Constructed Response 1 Frederic Henry is a lieutenant in the Italian army. In A Farewell to Arms, it is revealed that before he joined the Italians, he lived in America (Hemingway 19). He joined the Italian army during World War 1 because, according to himself, he “was in Italy and spoke Italian” (Hemingway 19). Catherine Barkley is a volunteer nurse, or V.A.D., in the Italian army (Hemingway 22). She is originally from England (Hemingway 18). Before she met Frederic, she was engaged to marry a man that she grew up with (Hemingway 16). However, he was killed in the Battle of Somme, and Catherine hints that she no longer loves him when she tells Frederic “That’s the end of it” (Hemingway 17). This opens the way for Frederic and Catherine to engage in a romantic relationship. Constructed Response 2 When Frederic first meets Catherine, he says that she has “beautiful hair,” which shows that he notices her beauty (Hemingway 16). He also tries to display affection towards her, and succeeds (Hemingway 22-23). After several visits with her, Frederic realizes …show more content…
In the novel, the mountains symbolize the pleasant events. Frederic shows interest for visiting the mountains, saying that he “wanted to go to the Hartz Mountains” to escape the war (Hemingway 31). The plains symbolize unpleasant events. In the beginning of the novel, Frederic says there is fighting in the plains beyond the peaceful village he is staying in (Hemingway 1). The rain symbolizes the disastrous and pivotal events that occur in the novel. When Catherine dies, Frederic says that he “walked back to the hotel in the rain” (Hemingway 284). It is also raining when he deserts (Hemingway 193). Therefore, the mountains symbolize the pleasant events, the plains symbolize the unpleasant events, and the rain symbolizes the worst and most chaotic events in A Farewell to
Alvarez uses the weather as a symbol for different things throughout the novel. In one scene the weather might depict happiness, love and good fortune. However, in other scenes the weather could indicate destruction or bad luck for the Mirabal family. The descriptions of rain bring unpleasant and destructive outcomes. Alvarez describes the aftermath of Trujillo’s dinner party with a huge rainstorm that took days to go away the party ends with Minerva slapping Trujillo and leaving the party soon after. Minerva then describes in great detail the weather during the days after the party. She states “ rain is falling and night is falling in as we pass, the soil soggy with drowned seeds” the rain is a symbol of the fear that is going through the girls heads as they contemplate what Trujillo and his men could be doing to their father(116). This rain also symbolises destruction as it “destroys” things as it was falling and causes floods throughout the whole island. Another instance in which rain is used to foreshadow and symbolise something different in the novel was when the sisters were on their way to pick up their father.Alvarez writes “we’ve traveled almost the full length of the island and can report that every corner is wet” the wet and muddy grounds represents the terrible news that is soon to come to the mirabal family (117). The description of the
These hills make a girl remember all those unwanted things that can happen on hills. Hills are also the place where the girl sees the white elephants that make her realize her guilt (Loveboat 1-2). These hills are the first symbolic piece of scenery a reader notices while reading this short story. In addition, train station is the second symbol used by Hemingway. In the course of the reading, reader realizes that the train station is a junction between Barcelona and Madrid, which makes him think that it runs in both directions; backwards and forward (Loveboat 2).
