Tradition and Novelty in Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms - Research Paper Example

? Tradition and Novelty in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms number Outline This paper shall look at the new devices that were employed by Ernest Hemingway in the novel A Farewell to Arms. The stylistic and thematic innovations that are a part of this novel shall be discussed. The social and political aspects of the time in which this novel was produced shall also be taken into account during an analysis of this novel. Tradition and Novelty in Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms One of the most important novels to have come out during the era of the World Wars, Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms talks about the immense mental and physical tortures that people of different parts of the world had to go through during the wars. A novel that professes strong anti-war sentiments, much of it is about the lives of soldiers and the hardships and mental hassles that they are put through. The novel also talks of the unique nature of the war that resulted in a change in the lifestyles that people had led till then. Life as they had known it underwent many changes. This is visible even in the very style that is employed by Hemingway to describe the conditions that existed during the time of the war. The form of the novel becomes, in this case, as important a factor in determining the meaning of the novel as the themes that are a part of it. This paper shall look at the different aspects of the novel that introduce new devices and talk about an event that changed the way life was lived. Unlike many of the previous descriptions of war that came out in literature, Hemingway sought through A Farewell to Arms to bring out a realistic account of life as it was lived by the soldiers who took part in the First World War. The descriptions of the war in his work lead one to reanalyse the descriptions that are given by posts who glorified feats that were achieved in war in a manner that would recall the manner in which epic narratives would do. Such narratives would provide patriotic fervor as a motivating force for the performance of such feats. The fact that such narratives were nothing but romanticized accounts of wars and the motives that were behind them is something that is exemplified by Hemingway’s narrative in A Farewell to Arms. Hemingway’s narrative substitutes these romanticized accounts with truthful accounts of the mental changes that were taking place in the collective psyches of people (Rao, 143). Such narratives would require the use of a language that was new and unseen. The language of the common man is used in Hemingway’s novel. The use of the vernacular enables Hemingway to see the world of the common man in a way that the European modernists were unable to (Dekker and Harris, 311). Cocooned in their own elitist worlds, the modernists were mostly unable to see the realities on the ground level. A deep pessimism accompanies the decline of Europe’s political fortunes when it comes to the work of the Modernists. This pessimism is present in A Farewell to Arms. The events that are described in the novel take place at a time when America emerges as a power to reckon with in the world. The novel almost anticipates the gloom that would engulf the common man during the Great Depression. This event caused great problems in the economy of the United States of America (Bernanke, 5). The use of the vernacular in the novel is a break from the rigid ideas of language that were propounded by certain sections of the literary elite in Europe. It was, however, in keeping with certain traditions of American literature where writers like Mark Twain had long before set the precedent for employing the vernacular for the literary. Conversations between Henry and Catherine are noted for their casual nature and also the free use of vernacular in the descriptions of their relationship. The language, thus, formed a part of the project of Hemingway’s where he sought to shock the readers into thinking of a world that they had ceased to recognize themselves owing to the drastic changes that violence and war were bringing to it. This violence is seen also in the thematic concerns of the novel. The violation of social codes can be seen in the illicit affair between the main characters (Donaldson, 3). The ultimate death of the heroine is the culmination of a sense of gloom that pervades most part of the novel. This is to a great extent, the result of the anticipation that the reader is made to do. This is set in motion by the disturbing events of the war that are described by Hemingway in an extremely realistic manner. The following conversation between the main characters in the novel, Henry and Catherine, can be seen to evoke this sense of gloom even in an apparently happy atmosphere- But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together. I know that the night is not the same as the day: that all things are different, that the things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist, and the night can be a dreadful time for lonely people once their loneliness has started. But with Catherine there was almost no difference in the night except that it was an even better time. If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry. (Hemingway, 226) There is no solution that Hemingway offers to this conundrum except the one that he offers through the title. Freedom and peace can be gained only through a farewell to arms (Dahiya, 30). This again is an inversion of set techniques where a certain suspense to the climax is built up. Here, the author gives away his message right at the beginning. In the above conversation, Henry and Catherine are aware of the fact that their relationship has become the aspect of their life to which they hold on to, to escape the drudgery of life which has been rendered meaningless following the war. They however, choose to fool themselves into living in a world of illusions. Hemingway closely follows the path of these and other characters in their quest for an escape. This is not available to most of the characters. The manner in which their lives are covered is similar to that of a piece of journalistic writing. Critics have often commented upon how the aspects of journalistic writing are incorporated into the realistic portrayals of life in the inter-war era (Lewis, 209). This is another aspect of novelty that can be seen in A Farewell to Arms. This was later taken up by other writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez who transformed it into an important element of their own unique style. Carlos Baker considers A Farewell to Arms to be one of the most important novels of the twentieth century, one that has stood the test of time (Berridge, 87). The novel forms an important part of the literature that came out during the period between the two World Wars. A period of great instability, it led to many innovations that were a part of the general lack of grounding that people experienced during the inter-war years. Ernest Hemingway and his contemporaries led the way with a great many number of changes that transformed literature in general and American literature in particular, in a way that it wasn’t, in earlier times. Works Cited Bernanke, Ben. Essays on the Great Depression. New Jersey: Princeton U P, 2000. Pp 5. Berridge, Howard R. Ernest Hemingway's a Farewell to Arms. New York: Barron’s, 1984. Pp 87. Dahiya, Bhim S. Hemingway’s A Farewell To Arms: A Critical Study. Civil Lines: Academic Foundation, 1992. Pp 30. Dekker, George; Harris, Joseph. “Supernaturalism and the Vernacular Style in A Farewell to Arms”. PMLA 94 (2), 1979. Pp 311. http://www.jstor.org/stable/461894 Accessed on 18th June, 2012. Donaldson, Scott. New Essays on A Farewell to Arms. New York: Cambridge U P, 1990. Pp 3. Hemingway, Ernest. A Farewell to Arms. New York: Scribner, 1997. Pp 226. Lewis, Robert W. “Hemingway in Italy: Making It up”. Journal of Modern Literature 9 (2), 1982. Pp 209. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3831258 Accessed 18th June, 2012. Rao, P.G. Rama. Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. New Delhi: Atlantic, 2007. Pp 143. Read More