Free Essays - Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms :: Farewell Arms Essays

Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet primed(p) against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story. The war affects the emotions and determines of each(prenominal) character. The love between Catherine and Frederick must outlast long separations, life-threatening war-time situations, and the uncertainty of each others whereabouts or condition. This novel is a beautiful love story of 2 people who need each other in a period of upheaval. Frederick Henry is an Ameri bottomland who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian host to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Frederick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Frederick disagrees with the war he is fighting. It is too chaotic and mean for him to rationa lize its cause. He fights anyway, because the army puts some form of discipline in his life. At the start of the novel, Frederick drinks and travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is discontent because his life is very unsettled. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that apply him an orderly lifestyle. Further into the novel, Frederick becomes involved with Catherine Barkley. He slowly falls in love with her and, in his love for her, he finds commitment. Their relationship brings some order and value to his life. Compared to this new form of order in his life, Frederick sees the losing Italian army as total chaos and disorder where he had previously seen discipline and control. He can no longer remain a part of something that is so disorderly and so, he deserts the Italian army. Fredericks desertion from the Italian army is the turning percentage point of the novel. This is the signif icance of the title, A Farewell to Arms. When Frederick puts aside his involvement in the war, he realizes that Catherine is the order and value in his life and that he does not need anything else to oblige meaning to his life.