Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell To Arms.1995.
Scenes depicting the horrors faced in the Great War are evident in Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms.” The book contains five sections and provides a systematic narration of the life of one Mr. Frederick Henry. Serving as an ambulance driver with the Italian army during the First World War, the narrative shows Henry's quest to balance a love life and the ongoing war. Frederick Henry’s occupation as an ambulance driver exposes his character to many violent events that later lead to trauma. With Barkley, Henry attempts to find happiness and love but fails miserably when his love interest dies as the story winds up. It is vital to note that, throughout the book, there is no single scenario where Henry seeks outside help as he opts to deal with everything alone. In addition, since the book revolves around the life of Henry as the male protagonist, it provides readers with a view of the events and other facts that affect Henry and influence his choices throughout the novel. Hence, Hemingway exposes his lead character to different scenarios that portray the terror militiamen face in war and shows the effects war has on the involved parties. One such exposure is Henry's feelings for the lead female character Catherine Barkley a nurse during the war. Henry’s love for Barkley influences most of his choices, including the decision to flee to Switzerland and raise their unborn child (208). In a bid to understand the shocks of war in “A Farewell to Arms”, this research paper will determine the instances of horror in the novel and concentrate on their effects on the male protagonist.
“A Farewell to Arms” describes a world ridden with war and the destruction of life and attitudes. In the first chapter, the protagonist informs readers that “At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera” (4). Nevertheless, the cholera infection was “checked” and “in the end only seven thousand died of it in the army” (4). The large numbers of people dying from the spread of a disease ought to be alarming to any human being. However, war forces people to live under unfavorable conditions that entail poor hygiene made worse by “permanent rain.” Consequently, one can safely argue that Hemingway’s depiction of cholera wiping out a significant number of soldiers is acceptable if not expected. Thus raises the first horrors of war, the unpredictable demise of troops in large numbers. As the foremost depiction of death, Hemingway ensures the scene captures his readers’ attention and creates the feeling of impending doom for the characters. After all, people expect enrolled soldiers to die in combat. Cholera wiping out troops shows the first unfavorable outcome of the war, the expose of men from all backgrounds to unpredictable deaths. In addition, Henry’s statement that “only seven thousand died” shows a lack of value for human life. Written in the past tense, all the events the novel records are in the protagonist’s past. In other words, Frederick Henry has been to war and back, although Hemingway does not provide a timeline or the age of his character. Either way, it is possible that prior the commencement of the war, the numbers of the dead shocked and even saddened the future ambulance driver. However, after being in the war and witnessing many deaths, Henry changes his attitude towards the wipeout.
As an ambulance driver, readers expect war to affect Frederick Henry, with the most expected outcome being death because of his work in the battle. In addition, Henry’s character is bound to ferry the injured and expectedly, see the bodies of dead soldiers from the ongoing war. The readers’ expectations seem to go against those of the protagonist. According to the lead character, “British ambulance drivers were sometimes killed” (31), an observation showing he understands that ambulance drivers can also die. However, despite said observation Henry is quick to point out that he “would not be killed” in that particular war (31). Very much like Henry, one can safely argue that many people living in the warring countries expected war to be in the battlefronts. Civilians, for example, will expect the soldiers to handle the conflict and keep it from reaching their homes. Nevertheless, Henry realizes he is not immune to the dangers and harm of war when he gets hurt. In the scene of his injury, Henry screams “Oh, Mama Mia,” a cry out for his mother (47). From that point, Henry goes into detail explaining the damage on his legs; all the while giving a picture of extreme pain, shock and confusion (47-49). An adult man screaming for his mother in the middle of a war zone shows the extreme pain and possible fear Henry is experiencing. Before knowing the degree of his wounds, Hemingway quotes Henry saying, “my legs felt warm and wet, and my shoes were wet and warm inside” (48). Warm and moist are the descriptions of blood, and for his shoes to have the same traits, the protagonist’s wounds are grave. Therefore, the second horror of war entails the fact that, during the scuffle all people are in danger.
Beyond the war zone, war effects extended to the civilians. “A Farewell to Arms” shows the destructive nature of war on the commoners, where people leave their homes to escape the violence. Coinciding with the words of Passini, “There is nothing as bad as war. We in the auto ambulance cannot realize at all how bad it is” (43), Henry cannot relay to readers the extensive damages that war causes the people. In other words, as the narrator and an ambulance driver, Henry limits the information on war provided to users of the narration. Thus, as the battle continues, people become homeless, and chaos ensues when the dispossessed trudge towards an unknown destination. In the event of a conflict, involved individuals experience the realities of war first hand with death being a strong probability. Whether in the battlefront or not, war affects every person. Henry provides the perfect illustration of the direct effects of war as he sustains severe wounds warranting the attention of doctors in Milan. At the same time, the ambulance in the novel evolves from being a source of hope and becomes a hearse that sees soldiers die before making it to the hospitals. On the other hand, readers can take Barkley’s grievances over her dead fiancé as an indirect effect of war. Dead soldiers leave loved ones behind; the extent of said effects differs from one person to another. Catherine Barkley for instance, has an outburst warranting Henry to call her “a little crazy” (26) then later gets pregnant out of wedlock (214). Thus, the horrors of war can extend to civilians who have never taken up arms. After his injuries, Henry's attitude begins to change because he adopts the attitude of a soldier and begins a relationship with Barkley.
