Essay on "Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway"

Essay 3 pages (1124 words) Sources: 0

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Farewell to Arms -- Hemingway

The narrative in Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms has been carefully studied and critiqued by numerous scholars and authors, not just because of the iconic legacy of the author but because its structure is rich with literary examples. The novel follows the steps of classic narrative structure by using the tools of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution / denouement. This paper points out those features of the Hemingway novel and delves into how the narrative steps add to the strength of the novel.

A Farewell to Arms

Hemingway is of course a giant in American literature and he knows how to draw readers into his stories. In A Farewell to Arms his narrative is not simply one single voice leading the reader through the plot, but instead, to the reader it represents a number of voices, depending on the conflict and the characters and depending on how deeply the reader is engaged with the story. It has been suggested that Hemingway wrote five short stories and tied them together into a compelling novel. But they work very well together, whether he intended that or not.

The exposition in A Farewell to Arms is Hemingway's style of introducing to readers the setting (the Italian countryside in war), the character conflict and an incident that could be said to launch the action, to set the stage for the characters to struggle and conflict with each other and with their setting. Frederick is the soldier with duties to fulfill, but his love for Catherine pulls him in two different directions. Hemingway has build this exposition into the story to add tension and anticipation. When Frederick is injured in the war, it becomes the activating incident, and hence it sets up the possibility for Catherine to be his nurse (her finance died so she can't nurse him any longer) and for them to become lovers. In other words, the exposition sets the stage, gives readers the basic scene and tensions.

In the middle of the novel, the two chapters (in Book III), 28 and 29, are heavy war segments of the novel, and they represent rising action. Catherine and Frederic, the injured soldier that is her lover, do not appear as a couple in these chapters. Henry does appear in his military role though. Hemingway juxtaposes the characters that do appear in those two chapters expertly; they are two sergeants from the Italian army, rough and tumble engineers, and two sisters that are said to be virgins, and they are quite delicate. This part of the novel rises for the reader because it stresses the difference between good and evil, between dark and light in terms of values and morality.

A sense of rising action also is shown as Frederick falls in love with Catherine and begins to see what a great life he could have with her. The reader is hopeful that this relationship can become strong and that within the context of a bloody war, there can be a sweet subplot that will ease the tensions. When Catherine becomes pregnant and Frederick is called back to the war, once again Frederick is being pulled and tugged by two desires, continuing the rising action. It is love vs. war and duty, an effective use of rising action.

The climax in Hemingway's story -- that moment… READ MORE

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