A Farewell to Arms Book Review + Analysis
A Farewell to Arms Book Review + Analysis
Set during World War I, Henry is struggling to find the will to fight in a war that seems never-ending. When he meets Catherine, he desires to leave the war and start a family with her, but war is complex and cruel. Let us explore this raw piece about what it means to be a soldier. This is A Farewell to Arms book review + analysis.
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Summary:
Set in World War I, American lieutenant Frederic Henry falls injured and in love with English nurse Catherine Barkley. While she heals him, their relationship progresses and she becomes pregnant. Left with an unfulfilled desire to be with Catherine and their unborn child, Henry and his comrades are sent back into the war. They must endure its hardships despite their lack of motivation to fight for a cause they can’t control and seems to have no end. They need the war to be over— enough to desert it.
A Book Review
First Scribner Paperback Fiction Edition 1995
332 Pages | Classic Fiction | Ernest Hemingway
A Farewell to Arms Book Cover | First Scribner Paperback Fiction Edition 1995
Structure & Theme:
Structure
Hemingway’s prose is short and concise. He isn’t one to wax poetically about the details—he’s direct. His writing is easy to read because you don’t have to wonder what he means because he tells you what is. Even while using abstract metaphors or foreshadowing, he still cuts deep with simple phrasing and descriptions. It’s a magic trick. I find it refreshing, particularly after long-winded sentences in most classics like Jane Austen’s everything. They can work like in Little Women, but sometimes you need short and simple.
Let’s explore a couple of themes that felt poignant in A Farewell to Arms.
Themes: War and Death
War
Henry is the protagonist. He's written as an isolated and introverted character who enjoys sitting around the fire with his comrades conversing about the war, but he keeps his personal life close to his chest. Hemingway doesn’t sugarcoat war nor feel the need to glorify it; he does the opposite by sharing its bitter truths.
Our protagonist is left in emotional turmoil from witnessing his comrades die and fighting in a war he wants no part in. He feels completely alone after being ripped away from Catherine by the war.
In A Farewell to Arms majority of soldiers don't understand the cause they are fighting for anymore and many don’t want to take a human life. After living with starvation, filth, and time away from home, they just want to leave. While some do as they are told, others can’t bare it for the effects it causes their psyches and souls.
“‘There is a class that controls a country that is stupid and does not realize anything and never can. That is why we have this war.’”
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
Hemingway was an ambulance driver during the first world war and some say A Farewell to Arms was based on his life experience— even down to the romance. The impression I inferred was that this story exemplified the author's anger and reasons why he hated the war.
A Farewell to Arms Quotes
Death
There is a lot of death in this book. Obviously, it’s a war story but Hemingway foreshadowed death from the beginning.
There are multiple lines that Hemingway echoes through the story about death. At first, he seems cynical, his perspective is morbid and emotionless. He says the world breaks the good, and everyone is killed by this life—in some form or another. To a degree this is true because life is suffering and we cannot escape that. But, there is also a beauty that comes from suffering; we evolve and get stronger from pain. So, I disagree with his statement that life breaks the good — instead, it molds them.
“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. 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. Stay around and they would kill you.”
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
After some reflection, I understand that these are Hemingway’s reflections about the war. It kills. He’s angry at the world because of the people who put them into the fight— they break apart families and destroy the youth before they even live. This book releases his resentments and is an examination of what it means to be a soldier. We witness it all: from the comrades he sees die to the soldiers who relish in the kill. As an audience, we empathize how some come out of it mentally unstable.
“‘There is nothing as bad as war. We in the auto-ambulance cannot even realize at all how bad it is. When people realize how bad it is they cannot do anything to stop it because they go crazy. There are some people who never realize. There are people who are afraid of their officers. It is with them the war is made.’”
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
Setting:
Almost every setting in this story is rainy—especially the most dramatic scenes. Hemmingway sets up the tone here, showing us how melancholy and depressing war is. This feeling also reflects the internal realm of the characters and the overall atmosphere. Hemingway wants us to see and feel its aura for what it is— darkness.
It rains in the first and last scenes of this novel. When we move through the battlefield— it rained. There’s a memorable scene where Henry hides beneath the water from his enemy. This is a metaphor for war; it feels like being drowned. Men don’t have control over their lives because they are drafted and can’t escape it unless they are released.
*Spoilers*
Afterthoughts:
I enjoyed the story. It was concise and still had beautiful metaphors and diction. The ending ripped my heart open; I understand why Pat in Silver Linings Playbook said, “can’t we just have a good ending to the story?!”
I don’t understand why Hemingway killed Catherine and the child— that was the most disgusting and tragic scene I have read. This ending is why I questioned Hemingway being a cynic because he expresses:
“If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of those you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
I know that Hemingway wrote about 50 different endings and I am interested in reading those. I'll let you know if my opinion changes at that juncture.
For the ending that stands, I felt void of joy, humanity, and life. Everything felt dark and dead because it was. It’s still difficult to put my thoughts into words. But, when Henry escapes to start a new life, it felt like they should have been given a chance. Yet, he’s left to wander as a deserter alone. It felt wrong. It felt like Hemingway didn’t do right by his characters, and it’s the one flaw in this book. Although part of me understood that he set up the story based on the aforementioned themes above to reflect that ending, so I get it. I have the utmost respect for this story.
Rating: ★★★.5
Please tell me your thoughts after reading this story.
The Classics Club Discussion Questions:
Was Hemingway's overarching message that both good and evil die?
Does Hemingway want to show the darkness of life in and outside of war?
Tragedy does befall us all - we die and lose everyone we love. But this man went through so much... do you think this ending is necessary?
