Some points to consider in A Farewell to Arms

Hi guys, first for a little sense of normalcy, watch: https://youtu.be/On4Bjzat2IU

NOW, getting down to business —

There’s a lot to take in as the novel winds down. Read over the questions below and post your responses to http://www.turnitin.com (for those of you who have not registered, the Class ID is: 23401173 and the enrollment key is PinkRoom2020)

Hope/Hopelessness:

Hemingway wrote, “Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates” (185). Henry, in a moment of reflection, explains: “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them” (249).

1. In the first passage, what is Hemingway saying about abstract words?
2. Do the concrete facts of life provide more hope than abstractions? Why?
3. Is Hemingway suggesting that one must relinquish any hope in order to survive in the world? (i.e., is he an existentialist? A nihilist?)

In the final chapter, Frederic Henry reflects on a memory:

“Once in camp I put a log on top of the fire and it was full of ants.  As it commenced to burn, the ants swarmed out and went first toward the centre where the fire was; then turned back and ran toward the end.  When there were enough on the end, they fell off into the fire.  Some got out, their bodies burnt and flattened, and went off not knowing where they were going.  But most of them went toward the end and finally fell off into the fire.  I remember thinking at the time that it was the end of the world and a splendid chance to be a messiah and lift the log off the fire and throw it out where the ants could get off onto the ground.  But I did not do anything but throw a tin cup of water on the log, so that I would have the cup empty to put the whisky in before I added water to it.  I think the cup of water on the burning log only steamed the ants.”

 

1. In this scene, Henry compares himself to a “messiah.” What message does Hemingway make about Henry’s religion?  About religion in general?

 

 

2. Think about the ants. Some of them burn immediately, others get out burned, singed, handicapped.  How does that relate to people?  Explain the comparison.  THINK.

 

 

3. Think of Gatsby and the eyes of Dr. TJ Eckleburg. Remember that he represented the eyes of God that had forsaken humanity.  How is this scene similar?  Explain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. How does Catherine feel about her impending death? What does she mean when she

tells Frederic, “I’ll come and stay with you nights”?

 

2. In what ways does Catherine prove herself to be a typical Hemingway hero?
3. In the concluding paragraph for this novel, Frederic describes Catherine’s body as being

like a cold statue. Remember that Hemingway is a master of understatement; what do

you think he might be saying concerning his belief in an eternal life after death? Is there

any other explanation for his description of Catherine’s body as a statue?

8. In what ways can this novel be considered to be a loss of innocence story? How has

Frederic changed since the first Book? Did Catherine change?