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"Outside we ran across the brickyard. A shell burst short near the river bank. Then there was one that we did no hear coming until the sudden rush. We both went flat and with the flash and bump of the burst and the smell heard the singing off of the fragments and the rattle of falling brick." (Hemingway 53).

We chose the heart with the falling pieces because the war was chipping away and as guns were fired in the war things were slowly falling to pieces. The heart is significant because it includes the second part of the book which is his love for Miss Catherine Barkley.

A little bit about Ernest Hemingway

Born: July 21, 1899
Died: July 2, 1961
Nationality: American
Notable Awards: Nobel Prize in literature, and 1954 Pulitzer Price for fiction

Ernest Miller Hemingway was born 1899, July 2 in Oak Park, Illinois. In high school Hemingway wrote for his school paper, and after high school he went to WWI. Hemingway was actually quoted saying "I did not go to college but instead went to WWI". In WWI Hemingway was an American Red Cross ambulance driver, and won the Italian Silver Medal for Valor. Hemingways many different experiences include being an Reporter, novelist, freelance writer for the Toronto Star, and writing several short stories. Hemingway was a great writer who related many of his stories back to him self especially A farewell to arms, where he wrote about the struggle of balancing what you desire with civil obligations. It is unfortunate that Hemmingway committed sucide, however when he died he had left serveral short stories, and novels Hemingway was working on proir to his death.

Theme

The Struggle Of Balancing Civil Duty With Desired Affection

About The Book

In the book A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, Henry starts out as an impassionate soldier who is constantly conflicted with his civil obligations in World War I and his new found love, Catherine Barkley. After Henry is injured on the front he is sent to a hospital where Catherine is working. During his stay at the hospital their relationship flourished into a life changing romance. However Henry is required to return to the front which is the biggest struggle for him considering that his love for Catherine has become his meaning to live. Although he is forced to make a life altering decision between Catherine and his civil duty to his country, in the end, his life is dramatically changed.

• Henry talked with his friends at the fort



• Henry met Miss Barkley and they got along well



• Henry was injured by a mortar shell and yet he still tried to help Passini



• Catherine arrives at Henry’s hospital



• Catherine doesnt not like the rain because she sees them dead in it



• Henry returns to the front



• Henry was pulled out of line by battle police and he jumped in a river to save his life



• Catherine goes into a hospital to have the baby



• The baby was born dead



• Catherine dies and Henry leaves the hospital walking away in the rain

Poem Extension

“Looking at Each Other” by Muriel Rukeyser

Yes, we were looking at each other
Yes, we knew each other very well
Yes, we had made love with each other many times
Yes, we had heard music together
Yes, we had gone to the sea together
Yes, we had cooked and eaten together
Yes, we had laughed often day and night
Yes, we fought violence and knew violence
Yes, we hated the inner and outer oppression
Yes, that day we were looking at each other
Yes, we saw the sunlight pouring down
Yes, the corner of the table was between us
Yes, our eyes saw each other's eyes
Yes, our mouths saw each other's mouths
Yes, our breasts saw each other's breasts
Yes, our bodies entire saw each other
Yes, it was beginning in each
Yes, it threw waves across our lives
Yes, the pulses were becoming very strong
Yes, the beating became very delicate
Yes, the calling the arousal
Yes, the arriving the coming
Yes, there it was for both entire
Yes, we were looking at each other

Criticism

• I really enjoyed the book as I really like love books. I loved how Henry changed from being impersonal to loving and cherishing Catherine. Often times men do not change but Henry was able to recognize that Catherine really did mean something to him. I also loved the way that Ernest Hemingway uses the short sentences, direct language, and life experiences to write the book A Farewell To Arms.

• This was an amazing book, orginally I thought it was not going to be that interesting however I was proven wrong. Ernest Hemingway uses this expressive language, and he makes you feel like you are actually Henry. Also Hemingway uses his own life experiences to help create this tragic love story. In opposition I did not like the way Hemingway directed his diaologue, at some moments it tended to get confusing. But through and through A farewell to Arms turned out to be an amazing book.
  

