Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms was written during a period of disillusionment due to the harsh reality of the Great War. Many youths were surprised by the harsh reality of life, and more specifically the great presence of death, during this period. The deaths of close friends and allies during the war, as well as the destruction of their homes, made many people embittered and resentful toward the unforgiving harshness of the world. Such bleak, disenfranchised themes are clearly reflected in Hemingway’s novel. Ernest Hemingway 's novel A Farewell to Arms is a commentary on how the world is an unforgiving place that does not protect love and life, yet it is also a stark message about the disparity of war. Throughout Hemingway’s
…show more content…
Similarly to Henry, Hemingway too abandoned the cause and decided to find peace elsewhere. Because Hemingway had this experience, he knew all too well what he was writing about when he wrote A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway knew firsthand the pain, the suffering, and the futility of war. The novel itself is actually autobiographical in nature, for the events that transpire around Henry are reflections of what occurred to Hemingway himself. Critics receive Hemingway’s novel as “his best artistic achievement” (Benson 533). Hemingway uses very complex literary devices throughout the novel, and the story itself is a bittersweet tragedy that is full of joy and despair. Examples of such literary devices include the motif of games throughout the novel, the symbolism of Catherine’s hair, the vivid imagery of war scenes, and the foreshadowing presented when Henry states that life kills “the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially” (Hemingway 216). The foreshadowing in particular affects numerous characters throughout the story, furthering the disillusionment ideals that Hemingway presents. Hemingway is regarded “as the master of literary style” due to his “brisk, assertive, and crisply precise prose” (Benson 533). His novel is not overly descriptive, yet it accurately and powerfully conveys its message. Hemingway uses the book …show more content…
However, the message of his story relates not only to the disillusionment from the First World War, but to the consequences of every war. No matter what the causes or results of a war happen to be, every side of a war suffers losses. Even if there are no casualties in a war, the loss of morality that results is just as disheartening. Wars are depressing smears on the history of humanity, but even more depressing is the inevitability of war. If humans were not destined to forever resolve conflict with bloodshed, war would have ended after the first casualty. However, humans are too stubborn to transcend beyond violence to resolve conflict, so to this day humanity is still at war with itself. The continuous presence of war speaks for the true nature of humanity, for it proves humans to be just as violent and unsophisticated as they were during the primal stages of
Similarly to Henry, Hemingway too abandoned the cause and decided to find peace elsewhere. Because Hemingway had this experience, he knew all too well what he was writing about when he wrote A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway knew firsthand the pain, the suffering, and the futility of war. The novel itself is actually autobiographical in nature, for the events that transpire around Henry are reflections of what occurred to Hemingway himself. Critics receive Hemingway’s novel as “his best artistic achievement” (Benson 533). Hemingway uses very complex literary devices throughout the novel, and the story itself is a bittersweet tragedy that is full of joy and despair. Examples of such literary devices include the motif of games throughout the novel, the symbolism of Catherine’s hair, the vivid imagery of war scenes, and the foreshadowing presented when Henry states that life kills “the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially” (Hemingway 216). The foreshadowing in particular affects numerous characters throughout the story, furthering the disillusionment ideals that Hemingway presents. Hemingway is regarded “as the master of literary style” due to his “brisk, assertive, and crisply precise prose” (Benson 533). His novel is not overly descriptive, yet it accurately and powerfully conveys its message. Hemingway uses the book …show more content…
However, the message of his story relates not only to the disillusionment from the First World War, but to the consequences of every war. No matter what the causes or results of a war happen to be, every side of a war suffers losses. Even if there are no casualties in a war, the loss of morality that results is just as disheartening. Wars are depressing smears on the history of humanity, but even more depressing is the inevitability of war. If humans were not destined to forever resolve conflict with bloodshed, war would have ended after the first casualty. However, humans are too stubborn to transcend beyond violence to resolve conflict, so to this day humanity is still at war with itself. The continuous presence of war speaks for the true nature of humanity, for it proves humans to be just as violent and unsophisticated as they were during the primal stages of