As an ending to the entire novel, I simply want you to respond to the following prompt:
"What do you believe to be Hemingway's overall theme of the novel? What gave you this impression? Give examples from the text to support your stance."
Please answer the question entirely, as for length, this will be up to you, but must be proficient and up to expectations.
Choose one peer to respond to by Monday, April 25th @ 3pm. Discuss whether or not you agree with their stance and explain.
**Because I am giving you the extra time, I expect a top-notch discussion being that it is the last of the year!**
Have a great break, enjoy your family, and remember that Christ is risen and He is the reason we are free~
I believe Hemingway’s theme in the novel is the affect that war and love can have on people. War is a major theme whereas so is love. The novel’s first book mainly focuses on the reality of war. This theme is counter balanced with book two which focuses on love. The war has allowed the love between Catherine and Henry to grow and become the hope that they have to make it through the war together. The war acts as an intensifying environment that protects their love. Book three goes back to the horrid reality of war, but later addresses the reason for one to fight for life and that is because of love. When Bonello allows himself to be taken captive to escape death it seems foolish. Piani chooses to fight for his freedom and life because of the love that he has for his family and wife. When Henry is captured he decides to escape because of the love he has for Catherine. Love becomes a lifesaver in book three. Book four then changes mood, Henry and Catherine experience the final fight to gain the freedom of their love. After they are in Sweden the couple learns from their love, where book five describes the lessons that love and war has taught the couple. This is why I believe that love is like war, it is dangerous and risky but it is a battle everyone must fight and learn from.
ReplyDeleteIn A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway conveyed the theme that death and war are unavoidable. Every event in the novel seems to have led up to this one conclusion in Henry’s mind:
ReplyDeleteThat was what you did. You died. You did not know what it was about. You never had time to learn. They threw you in and told you the rules and the first time they caught you off base they killed you. Or they killed you gratuitously like Aymo. Or gave you the syphilis like Rinaldi. But they killed you in the end. You could count on that. (327)
Throughout the novel, Hemingway has expressed his own thoughts through the characters, specifically Henry. So here, having lived through two World Wars, how acutely Hemingway must have felt that war and death could not be escaped as he conveyed through what Henry felt at the death of his son and Catherine.
Hemingway also supports this theme of the inevitability of death through the symbolism in the rain. He does this mainly through contrast in the line, “Isn’t the rain fine? They never had rain like this in Italy. It’s cheerful rain” (278). Henry and Catherine thought they had avoided death and the war, just like they thought they had escaped the rain in Italy. They both learned that the rain, like death, cannot be avoided whether in Italy or in Switzerland as the last line of the novel shows, “I went into the room and stayed with Catherine until she died. She was unconscious all the time, and it did not take her very long to die… After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain” (331-332).
I think that Hemingway’s overall theme was not to rely entirely on earthly things because they will let you down eventually. It is only a question of when. He had Henry put Catherine at the centre of his life, made her Henry’s sole reason to live, and then destroyed him in the end with her death. The death of their son didn’t bother Henry, but Catherine’s death left a void where she had been in Henry’s heart.
ReplyDeleteThere are lessons that can be learned both from war and from love. War can teach you everything you ever wanted to know about mortality and then some. Love can teach you how to heal. Hemingway shows the lessons of war in the novel, “A Farewell to Arms” but not really the lessons of love.
The lessons of war that he shows in the story are loyalty, friends, fear, and death. Loyalty to your country and corps is a necessity of war. If the members of the corps were not loyal to each other then there would be no corps. If the soldier was not loyal to their country, then there would be no country. Friends are important in this novel because they helped Henry through. Fear is everywhere in war, like it or not, it’s a fact of war. Fear is a fact of life. Its just more obvious during war. Death is everywhere. Death happens to everyone. Henry and Catherine’s son died before he had a chance to live. Death is unavoidable, and Hemingway wants people to see that death doesn’t just happen in war. In happens in normal life too.
The lessons of love that Hemingway shows in this story are how it can heal you and how it can change you. It can heal you by helping you to recover from past hurt if you let it. It can change you by showing you what it means to love if you don’t know. Anyone can love, they just need a little help sometimes.
