Love,God,and War:Irony in Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms - Research Paper Example

? Love, God, and War: Irony in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms First Last and number of Outline: I. Introduction: A. Thesis Statement. Some wishes and dreams of the novel’s characters are made and most of them, if not all, are not fully realized. Here, reality and illusion collide. Within this collision, the irony in A Farewell to Arms becomes remarkably apparent. B. The changes and transformations that transpired in the lives and thoughts of Frederic Henry, Catherine Barkley, and others are fundamentally the by-products, directly or indirectly, of war. II. Body: A. Ironies and Paradoxes prominent in the novel a. The dichotomy of Henry and Barkley, and of the Priest and the Count b. The apparent paradox of hair and rain symbolism. c. War as the novel’s theme and its inherent paradox. d. Ironies in the narrative, the variation of thought and the actual event III. Conclusion: Ironies and paradoxes are inherent in war stories. These ironies are very apparent in the dichotomy of the novel’s characters, the paradox of its imagery or symbols, and the subtle contradiction characterized in its theme. In ironies and paradoxes, painful as they may seem, A Farewell to Arms as a war-oriented novel becomes more complex and engaging. Love, God, and War: Irony in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms Introduction Ernest Hemingway’s celebrated novel entitled A Farewell to Arms substantially contains subtle paradoxes and/or ironies. As a whole, the novel tackles the essence of war, if there is such. War as a subject matter has, of course, several paradoxes. In the context of the novel, however, war as a background or foreground plays a fundamental role. Although the centrality of the narrative focuses on the love affair of Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley, war per se largely contributes to the shaping and reshaping of their stories. In essence, war categorically defines the lives and fates of the novel’s characters. Changes in the novel are inevitable, oftentimes unforeseen or unpredictable. Some wishes and dreams of the novel’s characters are made, for instance, and most of them if not all, are not fully realized. Here, reality and illusion collide. Within this collision, the irony in A Farewell to Arms becomes remarkably apparent. This paper discusses the contradictions and/or ironies characterized in the narrative’s characters, symbolism, and theme. It also explores the love and the changes that occurred in the lives and thoughts of the protagonists, especially between Henry and Barkley, throughout the story. Of Characterization The characters in Hemingway’s novel are at times contradictory, if not paradoxical. Henry and Barkley -- the main protagonists in the narrative -- are two people with different views concerning life in general and love in particular. At the story’s beginning, Henry is portrayed as a young man who loves fun stuffs and girls. For one thing, Henry’s decision to join the war is mainly motivated by the sheer fun it will bring to him, at least in his mind. A sense of patriotism, or love of one’s country, is never apparent in his character or virtue. What Henry constantly does in the field is drink alcohol and performs other activities (e.g., seducing girls), which are not related to war. Barkley, however, is depicted in the novel as a young woman who is, in the genuine sense, passionate to and about love; this is quite prominent in her role as a nurse during the time of war. Barkley nurses those who are wounded, strangers they may appear to her. The paradox here is the love that grows between two different, if not opposing, people. In addition, the priest’s character appears to be paradoxical or contradictory to the character of Count Greffi. Evidently, both men are close to the heart of Henry. The priest and the Count are, in essence, advisers or mentors of Frederic Henry -- the former, of spiritual growth, and the latter, of worldly wisdom. On the one hand, the priest seems to be courteous and well-mannered towards the soldiers in Henry’s unit amidst their sarcastic joke on “priest with girls.” He seems not to mind at all, say, on the captain’s lack of professionalism or respect towards him as a priest “with a cross in dark red velvet.” When confronted with the book entitled “Black Pig,” the priest merely describes it as “filthy and vile” since it shakes men’s faith (Hemingway 13). On the other hand, Count Greffi reveals to Henry his disturbing faith by saying that once he wanted to be a “devout [Christian] as I grow older.” But as time passes-by, the spirituality of Count Greffi becomes weaker and weaker (Hemingway 236). By and large, these protagonists -- namely, Henry and