Another horror of war entails the gradual loss of humanity and compassion amongst the soldiers. Where, traditions expect battles to bring about heroes who save the day; Hemingway’s narration is far from such ideologies as troops leave each other behind. In the novel, soldiers from all sides lose focus on who to kill and who to save as the war continues. The most prominent illustration of soldiers losing their humanity and compassion for human life revolves around the instructions Henry receives during the retreat (163). Whilst receding from the frontlines, Henry gets instructions to take “hospital equipment” in the cars (163), leaving behind the wounded soldiers. Troops only fall back from battles when the enemy gains an upper hand and defeat is imminent. Thus, in Hemingway’s narration, a retreat of the Italian army directly shows that Henry’s side is losing and expectedly, there are soldiers hurting, and some are even dying. At this point, when Henry asks the captain what he should “take in the cars”, the immediate answer is the medical equipment and not other soldiers that need help (163). Henry does not question his superior despite his shock as he proceeds to load said medical equipment. As stated above, in the analysis of the cholera epidemic, war changes people and the decision to save material instead of lives further cements the idea. To mark the effects of the horrors, Henry leaves for Switzerland after learning of Barkley’s pregnancy, thus abandoning his comrades in battle (208). One can argue that the pregnancy is a valid reason for his actions but as an ambulance driver, Henry plays a significant role in saving lives in the front. In addition, there is an incident where Henry shoots a sergeant after he abandons the other soldiers fearing that the enemy will overtake their slow column (173). The act renders his decision to leave the army hypocritical because just like the sergeant he murdered; Henry opts to escape the possibility of death associated` with war. As Hemingway later kills the characters of both Catherine and the unborn child, divine retribution seems to transpire. Consequently, seeing so much death and destruction changes the personalities of the people that they see no need to aid each other
Finally, yet importantly, war costs both Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley their lovers. Foremost, there is Barkley, who loses her fiancé and childhood love to war. While talking to Henry, Barkley informs him that instead of the boyfriend coming to the hospital with a saber cut, the enemy “blew him all to bits” (17). The death of her first love place Barkley in Henry’s path and encourages the two to be together. Through Hemingway’s writing, war denies another person a chance at happiness when Catherine and the baby die leaving Henry distraught (291). Both instances mark another horror of war that disrupts families and costs young people their lovers and chances of happiness. Though Barkley dies far from the battlefield, a raging war sent them to Switzerland. In addition, as stated before, one can look at the deaths of mother and child as the penance Henry has to pay for the soldiers left behind. Consequently, when Henry states, “Catherine was dead, and it was all over now” (319) readers are aware of his despair in life. While Barkley opted to cut off her beautiful hair to mourn her loss (16), Henry’s reaction to loss is to give up on life and love. Because the book is in the past tense, there is no mention of another love interest after Barkley, a fact that supports the possibility of Henry remaining single for the rest of his life.
Conclusively, the horrors of war in the novel originate from Frederick Henry losing himself in the chaos of battle. Unlike the cultural conventions where fear revolves around blood and gruesome scenes, Hemingway’s analysis takes a different approach. By following Henry in service during the war and later, his attempt at life away from the battle, a theme of calamities prevails. From the unforeseen deaths of the army after the cholera outbreak to the death of Catherine and the baby, misfortunes dictate Henry’s life. After the horror of seven thousand soldiers dying, Henry sees the first outcomes of war and hardens his heart against the same. When another horror emerges in the form of a near-death experience, Henry realizes he is not mortal and at the same time, meets Catherine Barkley. Barkley is the woman who will govern his life choices from their point of encounter, especially so after she gets pregnant. Next, war leads to people losing themselves and a change in ideologies pertaining to compassion for fellow man. Societies call for their populations to aid each other when in need, wars call for soldiers to defend their country and be their brother’s keeper when confronted by the enemy. Thus, when soldiers leave each other wounded and dying in the fields and others run from the war in the name of love, the principle of war disappears. Finally, the loss of loved ones and the will to live are another effect of war in the book and serve as the final leap to the changing attitudes of the central character. Therefore, horrors of war in “A Farewell to Arms” entail the effects of the same on the psychology and attitudes of those involved.
Work Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell To Arms. New York: Scribner, 1995. Print.