Questions

1. In book one, what does Catherine give to Henry to protect him?
2. In book one, does Henry agree when people call him a war hero? Why or why not?
3. How does the first chapter of A Farewell to Arms set a tone and mood which anticipate subsequent events? Why does the narrator move the reader through a change of seasons from late summer to autumn and on to winter? What are the major images in the chapter, and what is the effect of the understatement in the final sentence (p. 4)
4. During Lt. Frederic Henry's early visits with Catherine Barkley, Catherine says as they touch each other and speak of love, "This is a rotten game we play, isn't it"? (p. 31). How should one characterize Frederic's early "love" for Catherine? What does the initial stage of their relationship reveal about the effect of the war upon their lives?
5. What happens to causes Rinaldi to believe Catherine prefers Henry?
6. How does Richard react to certain things that occur throughout the book?
7. Do you think that the underlying message throughout the book is how difficult it is to leave a tough situation? (Leaving the war, Henry leaving the hospital at the end of the book, etc.)
8. I wonder what Henry’s dream was that made him wake scared and sweating? Pg 88
9. What do they mean when they are talking about temperature? Pg 102-103
10. Who do you think was falling more for one another? Pg 105-106
11. Does Catherine seem desperate?
12. What does it mean when they say “it was all balls”? Pg134
13. Why do you think Catherine is obsessed with apologies and always wanting to be over pleasing? Pg 138
14. Why were they discussing money in such a desperate time to escape? Pg 265
15. I wonder if the barman had heard about Henry’s arrest at the same café from were supposedly Henry’s “friend” was from about two chapters ago. Pg 266
16. Do you think that it is a odd way to think of your baby as a burden on time? Pg 311

Quotes

• "I went out the door and suddenly I felt lonely and empty. I had treated seeing Catherine very, lightly, I had gotten somewhat drunk and had nearly forgotten to come but when I could not see her there I was feeling lonely and hollow" (Hemingway 41).

• "I believe we should get the war over," I said. "It would not finish it if one side stopped fighting. It would only be worst if we stopped fighting.""It could not be worse," Passini said respectfully. "There is nothing worse than war.""Defeat is worse." (Hemingway 49-50).

• “I tried to get closer to Passini to try to put a tourniquet on the legs but I cold not move. I tried again and my legs moved a little. I could pull backward along with my arms and elbow. Passini was quiet now. I sat beside him, undid my tunic and tried to rip he tail of my shirt.” (Hemingway55).

• “The drops fell very slowly, as they fall from an icicle after the sun has gone. It was cold in the car in the night as the road climbed. At the post on the top they took the stretcher out and put another in the we went on” (Hemingway61).

• "Did you do any heroic act?" "No' I said. 'I was blown up while we were eating cheese." "Be serious. You must have done something heroic either before or after. Remember carefully." "I did not." (Hemingway 63).

• “You are ignorant. Stupid. I saw that word pricked him and kept on. Uninformed. In experienced, stupid from inexperience” (Hemingway66).

• “You understand but you do not love God.” “No.” “You do not love him at all?” he asked. “I am afraid of Him in the night sometimes.” “You should love Him.” “I don’t love much.” (Hemingway 72).

• "She looked fresh and young and very beautiful. I thought I had never seen any one so beautiful. “Hello,” I said. When I saw her I was in love with her. Everything turned over inside of me.” (Hemingway 91).

• “God knows I had not wanted to fall in love with her. I had not wanted to fall in love with any one. But God knows I had and I lay on the bed in the room of the hospital in Milan and all sorts of things went through my head but I felt wonderful and finally Miss Gage came in” (Hemingway 93).

• “The Austrians were sons of bitches. How many had I killed? I had not killed any but I was anxious to please- and I said I had killed plenty” (Hemingway 94).
  “If we let our hands touch, just the side of my hand touching hers, we were excited” (Hemingway 112).

• “I loved to take her hair down and she sat on the bed and kept very still, except suddenly she would dip down to kiss me while I was doing it, and I would take out the pins and lay them on the sheet and it would be loose and I would watch her while she kept very still and then take out the last two pins and it would all come down and she would drop her head and we would both be inside of it, and it was the feeling of inside a tent or behind a falls” (Hemingway 114).

• "We said to each other that we were married the first day she had come to the hospital and we counted months from our wedding day. I wanted to be really married but Catherine said that if we were they would send her away and if we merely started on the formalities they would watch her and would break us up. We would have to be married under Italian law and the formalities were terrific. I wanted us to be married really because I worried about having a child if I thought about it, but we pretended to ourselves we were married and did not worry much and I suppose I enjoyed not being married, really." (Hemingway 114-115).

• “It’s all nonsense. It’s only nonsense. I’m not afraid of the rain. I’m not afraid of the rain. Oh, oh God, I wish I wasn’t”(Hemingway 126).

• “That’s lovely, she said. Where do you want to go?” “Nowhere. I want to stay here.” “That’s silly. You pick a place to go and I’ll come too” (Hemingway 136).