The conclusion to Farewell to Arms ends in tragedy when Henry loses his love, Catherine, and his child. Throughout the novel Henry displays a detached attitude leaving the reader questioning his motives. I believe that Hemingway’s theme for the novel is to prove that everything, good or bad, must come to an end. On one side the war did finish and his time in the army came to a close. However, his love for Catherine and their dreams for the future died as well. Henry describes that everything comes to an end when he says, “But they killed you in the end. You could count on that. Through Farwell to Arms Hemingway presents the truth that nothing can last forever.
ReplyDeleteI think Hemingway's theme is centered around what war is really like, and that there really isn't anything that people can do about it. The story contains countless examples of vivid imagery of the war and th violence and lack or warning that comes with it. One scene that shows this is when Henry is wounded. He withholds no details as he describes seeing a man, stating "his legs were toward me and I saw in the dark and the light that they were both smashed above the knee. One leg was gone and the other was held by tendons and part of the trouser and the stump twitched and jerked as though it were not connected." Henry's lack of emotion or surprise regarding such events emphasizes that it is simply how war is, and should almost be expected. The lack of control in war is further exemplified in Catherine's death. While her death is not related to the war directly, it still adds to Henry's feeling of helplessness in his life. War, as well as some other areas of life, is inevitable, and Hemingway uses A Farewell to Arms to give readers a window into this reality.
ReplyDelete@Grace - I agree with your stance and I especially like the first quote that you used. It makes me wonder if maybe the conclusion that Henry comes to in the novel is the same as what Hemingway did in his own life. Henry seems to be a fairly direct representation of Hemingway and so perhaps this novel was his means of letting his observations and conclusions be known.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Bethie:
ReplyDeleteAs was pointed out several times, Hemingway wrote many of his own experiences into his novels and it follows that many, if not all, are lessons he learned throughout his life and time in the war. While your theme is a good one, I do not think that it was the theme that Hemingway intended for A Farewell to Arms mainly because I do not think it is a lesson he ever learned himself. It probably never occurred to Hemingway (or Henry for that matter) that relying on earthly things was the problem in the first place because he did not know what to rely on instead. Henry tried to fill his life with everything from drinking to women, and he most likely sensed that it was never full, but I think he just accepted it as it was because he did not believe that there was anything else in life but himself and those around him.
I believe ghat the overiding theme in Hemmingway's Farewell to Arms is that life goes on ans death, injury, destruction, and the like are just as much a part of life as love, peace, and babies. I was given this impression primarily by the speaker's seemingly disattatched attitude, his lack of great emthusasim toward any of the subjects, which led to a unemotional and lecture-sounding tone. The whole thing was somewhat dry. The narrator, and Hemmingway through him, seemed more concerned about reporting the facts of life than about how he felt about these facts. This was evedent in numerous places, especially the very beginning, when the town and county-side were being described and when he discussed the boat journey up the lake. In both, he said what was going on, how people felt physically, and the scenery, but not much else. This what led to my ideas about the tone which in turn led to my ideas about the theme.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Sarah:
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you idea that the theme was a beginning and ending for everything, mostly, because so much did not end. The war, as you said, was very important in the book but it did not end. Henry's involvement may have ended, but not naturarly, and the was continued. Also, the baby was never born, so it really have no beginning.
I believe that Hemingway's theme was how harsh war can truly be. Throughout the entire novel, Hemingway has written in a way that makes both him and his main character Henry seem detached from the world. He does this so that his own personal opinion is not conveyed through his writing but rather that his writing be based on how many experienced to give a realistic illustration to his readers. In the first half of the story, everything seemed organized and to be going smoothly with regards to the war effort. However, in the second half of the book, the plot takes a sharp turn in the opposite direction. Things start to crumble, for the Italian army as well as for Henry's personal life. Hemingway includes these parts within his novel to show that war often times does not produce a happy ending that many people want, but rather, he shows the tragedy and suffering that composes and surrounds nearly every aspect of war. Hemingway does not end the story in a negative way because he has some personal grudge against the idea of war. Instead, he does this to show the inevitability of war, which is death.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Erin: I agree with your stance. Both Hemingway and Henry throughout the novel speak in a very matter-of-fact way and express more facts that personal feelings. I think you phrased his message perfectly, that death is as much a part of life as death. However, because he did focus primarily on the death aspect of war, perhaps he was trying to portray the truth about war in an effort to dispel the preconceived notions people have about war in general.
