Hemingway expresses his philosophy that everyone will eventually die an unfair death through the use of his main character, Frederic Henry. Henry is surrounded by circumstances in which many people would never want to find themselves; the harsh realities of fighting in war, observing cruel circumstances to friends, and losing a loved one. These events happen to him to make him believe that all of life is just an unfair game. This unfairness of life observed by Frederic Henry motivates him and develops him into a better person.
As mentioned briefly before, Hemingway is praised for his laconic writing style. He is very concise, and does not like to use large descriptive sentences. He used this method because he wanted his message to be very clear; war is senseless and useless. An interesting aspect of Hemingway’s writing is that he uses symbols to replace human emotions. For example when characters die, there is no feeling of sadness but instead he uses nature to represent this effect. He uses the rain, the seasons and various other things to describe emotions. At the end of the novel, Catherine dies and Henry leaves shortly after. We feel the pain in which he feels through the rain he walks through to his hotel.
This novel will always be remembered for its accurate illustration of war, and the grim reality of war. This was the central theme in A Farewell to Arms. Henry goes to war without any knowledge and simply wanted to serve his duty, but gradually realizes the reality of war and the atrociousness war creates. He witnesses innocent deaths and realizes it is nothing to be proud of. He gets his point across through the various characters he includes in the novel. They are all for the most part against war, and look to something else to keep them busy from war.
Another interesting facet to Hemingway’s writing is his sexism in the novel. He was criticized for being sexist and creating stereotypical female characters in most of his novels. This is evident through Catherine Barkley’s character. He portrays her as just a desire and need for men and does not have a defined purpose in the novel other than being Henry’s love. As Henry’s character revolutionized, Barkley’s character did not have any development. She could also be perceived as a ‘whore’ for men during the grueling times of war. She was just a character who’s only purpose was to satisfy men.
Another interesting aspect of this novel is its comparison to Shakespeare. The novel is written in 5 books just like the 5 acts of a Shakespearean tragedy. The novel also ends in a tragedy as Catherine Barkley dies. The first book introduces the characters. The second book portrays the complex relationship between Henry and Barkley. The third book is the climax where Henry is almost killed during the retreat. The fourth book is the resolution where he gets back together with Barkley and the fifth book contains the tragic ending with Barkley dying.
