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I need help with the "depictions of war in "A Farewell to Arms". Why isn't war discussed in the last book? Is it about war? Posted by janjan on Feb 16, 2008. |
A Farewell to Arms Group
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In Book 5 Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley leave Italy and the war behind as they escape into Switzerland. The focus now is on their time together as they await the birth of their child. Rather than showing the harsh realities of war, Hemingway provides an intimate view of the couple's isolation as they are virtually snowbound in the mountains. The tone changes, however, as Catherine's time nears and they must move from the mountain down to the village, characterized by mud, ominously foreshadowing the doom to come. The final book is indirectly about war because the novel's title fulfills its double meaning here. The deaths that Henry has seen during his war experiences do not prepare him for the deaths of his son and beloved Catherine. He is able to escape the war into a neutral territory, but he cannot escape death. He must say farewell to the arms of the woman he loves. Posted by cybil on Feb 17, 2008. |
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The war in book 5 becomes an internal conflict as well as an external one. Henry believes he is escaping the war--making a conscious choice of saying "farewell" to the military arms of guns and ammo. However, he ends up saying an involuntary "farewell" to the arms of his love and their child in the end. So, war images are definitely present, but this is the war inside his head caused by the loss of his family. Posted by amy-lepore on Feb 17, 2008. |