ReplyDeletei think that hemingways overall theme of the novel is that life is what it is and you cant change it. all of the problems that henry enconters he treats them as though he were expecting them,he deals with them and moves on. Hemingway shows this through the way he writes. he portrays henry as being bunt and sraight forward, and doent show much emotion. i think that by making henry this type of character he shows the readers that life is life and that there is nothing you can do it about. henrty understands that when something in your life happens, whether it be goo or bad,you have to learn to adjust to it and move on from it. at the very end when catherine dies and henry has nothing to say goodbye to he just leaves and walks home in the rain. he doesnt sit there and cry over his loses he just accepts it and moves on.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Molly…
ReplyDeleteI liked your idea that theme was saying that life is what it is, you can’t change it. Henry’s character was the best at portraying this theme. No matter what happened he had an attitude of just accepting it, nothing every seemed to bother him too much, which is why the reader may think of the attitude of everything in the novel as being detached. Henry was detached, he did not care about the danger of war, he did not care that he was almost killed. And he did not care to much that Catherine died, he did not care at all that the baby died since he blamed the baby for her death. I feel that by detaching Henry’s emotions from hi life event the theme of life being what it is can be portrayed to the reader. May seem strange at first but the reader will catch on as the novel progresses.
I think the theme of Hemingway’s novel, A Farewell to Arms, is the reality of both love and war. People today have twisted and unrealistic views of what love and war actually are. Love is thought to be a perfect experience that completes life and brings utter happiness, when really it involves trials and hardships, and is anything but perfect. The reality of how gruesome and tragic war is is not portrayed to its full detail as well. Hemingway uses this novel to describe the reality of war and love, without bias emotion from the characters. This explains why Hemingway shows no emotion in his characters but instead uses vivid description of the events around his characters. Hemingway portrays the reality of love through Catharine and Henry's relationship. The two truly love each other and are happy with each other, but they go through so many trials, such as; Henry's injury, fleeing to Switzerland, losing their baby, and in the end Henry loses Catherine. The ideal perfect love is destroyed in this book and reality is put into place. Hemingway also shows the reality of war in this novel. The detached soldiers and gruesome explanations of the bombing depict the truth behind war. War causes death and is very emotional and life changing. Hemingway used this novel to portray the reality of war and love.
ReplyDeleteI believe the main theme of Hemingway's novel, A Farewell to Arms, is the thought that there will always be tragic happenings throughout life, no matter what the situation. I also believe Hemingway wants the reader to feel and observe the gruesomeness both love and war can both have.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning if the novel things seem pretty chipper (despite Hemingway's tone). The Italian war efforts are succeeding, and Henry's life is moving along fairly well. But, as the novel progresses, things begin to get much more complicated, thus building up to the tragic moments that will inevitably come along.
Henry meets Catherine early in the novel and their relationship is growing happier as time moves on, but when the war efforts begin to slip and problems surface themselves, things get tense. Henry endures the first of the trials when he is almost killed by a bomb while on the front lines. I believe Hemingway uses this situation to show the reality war carries, no matter the war.
Later in the novel Henry finds himself in another predicament, after killing an officer. He must flee the country with Catherine, initiating more problems. At the end of the novel, though, is when Hemingway chooses to give the reader the full dose of reality, and how tragic life can be. Catherine's death, as well as the death of their baby is a terrible tragedy, and I believe Hemingway's final portrayal of his theme: Tragedies are inevitable in this lifetime.
I think Hemingway's overall theme is one of emptiness in which the character tries to use someone to fill them. Henry feels an emptiness from the war, it is clear from the first chapter. When he meets Catherine, he tries his hardest to distract himself with her, to cover up his pain. She is doing the same thing. She is tired of feeling the hurt and aloneness she is suffering since her fiancee's death.
