Religion In Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms

Subliminally, everyone believes in god. In the novel, A Farewell to Arms, religion does play a part. Henry, a man of action and honor is a soldier fighting in World War I. He is surrounded by other soldiers whom all have their own lives and morals; or not so much. In the troops of men lay a priest who fights along-side Henry; they were fellow soldiers. The difference between the priest and our narrator, Henry, is the influence of god. Henry is an atheist and yet he treats the priest with uttermost respect. Although, the unit finds it humorous to ridicule the priest and tease him, Henry does not jump on that boat. The differences between the two do not cripple their friendship because they both possess competence, and the priest is a symbol of discipline.
World War II; a time in which countless lives are ended and atrocities were so apparent. It was inevitable for one’s faith to decrease or vanish completely. When stricken with such tragedy, how …show more content…
But, I think he just fears all of the unknown. A man of action; one who acts on impulse does not have time to think of the obstacles that could appear along his path to victory. The fear is that he does not know all of what will happen, but he knows that no matter the obstacle he would give his greatest effort to overcome it. Is that not the reason as to why people grasp onto religion? The anchor that ties them is that they need to believe that someone has the answers. They trust that God will help them overcome the obstacles of their lives. The priest is Henry’s anchor, meaning that he represents his only faith. He respects him because he stands for something in a time where there is excuse to not stand for anything. The priest knows discipline where other soldiers do not, he knows competence, and he knows God. And even though Henry doesn’t know God, he knows the priest. The priest teaches Henry that you don’t need to possess religion to possess