love is a willingness to serve someone else, and that true happiness can be achieved through love.
After a few days at the field hospital, Henry is moved away from the front to an American hospital in Milan. Because of an excess of nurses at the front, Catherine is also being sent there as.
Frederic Henry is the first patient to be sent to the American hospital even the doctor hasn’t arrived yet. After a few days, though, the doctor arrives and immediately begins to remove shards of metal from Henry's legs. One piece...