ReplyDeleteGoing along with that theme of trying to use someone to fill your emptiness is the fact that it doesn't work. Distraction and pretending doesn't fix anything more than temporarily. Catherine became the only thing Henry cared about, even to the point that he showed no feelings for his son. Catherine was his whole world, the only thing he loved, which is dangerous because how is he going to live now without her after her unexpected death.
I think you could say war isn't as glorious as it seems, but is actually a terrible place where parts of people die, changing them forever, and this could be a possible theme. But throughout the whole story, people are guarding themselves and striving to be filled with something, which is why i think that emptiness is the main theme portrayed in the novel.
To Cole.
ReplyDeleteIt is a really sad ending to the book, and i see you mentioned that Hemingway gave us the "full dose" of tragedy at the end of the book. I found it interesting though that Henry didn't show emotion towards the child, only Catherine. What are your thoughts about this, because while it surprised me, it didn't completely shock me - but i would like to know what you think about it, and also, what was the point of Hemingway adding the death of the child, when all he really cared about was Catherine. The death of the child seems to have little effect on Henry.
The theme of Hemingway's novel is of war and of love. Many times throughout the novel, Henry narrates what is happening around him and how he sees the war. This shows that Hemingway wanted to show the true side of war and how it affects people's lives. He executes this theme perfectly by making Henry emotionless. The lack of emotions helped to show the audience the effect that the war had on the other soldiers. Love is also a large theme in the novel. Through the novel Hemingway explained how an age old emotion like love can be effected by war. By the actions that Henry took to keep his love going through the war shows how much someone will go though to keep something alive. By running to Sweden, Henry made the decision that his love for Catherine was more important then his duties as a military officer. Both of the themes of love and the effects of war are equally stressed throughout the novel. Hemingway used these two themes to show how much harm a war can cause on people.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ryan L: I agree with your stance that the book was used to show that war happens and there is no controling it. Hemingway used the novel to show the actual events that happen during a war. This is shown by the overwhelming descriptions in the book. I like how you connected Catherine's death into the theme of the novel. I did not infer that Catherine's death was an example of Henry's helplessness in the book.
I believe that Hemingway’s overall theme for the novel is the reality and cruelty of the war. I believe this because at the beginning of the novel life as portrayed by the character of Henry is much simpler than as the novel progresses and Henry and Helen’s life is rather turned upside down and twisted and morphed. On page 27 this simplicity is shown with the character of Rinaldi as he tells Henry “Good night little puppy.” This truly shows how simple things were before the war took out its effects. Compared to page 332 in which Henry states “I walked back to the hotel in the rain” this section shows how the innocence of the beginning of the book is gone and has now been replaced by the darkness of the war. I also believe that this is the overall theme of the book because this was Hemingway’s original purpose was to portray the war without a silver lining thus when he is blunt in laying out the scenarios and telling the stories he is trying to show how awful the war was and the affect it had on people like Henry and Helen’s love and relationship.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Sarah: I identify with her thought process as I examine what she is saying I believe that she is right that one of the themes of this novel is that everything comes to an end whether good or bad. I believe that this fits very well into the numerous situations that Hemingway is trying to portray and the various other points that Hemingway makes throughout his story.
I believe that Hemingway's overall theme in his novel A Farewell to Arms is that there is much corruption in the world and despite it all- life still goes on. Hemingway depicts this theme using Henry. Henry is emotionally distant from everything that happens in the book. while the reader has multiple emotions throughout the book- Henry seems to have one disconnected emotion. Henry and the Italians also view the war with distaste. they hate it and hate everything that has been brought about because of it. "That was what you did. You died. You did not know what it was about. You never had time to learn. They threw you in and told you the rules and the first time they caught you off base they killed you" (327). Henry deserts the war and just runs away with Catherine but life still goes on and Catherine dies and he has to live without her.
ReplyDeletein response to Sarah:
I really like the theme that you came up with. Your evidince was solid and I definetly like your theme better than mine. your theme fits really well into the whole plot of the book.