• “For three years I looked forward very childishly to the war ending at Christmas. But now I look forward till when our son will be a lieutenant commander” (Hemingway 141).

• “Unless you find something else I’m afraid you will have to go back to the front when you are through with your jaundice. I don’t believe self-inflicted jaundice entitles you to a convalescent leave”(page144).

• “I don’t take any interest in anything else any more. I’m so very happy married to you”(Hemingway154).

• “I don’t know. I only think the Austrians will not stop when they have won a victory. It is in defeat that we become Christians” (Hemingway 178).

• “I was going to forget the war. I had made a separate peace” (Hemingway 243).
  

• “My life used to be full of everything,” I said. “Now if you aren’t with me I haven’t a thing in the world” (Hemingway 257).

• “Now Catherine would die. 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” (Hemingway 327).

• "But after I got them out and shut the door and turned off the light it wasn't any good. It was like saying good-by to a statue. After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel"(Hemingway 332).

Short Story Criticism

The Mercenaries- This was one of Hemingway’s earliest works. It’s not held to the same standard as his other works, even being rejected by publishers twice. It is, however, somewhat a source of inspiration for Hemingway’s later works. The theme of “men without women” appears in later works, such as A Farewell to Arms, along with the character name Rinaldi. Many critics haven’t acknowledged the character Denis Ricaud, and do not mention the role he played in the story, mainly because his role was poorly written. Overall, critics agree that it is a good precursor of Hemingway’s later works, but is lacking as a story on its own.
Mimi Reisel Gladstein. “The Mercenaries: A Harbringer of Vintage Hemingway.” Hemingway’s Neglected Short Fiction. London: Ernest Hemingway Foundation, 1989. 19-29.


In Our Time- This is held as one of Hemingway’s highest works. Critics have praised the beginning scenes to the story when the main character, Nick, was a little boy by the great lakes of America. They have also praised the imagery Hemingway creates, calling it honest, short like a match strike, but reveals a bit of truth in not only the characters of the book, but for the reader as well.
D.H. Lawrence. “In Our Time: A Review.” Hemingway Seven Decades of Criticism. Michigan: Linda Wagner-Martin, 1998. 19-20.


The Sun Also Rises- This is a short story about the friendship between the average man in war, and a flapper (flapper being a new movement that came about in the 1920's). The woman is the embodiment and definition of a flapper, or a new woman. She doesn't follow set traditions of her culture. The man, however, isn't heavily focused on. It is obvious that these two have a relationship/friendship, but it's very dry, which is opposite of relationships in most of Hemingway's other works. This story has been praised for its representation of history and culture during that period.
Sibbie O' Sullivan. "Love and Friendship/Man and Woman in The Sun Also Rises." Hemingway Seven Decades of Criticism. Michigan: Linda Wagner-Martin, 1998. 61-77.

Conversation

The quote on p.41 shows that Henry still loved Catherine, even though he didn't express it fully, and was sad to see her go. This shows how Henry is somewhat of a quiet character who keeps his emotions to himself. By him saying how he felt lonely and hollow it showed how he really cherished her.

The quote on p.63 signifies Henry's honesty and true character. I think it was important to include because it shows how Henry doesn't consider his actions "heroic" and doesn't see the need for praise. I think it's good that Henry is able to keep his cool in stressful situations and not become full of himself, and that quote depicts it well.

The quote on p.49-50 shows that Henry has a reasonable sense of the war. He doesn't approve of the war, and at the same time he knows that just stopping the fighting would lose the war for him. This farther shows how he is a rational character.

The quote on page257, shows just how much Henry has given up to be with Catherine. It proves that he has sacrificed his civil requirements for love.

The quote on page332 shows Henry leaving his love, because she is dead and there is nothing else he can do. This quote is important and somewhat ironic because Henry sacrificed everything for Catherine to remain in his arms, and now everything he has sacrificed is now a waste. She is dead, and so is the child, so now Henry has nothing. And it really is a farewell to arms, because Henry has said goodbye to the war, but now he also has to say goodbye to the only women he has ever truly loved.

I really like several of these quotes because they show and reveal Henry's feelings and emotions. I think that Henry loves Catherine and without her he would be lost because she means the world to him. I really like the quotes where he talks about how much he loves her and wants to marry her and the ones where he speaks of how beautiful and lovely she is. Although Henry struggles between love and war I defiantly think that Catherine wins with Love and the quotes show this by showing Henry's real feeling and thoughts about what means so much to him, Catherine.