Futility and Hostility: the Inescapable Destruction of a Farewell to Arms

From the opening of the novel in which only seven thousand soldiers are described as dying to the corrupt violence detailed in the Italian retreat, A Farewell to Arms depicts the mindless brutality of war. Graphic depictions pervade the novel stripping war of its romanticized façade resulting in a powerful and realistic portrayal of war. Although Hemingway provides a criticism of the nature of war, the novel does not necessarily condemn war but rather proposes the inevitability of destruction and loss in a harsh, detached world.

Due to the powerful honesty employed by Hemingway in his illustration of World War I, A Farewell to Arms inherently bears an antiwar perspective. However, the novel does not explicitly denounce war itself but instead depicts the realistic emptiness and pointless cruelty of battle. The senseless violence is embodied in Hemingway’s graphic images including Fred Henry’s unwarranted shooting of the engineer which comes almost naturally for him, evoking no emotion. Hemingway portrays the irrationality of war and lack of moral certainties as Fred Henry’s unjustified reaction comes out of nowhere, and it is further supported by his fellow soldiers. The novel’s uncompromising depiction of war strips it of abstract concepts and romanticized ideals, exposing the artificiality and meaninglessness of war. Voiced through Fred Henry, Hemingway proposes that in war there is nothing “sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it” (185). Despite the massive destruction, the war is “no more dangerous than in the movies” (37) and the deaths no more serious than the killing of livestock. Through the realistic representation of the senseless brutality, A Farewell to Arms captures the true futility of war.

Nevertheless, the novel is not exactly a condemnation of war, as Hemingway depicts war as an unavoidable extension of an unfeeling...