A Farewell to Arms
Frederic Henry, an American ambulance driver and a lieutenant ("tenente") in the Italian army, is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. The focus of the novel revolves around his love with Catherine Barkley as well as his steady disillusionment with the war. Henry is characterized initially by a sort of detachment from life-though well-disciplined and friendly, he feels as if he has nothing to do with the war. These feelings of detachment are pushed away when Henry falls in love with Catherine and begins to realize the hostile nature of the world. In this way, Henry serves the function of a character who becomes initiated in Hemingway's philosophy of an indifferent universe and man's struggle against it.Catherine Barkley is an English nurse serving at the Italian front. Due to the untimely death of a fiance previous to the events of this book, Catherine has already been initiated into Hemingway's philosophy, and exemplifies the traits of the Hemingway code hero throughout the novel. She is characterized primarily by her disregard for social conventions as well as an unfaltering devotion to Henry.A friend of Henry's, the young priest of the division is chara
" 63Priest: "You cannot know about [happiness] unless you have it" 72Catherine: "I want what you want. The author is, indeed, finding something to laugh about in life, much as his characters are discovering meaning in an indifferent existence. In essence, the hero learns that he, himself, is a crucial source of meaning. Similarly, the mud serves as an obstacle to the army in both offensive and retreat, thus demonstrating nature's hostility to man. In doing so, she demonstrates a higher fidelity to personal values (loyalty, dignity) rather than abstract ones (morality) and is esteemed because of it. " 63Priest: "What you tell me about in the nights. " 232"We could feel alone when we were together, alone against the others. " 249"The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But I did not know that then, although I learned it later. Unlike Henry, he cannot deal with the knowledge, and resorts to sex as a means to forget. There are no winners in a war, and there is no reasoning behind the lives which are taken.
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