The Quest Of A Hemingway Hero Essay

The Quest Of A Hemingway Hero Essay, Research Paper A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway is a story of Love, war and one Man s pursuit of finding his own personal code in order to make a separate peace. Fredrick Henry is an American who serves as a lieutenant in the Italian army to a group of ambulance drivers. Hemingway portrays Frederick as a lost man searching for order and value in his life. Catherine Barkley is an English volunteer nurse who serves in Italy. She is considered very experienced when it comes to love and loss since she has already been confronted with the death of a loved one when her fianc was killed earlier in the war.Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the love story.The war

affects the emotions and values of each character. The love between Catherine and Frederick must outlast long separations, life-threatening wartime situations, and the uncertainty of each other’s wereabouts or condition. This novel is a beautiful love story of two people who need each other in a period of upheaval. At the start of the novel, Frederick is given a vacation to leave the war for a period of time in order to relax. He befriends a priest because he admires the fact that the priest lives his life by a set of values that give him an orderly lifestyle. He is told by the priest to go to Abruzzi, there in the mountains he can relax and forget about theworries of war. But Fredrick is hardheaded and listens to his friends and decides to go to Naples, there he drinks and

travels from one house of prostitution to another and yet he is discontent because his life is very unsettled. This vacation was his free ticket out of the war but Fredrick does not realize nor understand how bad this war is. He decides to return due to his pride and patriotism. A close friend of Fredrick, Rinaldi Is also a Lt. In the army. Together hey share stories and interests. Rinaldi is a strong man, one who understands what war is about. Through numerous attempts of lessons given to Fredrick, he still doesn t understand. Rinaldi constantly calls Fredrick baby which is an accurate description of him. He is still a child and is not aware of the true meaning of war, love and life. Upon his return, Fredrick Henry continues with his duties as an ambulance driver. He is greeted

by the mechanics who were also good friends with Fredrick. They would always eat and drink with each other and share stories and jokes. The Mechanics are a group of people who are trapped in the war, they are forced to serve their country or face the serious consequences. They tell the horrific story of the Granatieri and Cabrinieri, where in which they lined up soldiers and shot every tenth one. The senseless killing was used as a scapegoat and thosewho opposed to serve in the army. Everyone is afraid to desert the war due to the fact that their family is endangered and would be killed. Through Rinaldi, Frederick becomes involved with Catherine Barkley. He slowly falls in love with her and, in his love for her, he finds commitment. Catherine already possesses the knowledge that

her own life cannot be dependent on another. She learned this lesson through the death of her fianc . Her love for Frederick is what her life revolves around, yet she knows not to rely on him to be the order in her life. Had she been dependent on Frederick for the order in her life, she would not have been able to allow him to participate in the war for fear of losing her own stability with his death. Their relationship brings some order and value to his life. Catherine is the one that has to set Fredrick Henry straight and make him become aware of what life really is.Fredrick Henry is excited by the war and every day it becomes worse The cold temperature and rain only bring more havoc as disease and sickness adds to the growing number of deaths. Catherine describes the war as in