Nothing Positive Comes Out of Frederic Henry's Experience of War. Discuss.

Ernest Hemmingway’s semi-autobiographical novel “A Farewell to Arms” depicts events during the Italian campaigns in the First World War. The basis of the protagonist Frederic Henry comes from Hemmingway’s views and experiences during the war. The novel focuses on a doomed romance between Henry and a British nurse, Catherine Barkley, against the backdrop of the Fire World War, cynical soldiers, fighting and the displacement of populations. Hemmingway’s portrays a view of the hopelessness of war in A Farewell to Arms, yet through Henry’s experiences we sense a feeling of hope and optimism as we witness the changes in him. Henry’s relationships with the priest and Rinaldi provide him with a changed perspective on life. Love is the most compelling positive element in A Farewell to Arms as it gives meaning to an otherwise meaningless existence. However, it is also through Henry’s experiences that we see and understand the futility of war and the waste of life that results.

Henry’s initial relationships were superficial and shallow. As the novel progresses they begin to mature and provide a new perspective of life for Henry. Initially Henry’s relationships were built upon drinking and going to the whorehouses as an attempt to escape the pain and suffering of the war. On leave from the war the priest asks Henry to visit his home town of Abruzzi, instead Henry went to “the smoke of the cafes” in the lowlands where he spent “nights in bed, drunk … not caring.” At this stage Henry’s strategy in relation to the war and the unpleasantness of the world, is to obliterate them by drinking alcohol and having sex. Henry shows no sign of independence; he follows the crowd and doesn’t stand up for his beliefs. At the mess hall, when Henry’s fellow soldiers “bait” the priest, although not joining in with them, he still does not stand up for the priest, even though he respects the priest’s beliefs. Henry is also very naïve about the war and the affects it has. Even after he has...