Barkley, the priest and the Count -- are apotheoses of two opposing characters with different and diverging background and foreground. Of Symbolism The novel consists of symbols which “amplify meaning” (Waldhorn 115). Barkley’s hair, for example, symbolizes the kind of love and intimacy that the two lovers have: fragile. Similar to the feature of a woman’s hair, the relationship between Henry and Barkley considerably grows as time progresses. Barkley’s hair, in particular, sooths her lover every night whenever they sleep together. Henry speaks up to his beloved, concerning her long hair, that he “like it the way it is” (Hemingway 270). The man loves his woman’s hair length (i.e., long) especially every time she puts it on his head as if Henry is “inside a tent or behind a falls” (Hemingway 107). The image of the tent evokes a secluded place in which people living in it essentially feel a sense of protection and well-being. The irony comes, however, when Barkley expresses to Henry her plan of cutting her hair. Barkley wants her hair to be shortened primarily because she desires to “be just alike” with Henry’s hair length. In spite of the man’s wish to retain his woman’s hair length, Henry expresses no disagreement to Barkley’s plan. Apparently, Henry’s expectation (i.e., to retain her long hair) fails to happen in the actual world (i.e., she cuts her hair). Perhaps the man’s genuine love for the woman makes it possible for irony to occur; in essence, love transforms man into a walking paradox. In the novel, the image of the rain is the most obvious imagery that contains symbolism. In fact, the word “rain” has appeared several times throughout the narrative. And the most striking scene that involves rain is at the end of the story in which Henry “left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain.” In this episode, Henry’s wife and baby died due to particular complication. Perhaps it is not a wonder for readers why the man has walked into the rain. Probably Henry losses his sense of “vividness and intensity in the world” considering that his source of life and happiness has disappeared from the face of the earth (Bloom 3). What is interesting in the rain imagery, however, is its pervasive presence throughout the story; the apparent implication here is that death -- as represented by the rain image -- is present where such image is substantially seen. The novel then becomes a narrative that foretells the defeat of the main protagonist “when the Law intervenes” (Stoltzfus 72). Furthermore, the obvious irony, particularly in this regard, is the representation of rain or snow as a time of cease-fire in which, as an idea, subverts its death symbolism; Henry testifies this by saying that “[t]here will be no more offensive now that the snow has come” (Hemingway 13). Thus, the rain/snow symbol -- both as death and “life” symbolism -- critically shows irony throughout the narrative. Of Theme The theme of Hemingway’s novel concerns the dramatic impact of war towards humanity in general and love in particular (Donaldson 1). For instance, the destruction of war considerably affects man’s spirituality or relationship to the Supreme Being. The priest in particular, losses his status in the community ravaged by war. His dignity or position within the society becomes essentially a mere object of ridicule or mockery. War is, by nature, a conflict that heavily involves the human body, which is basically physical in characteristic. On the other hand, religion is the antithesis of corporeal or physical things. Consequently, war as a mundane activity or action destroys the inner being of man, which includes his sense of spirituality. Besides Count Greffi, Barkley has explicitly disclosed that she has no religion when the hospital attendant asked her about it. In fact, premarital sex -- an activity which is widely considered profane in all major world religions -- is something normal or acceptable within the mental framework of the two lovers. That is why the pious Helen Ferguson, Barkley’s close friend, has a strong distaste to the immoral Henry! Furthermore, war greatly impacts the smallest and basic division of society: the family. By rowing on the river, Henry and Barkley have to travel to Switzerland -- a country that has no participation in war -- in order to escape from the cruelty of war. Evidently, Henry’s family is displaced or dislocated due to the aftermath of war. Away from the hospitals and other services offered by the metropolis, Henry and his pregnant wife are forced to live on the mountain top where medical facilities are scarce or lacking. Probably their constant travelling, from urban to rural and vice-versa, fundamentally affected the health condition of Barkley. As a whole, war per se has killed Henry’s wife and baby either through the chemicals