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A review by agonyofdesire
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
In the great tradition of venerating white men who write books regardless of whether they are good or not, my literature class is analyzing Ernest Hemmingway's A Farewell to Arms.
Now I myself don't see the purpose of reading a Hemingway book, ever. Despite having never read a story of his in the past, I still got the impression that he is an over-glorified mediocre writer, which made me loathe the thought of him and swear to never read anything of his. Yet, fairness and circumstances decided otherwise, and so here I am reading A farewell to Arms.
The plot: this would be where I offer a plot summary, alas I couldn’t find a plot to summarize. The best I can guess is: A Farewell to Arms follows Frederick Henry, an American in the Italian Army as he gets injured, meets a not nurse nurse, and falls in love with her. Frederick recovers from his injuries and then goes back to the army ̶ only to desert ̶ possibly due to Catherine, his lover, being pregnant, possibly to him being sick of war. It is all quite confusing. The two lovers have to escape to Switzerland where Catherine, after giving birth to a stillborn via cesarean, dies.
The narration: This book is from a first-person point of view. While the intended effects might have been to offer the reader an inside look into the psyche of the protagonist, the narrative style succeeds at only irritating the reader. Instead of focusing on the protagonist’s mental and emotional state due to the war, Hemingway gives the lion’s share of the book to describing the countryside in excruciating detail. This excessive description pulls the reader out of the narrative and serves only to confuse.
The characters: Most of the characters were forgettable. The only ones of note are Frederick and Catherine and that is only because as readers we are trapped in Frederick’s mind. The Protagonist is intolerable, and him also being the narrator added to the irritation. He is not an active agent in the story, things seem to be happening to him instead of the other way around, and no matter how much that draws parallel with real-life helplessness of humanity, it is no excuse for the lack of personality that characterizes Frederick. As for Catherine, despite her importance to the romantic subplot, she is inconsequential. Catherine’s whole existence is tied to Frederick, she does not exist beyond Frederick’s relationship with her which is irritating enough on its own, but then you add to it her very nonchalant demeanor and she becomes just as annoying as Frederick.
War: This book’s main focus is to reveal the consequences of war. Its goal is to give an intimate account of the horror that war brings to the soldiers, and the pain it puts them through. The book fails in its intentions though, as the excessive description dulls the tension and robs the action of its emotional impact.
Now I myself don't see the purpose of reading a Hemingway book, ever. Despite having never read a story of his in the past, I still got the impression that he is an over-glorified mediocre writer, which made me loathe the thought of him and swear to never read anything of his. Yet, fairness and circumstances decided otherwise, and so here I am reading A farewell to Arms.
The narration: This book is from a first-person point of view. While the intended effects might have been to offer the reader an inside look into the psyche of the protagonist, the narrative style succeeds at only irritating the reader. Instead of focusing on the protagonist’s mental and emotional state due to the war, Hemingway gives the lion’s share of the book to describing the countryside in excruciating detail. This excessive description pulls the reader out of the narrative and serves only to confuse.
The characters: Most of the characters were forgettable. The only ones of note are Frederick and Catherine and that is only because as readers we are trapped in Frederick’s mind. The Protagonist is intolerable, and him also being the narrator added to the irritation. He is not an active agent in the story, things seem to be happening to him instead of the other way around, and no matter how much that draws parallel with real-life helplessness of humanity, it is no excuse for the lack of personality that characterizes Frederick. As for Catherine, despite her importance to the romantic subplot, she is inconsequential. Catherine’s whole existence is tied to Frederick, she does not exist beyond Frederick’s relationship with her which is irritating enough on its own, but then you add to it her very nonchalant demeanor and she becomes just as annoying as Frederick.
War: This book’s main focus is to reveal the consequences of war. Its goal is to give an intimate account of the horror that war brings to the soldiers, and the pain it puts them through. The book fails in its intentions though, as the excessive description dulls the tension and robs the action of its emotional impact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and War
Moderate: Sexual harassment