The negative events in someone’s life can change them and even push them to their breaking point. In A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, the main character, Henry, had a life full of negative events. He was an ambulance driver for the Italian army in WWI. He fell in love with a British nurse, named Catherine. But, it seemed like everything that he had in his life eventually turned into something that would hurt him. The war and loss that shaped the development of Henry’s character showed how misfortune and trauma can numb someone. The war made the soldiers feel hopeless and drove them to do immoral things. They felt that the war was endless and that they were insignificant. Numerous times, Henry said that he felt like he had no reason
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Henry first encountered this when they were bombed, which led to the death of his comrades. He did not dwell on this for very long. During the retreat, Henry shot and killed two fellow officers because they were going to flee. Once again, Henry did not seem to be affected by their deaths. This is the point in the novel where it could be seen that Henry had changed into something he could never recover from. Catherine was the only thing that could’ve possibly saved Henry. When she came into Henry’s life, he poured everything he had into their relationship. When their baby died, all Henry cared about was how Catherine was doing. On the surface, the death of Catherine did not seem to affect him very much. He was numb to it because the world took the only positive thing in his life away from him and he no longer had anything to live for. Henry says, “But those that will not break it [the world] kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially” ( 249). The world broke Henry when it killed the good people in his life. In A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway attempted to show how war and loss can beat a person down. Henry was already numbed by the war when the novel started. When Henry and Catherine fell in love, there was a bit of hope for him to be happy and full again. After the death of Catherine, Henry returned to the numb and broken-down version of himself that he was earlier. This shows
Henry first encountered this when they were bombed, which led to the death of his comrades. He did not dwell on this for very long. During the retreat, Henry shot and killed two fellow officers because they were going to flee. Once again, Henry did not seem to be affected by their deaths. This is the point in the novel where it could be seen that Henry had changed into something he could never recover from. Catherine was the only thing that could’ve possibly saved Henry. When she came into Henry’s life, he poured everything he had into their relationship. When their baby died, all Henry cared about was how Catherine was doing. On the surface, the death of Catherine did not seem to affect him very much. He was numb to it because the world took the only positive thing in his life away from him and he no longer had anything to live for. Henry says, “But those that will not break it [the world] kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially” ( 249). The world broke Henry when it killed the good people in his life. In A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway attempted to show how war and loss can beat a person down. Henry was already numbed by the war when the novel started. When Henry and Catherine fell in love, there was a bit of hope for him to be happy and full again. After the death of Catherine, Henry returned to the numb and broken-down version of himself that he was earlier. This shows