The Lives Of Frederic Henry And Catherine Heingway, By Henry Hemingway

1) The novel gives a brief description of the lives of Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley before they come to Italy. Frederic used to be a student of architecture back in America. He volunteers to join the Italian army as an ambulance driver. Proof of this is when Catherine asks, “You’re the American in the Italian army” (Hemingway 22). Before Catherine comes to Italy, she had a fiance who had unfortunately passed away. They grew up together for eight years. She is an English woman who is a V. A. D in the Italian army which is similar to a nurse but they are not as trained. “Oh, no. I’m something called a V. A. D. We work very hard but no one trusts us” (Hemmingway 25). That is what the novel tells the reader about the lives of Frederic Henry …show more content…
He was eating cheese and drinking wine and all of a sudden, “there was a flash, as when a blast-furnace door is swung open, and a roar that started white and went red and on and on in a rushing wind.” Frederic takes a huge blow to his legs. This was probably from a grenade or something of the sort. Frederic ends up with metal fragments of an enemy trench-mortar shell inside of his leg. He would end up having to get surgery on his knee to remove the fragments. It ends up being completely fine in the end. On page 96, Frederic becomes enraged because the house doctor says to Frederic, “It is a question of time. Three months, six months probably.” Frederic is not able to wait this long for this surgery. He is anxious to get back into the war. Frederic demands to speak to another doctor, named Dr. Valentini. He allows Frederic to have surgery the next morning. He says, “To-morrow morning. Not before” (Hemingway 99). The surgery is successful and Frederic becomes happy. Frederic’s behavior changes immediately after his injury. Before his injury, Frederic was much more naive and unaware of what could really happen to him. On page 37, Frederic says, “Well, I knew I would not be killed. Not in this war. It did not have anything to do with me.” After Frederic almost dies, he now realizes that he is not invincible and he must be more careful and aware. That is Frederic’s behavior after his …show more content…
These symbols are the mountains, the plain, and the rain. All of the symbols have symbolic significance. The mountains symbolize love, happiness, comfort, and peace. Towards the end of the novel, Henry and Catherine move to a wood cabin in the mountains and they enjoy it very much there. In fact, it is probably the most peaceful time they have throughout the whole novel. The couple is also extremely happy in their new home. “Mr. and Mrs. Guttingen lived downstairs and we would hear them talking sometimes in the evening and they were very happy together too” (Hemingway 291). This shows how their life in the mountains is happy. Catherine can be related to the mountains. They both represent peace, comfort, and happiness. The second symbol from this novel is the plain. The plains represents disease, warfare, and suffering. The battles during the war take place on the plains rather than in the mountains. Also, Catherine dies in the plains as that is where the hospital is when she gives birth. In contrast with the mountains, there is no peace or happiness in the plains. There is only suffering and warfare. The final symbol is the rain. The rain represents death. On page four, the novel says, “At the start of the winter came the permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera.” Cholera is a fatal disease, and with it comes the rain. Also on page 126 Catherine says, “I’m afraid of