1. A Farewell to Arms takes place during World War II in Italy. Henry is an American in the Italian army and is touring the country. After he returns to the war he meets Catherine Barkley, who his good friend Rinaldi is interested in seeing. Soon it becomes evident that the better match is between Henry and Catherine and rinaldi is left without her. Eventually it comes out that Catherine had just lost her husband and in a way was using Henry to replace him. This doesn't create any problems because the relationship wasn't deep for Henry at that point either.
Henry injures his knee in battle and is visited by three doctors who insist on six months recover. He decides to get a second opinion and finds a doctor who will operate right away. Catherine is transferred to where Henry is staying and is assigned to prep him for surgery. The two continue in their romantic interests with each other and as Henry heals the relationship progresses. When Henry is given 3 final convalescence weeks, Catherine tells him that she is pregnant. The two are not fazed by this though they worry about bringing a child into the world during the war. Before he is scheduled to leave Henry contracts jaundice. Instead of getting more leave, however, he is forced back on the front because a nurse said that his condition was self-inflicted by excessive drinking.
Henry undergoes a brutal experience at war. He is traveling with an ambulance through evacuating troops. The ambulance gets stuck and he orders two men to help him get them out. He shoots one when they refuse. Eventually the vehicles get stuck again and they are forced to travel by foot. Henry finds a place to stay at a nearby farm and stays there. The following day is a chaotic mess of executions. The Italian soldiers kill any officers that they see. Henry is caught but manages to escape before being killed. He makes for the river and hides until it is safe for him to swim away.
Henry decides he is done with this war and decides to find Catherine. The two reunite and live happily in Stresa, though sometimes Henry feels guilty for leaving his men. Catherine is concerned about the baby being too large and drinks beer to keep him small. The novel ends abruptly when Catherine dies giving birth to a stillborn baby and Henry walks back home in the rain.
2. The theme of this novel is loss. Catherine lost her fiancé and flirts with Henry to alleviate here pain. When Catherine and his child die, Henry must cope with his losses. This theme captures the tragedy of war and begs a cease of violence.
3. The tone of the novel is sincere. Henry does not try to make himself look good or defend his actions; rather he is telling the story as if he needs to get things off his chest. Judging from the tragedies he underwent, this is a healthy reaction. Examples of his honesty can be seen in these passages.
4.Hemingway uses a dichotomy on page 218 when soldiers claim to be part of the “peace brigade,” as if brigades ever brought peace.
He uses foreshadowing on page 292. Catherine is drinking beer in order to “keep the baby small” because of her narrow hips. This foreshadows the troubles she will encounter later when trying to give birth.
Hemingway has the narrator describe anecdotes all the time in the novel like on page 112 when he reflects on a dining experience.
Hemingway uses metaphor with “the enemy’s ears are everywhere” to convey the hostility of the barber when he thought that the narrator was an Austrian.
On page 96 Hemingway satirizes the medical field in that they can’t even agree on which leg is the left leg and excuse themselves with a weak “ I was looking from a different angle.”
On page 95 Hemingway alludes to Cleopatra to capture the beauty of the nurse Miss Gage.
Throughout the novel Hemingway uses dialogue to convey character feelings. This can be seen often between Rinaldi and Henry early in the novel and Henry and Catherine later in the novel.
Regional dialect is used throughout the novel to remind the reader of the setting.
Characterization-
1.Hemingway characterizes directly often when he is describing minor characters. The characters are not significant to really portray themselves though their actions so their characterization is left short and to the narrator. For example, Count Greffi is “an old man with white hair and mustache with beautiful manners.” Another example is one of the girls riding with the soldiers. She is described as “plump and dark and looked about sixteen.” For the main characters, however, Hemingway tends to use indirect characterization via dialogue. Two examples of this are the long conversations Henry has with Rinaldi and the ones he has with Catherine.
2.Hemingway's diction tends to be consistently simple throughout the novel whether he is depicting character or not. He does however use a lot of dialogue, possibly embellished to some extent to depict the characters.
3.Henry is a round character because he is developed in all aspects. He is dynamic because he changes throughout the book as he fall in love with Catherine and then loses her at the end.
4.I felt like I had met someone because Henry was honest about his faults and human with his losses. For example at the end when he walks in the rain. This type of reaction is the only reaction I could picture anyone having to losing a child and a lover: utter despair and disregard for practicality.
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