By MSM YAQOOB
Ernest
Hemingway is generally regarded as one of the prominent, and excellent literary
figures of the 20th century. Starting his career as a reporter, he earned a lot
of fame as a novelist, short-story writer, and sportsman. He served as an
ambulance driver in the Italian force during W-II and was later sent to Europe
to cover the events of the Greek Revolution. His broad traveling experience
and literary friends and craftsmen, who were also members of a group known as
"The Lost Generation” including Ezra Pound,
and F. Scott Fitzgerald inspired
him to write and share his thoughts.
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He
was a sportsman, that’s why his literary works revolve around soldiers,
hunters, wars, bullfighters, and sometimes focus on primal people whose tenacity
and honesty is pitted against contemporary society's brutality.
A
Farewell to Arms, one of his famous novels explores several conflicting themes,
including war and love, masculinity and femininity, fear and strength. It is
very interesting that the story is set during a war, the protagonist of this
novel Henry Frederic is able to overcome his anxieties and fall in love.
In
the novel, there is a vivid theme of war. Let’s discuss it with chronological
context.
A
Farewell to Arms is set in Italy during World War I,
and the war has an impact on all of the protagonists' lives. From Henry and
Catherine to the troops and shop owners Henry encounters, the majority of the
characters are rationalists who share Hemingway's belief that war is a
pointless waste of life and potential. Frederic regarded war as a common
occurrence in human civilization when Hemingway began writing this novel. He
had no problem with that because he had lived through it. When he first saw
Catherine, he was struck by her beauty and felt a strong bond with her. At
first, Henry sees the war as a necessary evil from which he seeks solace in
drinking and sex.
By
the conclusion of the book, his experiences in the war have persuaded him that
it is basically unfair horror from which he is determined to flee with
Catherine at all costs.
Love is another major theme presented in this novel. They didn't need anybody else in their lives since these two loves were so immersed in each other. Catherine loves him so much that she is prepared to remain alone for him to be happy, as seen by their dialogue. Mr. Henry, on the other hand, would certainly want to go skiing but would never leave Catherine alone. But unfortunately, death triumphs over love and changes the whole scenario.
Let’s
discuss it in a broader sense rather than be stuck with themes one by one.
Hemingway
demonstrates how the harsh realities of life constantly penetrate and destroy
the diverting fancies that individuals invent to make themselves feel better
throughout the novel. When it comes to combat, Hemingway demonstrates how
ideals like grandeur and honor evaporate fast when confronted with the harsh or
ludicrous reality of warfare. Many characters construct imaginations to cope
with the war that surrounds them. To cope with the sorrow of her fiancé's death
in war, Catherine lies that she and Henry are madly in love.
"There are no atheists in foxholes,” Henry despises God because he views the world through the eyes of a harsh realist. In times of difficulty, however, he is not beyond resorting to faith.
Again
the discussion can be summed in these words. In both love and war, Hemingway's
message is that there is destruction and an end. Enjoy the excellent things while
you have them, but when that time is out, you must move on.