emitted from the weapons used or through the conditions peculiar in the divided and war-torn territories. On the other hand, the paradox of war as a threat to society is that it allows two different nationals or ethnic groups to meet in one common place and, in consequence, develops a certain special bond between these two strangers: Henry is American while Barkley is British, and war serves as a bridge for them to meet and know each other. The subject matter of war as an irony is more prominent in its capacity to destroy human lives and the potentiality to create them. Of Irony In the part of Henry, irony comes from his choice to become a soldier. Driven by youthful vigor, Henry does not take grave consideration to the vitality of war in itself. He merely joins the war for pleasure’s sake. Eventually, Henry’s point-of-view concerning war becomes much deeper and more serious after meeting and knowing Barkley. A passionate woman, Barkley has tremendously influenced to the main protagonist’s worldview. Ultimately, he realizes the futility of war. After finding in each other’s arms, Henry and Barkley desire for a peaceful life. The irony is that peace is an illusion in a country or countries greatly devastated by war. Despite their wishful thinking for a happy home, the situation characterized in Henry and Barkley’s time and space continuum does not permit them to attain such dream. Indeed, the two lovers tried to flee from the war-torn country, nonetheless, war or its impact has followed them even in the remote part of the planet. Moreover, the time of war is a time for potential converts to turn or return into the fold of religion. Like hope, faith becomes the central element or defense for man to survive in the harshness of the world. Ironically, war as a phenomenon alters man’s perception of God and himself. The priest and the Count, for instance, have undergone a fundamental change in the way they view the world. The priest’s spiritual life, for instance, becomes shaky. The priest who should, theoretically, be strong amidst the temptation of the world largely losses hope and faith in the existence of a loving God. On the other hand, the Count’s desire to become a devout religious man turns out differently when war dawns on him. By and large, Hemingway's novel has several implications; one of the most prominent is the idea that the person has no power to control one’s fate in the face of war. There are a number of effects primarily caused by this sort of human conflict, one of which is the displacement of faith, hope, and love. This displacement is fundamentally unalterable. Man as an individual cannot change the course of time. The consequence of war, however, alters his very existence. Conclusion Irony is very prominent in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms. Such irony can be observed from the lives of the characters in the story, the apparent symbolism in the narrative, and the novel’s general theme. Besides Catherine Barkley and others, the life of Frederic Henry as depicted in the story is full of ironical events. First, his indifference to war, consciously or unconsciously, changes dramatically. Henry’s view concerning the world becomes clear to him -- that is, there is a variation between his theoretical perception and the actual objective world. Second, the main protagonist subtly discovers the futility of the habit of womanizing upon knowing Barkley. Henry originally wants to play with Barkley -- he was not serious to her -- but eventually things or events change without him knowing it. Third, like the priest and the Count, Henry’s spirituality is altered. Talking to Count Greffi, Henry expresses his willingness to pray for him upon the Count’s death. However, the premature death of Henry’s wife and baby suggests the death or emptiness of his soul. And fourth, irony dramatically occurs when the two lovers gain and, at the same time, loss each other’s arms. The decision to live on the mountain top is due primarily to their dream to live a kind of peaceful life; but the war that ravaged their love and desire prohibits them from attaining such ideal aspiration. And this is the painful irony of the narrative. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms: Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Infobase, 2009. Print. Donaldson, Scott. New Essays on A Farewell to Arms. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990. Print. Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. New York: Scribner, 1997. Print. Meyers, Jeffrey. Ernest Hemingway: The Critical Heritage. London: Routledge, 1997. Print. Stoltzfus, Ben. Lacan & Literature: Purloined Pretexts. New York: State U of New York P, 1996. Print. Waldhorn, Arthur. A Reader’s Guide to Ernest Hemingway. New York: Syracuse UP, 2002. Print. Read More