Is Henry an Existentialist - A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway - Thesis Example

Is Henry an existentialist? The celebrated novel ‘A Farewell to Arms’ by Ernest Hemingway, first published in 1929, is a semi-autobiographical work. The title of the novel is from a poem by the 16th Century dramatist George Peele. The novel is narrated from the point of view of the protagonist, Lieutenant Frederic Henry; an American ambulance driver serving in Italian army, at the time of World War I. Henry’s life is a tragedy because he was forced to face a number of painful situations in life. At the end of the novel, Henry’s wife Catherine Barkley and child die, and he become alone. Severe distress transforms Henry to a stoic personality and he really symbolizes the existential image of distressed human being. In Henry, one can easily spot the reflection of existentialistic characteristics. So it is important to discuss and analyze the character of Henry to trace the existentialist features in him. Hemingway deeply influenced the French existentialists Camus and Jean Paul Sartre through his novels and heroic characters. So, it is not a surprising fact to spot existential elements in his novel, A Farewell to Arms. Paul Roubiczek, in the work- ‘Existentialism: for and against’ points out that: “Existentialism is a rejection of all purely abstract thinking, of a purely logical or scientific philosophy; in short, a rejection of the absoluteness of reason.” (Roubiczek 10) Existentialism, a modern theory, which rejects all abstractness in thought, is against pure logic or scientific philosophy. Besides, it rejects all types of absolute reason and is in search of eternal truth, i.e. the destiny of man. In addition, one can spot the existential features and ideas in the novel, especially, in the character Henry. Futility of war heroism and love are the most important themes applied by Hemingway in his novels and short stories. When one examines the character of Lieutenant Frederic Henry, it is apparent that he continuously questions war heroism and metaphysical question of God’s existence. Love is another theme of the novel, and the lovers are trapped in the darkness of life. In this novel, Hemingway connects two classic themes of insanity of war and soothing sensation of love. Besides, Henry identifies the world as absurd. His attempts can be seen as the metaphysical query about the existence of God, and this idea haunts him by troubled sleepless nights. In another part of the novel, a young priest tells Henry that he does not love God. Henry replies back that he does not love God and is afraid of God in the night time. Here, Henry argues with the priest on the existence of God but he enjoys his company. At the warfront, Henry argues with his comrades on the existence of God. But, in the last part of the novel, Henry asks his lady love whether she wants to see a priest or not. But she replies back that she only wants Henry at her bedside. Through this, the novelist wants to convey the idea that true love is also a religious feeling like the love of God. Here, Henry is her God and religion of she conveys this idea through her words. Catherine motivates Henry by her pure love towards him. This provides him with a new insight about universality of love and God. Earlier, Henry suspected the existence of God. So, Henry is forced to pray over and over to the God to save his lover from death. The themes of love at the time of war are closely related to the metaphysical idea and existentialism. One can clearly identify the meaninglessness of war and confusion from the words of Henry, who is serving as an ambulance driver in a strange country. Moreover, the alienation of twentieth century man, which is a great theme of modern literature, is apparent in the character of Henry and it well suits to an existentialist. Besides, Henry personifies the sense of psychological estrangement and individual feeling of alienation experienced by thousands of soldiers in the warfront. To an extent, Hemingway’s experiences and ideas on war and love are exposed through the character of Henry. Richard Ruland and Malcolm Bradbury, in the work-‘From Puritanism to postmodernism: a history of American literature’ points out that: “Much of Hemingway’s later fiction would concentrate on that sense of a direct encounter between struggling man and the seemingly implacable universe. A farewell to Arms (1929) returned to the Italian front of the war, with its mud, disease, slaughter and retreat.” (Ruland & Bradbury 255) Hemingway’s ideas on existentialism, direct and indirect, concentrate on the struggle of human beings to survive in a merciless world. Wars devalue the dignity of human life. By choosing the Italian warfront as the plot, Hemingway portrays the brutality of war. The earlier scenes in the novel display Henry as a war hero but later he is displayed as a person against war. The end of the novel discloses that Henry learned to love his lover and how to lose that love. Besides, Henry was of the opinion that true nature of love is heroism but later he came to know that heroism is futile. The effect of war in Henry is so grave because he was forced to suffer multiple defeats, alienation, loss, and it filled him with cruelty. This effect/influence gradually educated him to see life through a different angle and forced him to create an authentic way of life of his own. The war and love forces Henry to shed his inhibition towards society and his irresponsible attitude towards Catherine Barkley and to accept a varied vision on human life. Additionally, Henry demonstrates a psychological and cultural discovery of one’s self, which is more apparent in an existentialist who is in search of truth of life. Maurice R. Berube, in the work- ‘Beyond modernism and postmodernism: essays on the politics of culture’ reflects that: “Initially, Henry does not believe in love or God – but he pursues both and finds both, though not without experiencing a death of spirit like that which attracted the French existentialists.” (Berube 124) In the opening of the novel, Henry does not show positive attitude towards love and spirituality, and in the existence of God. But the novelist does not allow him to be inactive and at last Henry acquires both love and faith in God. His love towards Catherine is closely related to his cynicism towards war and a means to justify his flight from the warfront. So, it is clear that Henry is a character with the features of an existentialist. His attitude towards war, peace, the God, spirituality and love reveals this fact. Before summing up, it is important to point out the main ideas discussed and analyzed. Hemingway discloses his view on war, love and existence of God, through the character, Henry. The development of Henry, from a war hero, to a person who is ready to shed all his misunderstandings towards the society, is truly with existential distinctiveness. At this point, the role of Catherine Barkley on educating Henry on true love is memorable. So, it is clear that Henry personifies the novelist and is portrayed as real existentialist in the novel. The evolution of Henry from a war hero to a lover and a loser is beautifully portrayed and Hemingway makes use of the character as a mouthpiece to present his ideas on war, love and existence of God, and eventually, existentialism. Bibliography Berube, Maurice R. Beyond modernism and postmodernism: essays on the politics of culture. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. Roubiczek, Paul. Existentialism: for and against. CUP Archive, 1964. Ruland, Richard and Malcolm Bradbury. From Puritanism to postmodernism: a history of American literature. Taylor & Francis, 1991. Sources: 1. (Used for in-text citation and bibliography) Existentialism: for and against By Paul Roubiczek Published by CUP Archive, 1964 ISBN 0521092434, 9780521092432 206 pages 2. (Used for in-text citation and bibliography) Beyond modernism and postmodernism: essays on the politics of culture By Maurice R. Berube Published by Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002 ISBN 0897898052, 9780897898058 140 pages 3. (Used for in-text citation and bibliography) From Puritanism to postmodernism: a history of American literature By Richard Ruland, Malcolm Bradbury Published by Taylor & Francis, 1991 ISBN 0415013410, 9780415013413 381 pages 4. Hemingway’s theaters of masculinity By Thomas F. Strychacz Translated by Thomas F. Strychacz Published by LSU Press, 2003 ISBN 0807129062, 9780807129067 284 pages http://books.google.com/books?id=0v1GUke_ncMC 5. The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Fiction By Judith Fetterley Published by Indiana University Press, 1978 ISBN 0253310784, 9780253310781 198 pages http://books.google.com/books?id=4pGhgzPbQzcC Read More