The role of symbolism in Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms - Essay Example

? Effect of Symbolism in literary works- A study based on ‘A Farewell to Arms’ A symbol is a literary device used by the that contains different meanings, represents the overall mood or sometimes gives deeper meaning to the literary work more than that is meant or provided by the writers themselves . The use of symbolism gives meaning beyond what is actually being described. A symbol can enhance the theme character or the situation. ‘A Farewell to Arms’ written by Earnest Hemingway is a novel powered with the use of symbols. The novel is praised for its profound use of symbols intertwined with the incidents characters and places. Among the other symbols, the rain symbol is the most significant one. The whole novel has the background of rain and water. Usually rain stands for life and energy, a rebirth from the draught. But in this novel it supplies destruction and suffering or in a way death itself. The novel starts with description of nature and the effect of it in the landscape. The landscape shows the difference during summer autumn and winter. The scene of rain given at the first page changes the phase of the plain. The troops marches heavy with their wet dress and weapon. In winter rain has another phase, the face of a killer. During that time cholera spreads and kills thousands of soldiers. Thus in the beginning itself the writer closely associates death and rain. The changes in nature is a warning note of the impending disasters in the story. The protagonists himself says “ The wine yard were thin and are-branched too and all the country wet and brown and dead with autumn”. Hemingway represents loss and death in rain while dry weather points out life or good part of life. The whole novel presents rain as a force which replaces the existence. The life of Frederick is away from the threat of war when goes to the Milan hospital. The weather of that time is warm, a comfortable time according to the writer. But again the rain is mentioned through Catherin. She says “ I’ve always been afraid of the rain….I am afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it…..and sometimes I see you dead in it”(126). Through the Catherine the writer conveys the mood of the play. Through rain the novelist establishes the inevitability of death and destruction in human life. Human is mortal and the life events are uncontrollable. Human beings are helpless followers of their own fate. The rain also brings such fate to living man and it also act as a symbol of the impending calamities. The journey of Catherine is also assisted with snow. It is written as the city covered with snow but slowly give way for rain. The sea shore is described as “The rain stopped and the wind drove the clouds so that moon shone through….Then the clouds came over the moon again …but it was much lighter than it had been before and we could see the shore”(271). The troubles waiting for Catherine is described through the changing weather,” In the night it started again raining ….turned the snow to slush and made the mountains side dismal”(306). But when Catherine goes into the labor room, the sky is clear but as the birth progress the sky darkens and it is a sign of the impending death.” It was raining”(324). Thus we see the power of symbolism with rain and water repeated in the novel. In the novel again we see the instances assisted with rain, Aymo’s death. Before death he makes a statement, “We drink Barera now; tomorrow we may drink rain water”. Once again Hemingway stresses the powerless life of human being in front of natural forces. From the beginning onwards the novel has rain, water and snow as powerful symbols. We see in Chapter 2 that the fighting is temporarily stopped during snowy season. The happy moments in the life of Caherine and Frederick also assisted with snow in Alps. Thus snow is a momentary relief. Thus the symbols convey the real temper of the story. The story is very powerful with symbol. Thus the novelist drags the readers to the mindset of the characters though the presentation of rain, water and snow at the right time and place. The novel is a paradigm of the use of symbols. The rain is the usually occurring symbol with the association of disasters in the story. The symbol rain is there with the characters, in their misery, in their sorrows and tears. It is very effective and the readers are also able to anticipate the events according to the change of the nature. The rain is a natural force which even people like soldiers cannot stop or keep away from the disasters. Human life is filled with such natural calamities. As human being we want to endure all these kind of misfortune. This is the law of nature . It is evident from the life of human beings that they themselves have the power to encounter such miserable. Just like the unpreventable rain which brings death, the sufferings are also unpreventable. But even after going through the difficulties, man will lead his life pushing away all these on the pages of his life history. Hemingway by the use rain symbol, was able to prove that there are many things in life which we cannot control by ourselves. Thus the weather symbolism in the novel drives its plot and maintains the interests of the readers. Thus the novel proves that intelligent use of symbolism adds beauty to a literary piece . Work Cited Hemingway ,Ernest , A farewell to Arms, Penguin Books, 1935 Read More