The lack of rain in this piece of literature symbolizes the bitter karma the murderer had coming their way, which ultimately punished the entire town and it’s residents. Parallel to this idea, the victim’s girlfriend, Kate, is left viewing the dried up lake as a sense of hopelessness leaving her with constant thoughts of wanting
Hemingway uses many instances of symbolism in this short story to coincide with the themes and feelings of the characters, such as the description of the scenery surrounding the train station. On one side of the station there is vegetation and fields of grain, while the other side is dry and barren (Short Stories for Students 159). The fact that the station divides these contrasts of environments is a symbol for the couple’s decision. The choice to have the abortion symbolizes sterility, which coincides with
After spending some months in their snowy cabin in Switzerland, Catherine is finally just a month away from labour. The decision is made when the rain comes: “‘Let’s see how the weather turns out.’ It rained for three days. The snow was all gone now on the mountain-side below the station. The road was a torrent of muddy snow-water. It was too wet and slushy to go out. On the morning of the third day of rain we decided to go into town.” (Hemingway 263). The rain is what causes them to move into the town where Catherine dies in labour. Also, the description of the rain being so miserable gives a very melancholy feeling to the reader. Henry mentions that the rain prevented them from going out, reinforcing that rain has a direct negative effect on their lives. In the article “A Farewell to Arms”, Keith Neilson further expands on Hemingway’s use of rain: “Hemingway associates the plains and rain with death, disease, and sorrow; the mountains and the snow with life, health, and happiness. Catherine and Henry are safe and happy in the mountains, but it is impossible to remain there indefinitely. […] When Catherine and Henry descend to the city, it is, in fact, raining, and she does, in fact, die.” (Neilson 3). This further shows the rain’s foreshadowing of negative events because of how it coincides with Henry and Catherine moving to the city. Also, there are other natural symbols such as the snow, mountains, and plains that act with and against rain. Since this shift to rainy weather coincides with Catherine being a month away from going into labour, it foreshadows her and their daughter’s death at the end of the novel. In summary, rain foreshadows Catherine’s death when it coincides with Catherine being close to
“When I saw her I was in love with her. Everything turned over inside of me.” (Hemingway 91).This lead to Catherine becoming the only thing he cared about and she soon became the light of his life. He felt as if he could not live without her. Both of them want to be married but knew that the army would just split them apart and it would defeat the purpose of getting married.
Throughout the essay "The Way to Rainy Mountain", Momaday uses very descriptive words, which brings the places
At first look, Catherine Barkley, the woman from Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, appears to be an example of a dream girl. She emerges as a mindless character who asks nothing of her man and exists only to satisfy his needs. Therefore, it has been propounded that Catherine's character is demeaning to women. By analyzing the actions of only one of the characters, however, the special relationship that exists between Frederic and Catherine is overlooked. If Catherine is Hemingway's manner of demeaning women then one must also examine the manner in which Frederic is described, for he too is very dependent and dedicated to Catherine as she is to him. The mutual love between Frederic and Catherine
One of the first items the author states is that all symbolism is intentional, there are no accidents when it comes to analyzing famous literature. He describes certain authors like James Joyce and T.S. Elliot as “intentionalists” or writers who purposely try to control every part of the story through symbolism. The author Thomas Foster teaches us never to overlook anything in a novel even if it be little things like the color shirt they are wearing or what the weather is like outside. Building more off the last statement, precipitation, whilst being a little detail added into a story, holds a lot of important roles in moving the story along and even providing hardships for characters to overcome. Even more than that though, he says “It’s never just rain”, rain provides as a symbol in the story so that if someone is in the rain it’s almost as if they are being cleansed.
According to Brodskai︠a︡, N. V, “The researchers of Symbolism even sometimes called it “post-Romanticism”. Like the Romanticism of the first half of the nineteenth century, Symbolism appeared the brightest and the fullest style in the realm of literature. Nevertheless, it had penetrated the arts” From the beginning the reader is thrown in to the theme through the setting, speaking of the desolate landscape, “On this side, there was no shade or trees” and settles quickly with another symbol, “between two lines of rails in the sun” (Hemingway 176). The lack of shade and two separate tracks represents the couple’s dilemma and the choices or routes they can take; two tracks mean two choices, and they must choose between the dry heat and the “other side ...fields of grain and trees along the banks of the Ebro” (Hemingway 176). The hills that look like elephants may symbolize the elephant in the room which is the subject of the girl getting an abortion.
Momaday uses imagery to help describe the scenery in his situation. Momaday uses the words “grass belts,” “river,” to pinpoint what the Rainy Mountain has. The Rainy Mountain has all the necessities for citizens to survive in this ecosystem. There are green plants to produce oxygen to have a lasting world with oxygen. The word “river” shows cleanliness and purity because in the Native American culture, water exemplifies life and purity..
Hemingway highlights the hollowness of the relationship between Catherine and Frederic. Catherine is now pregnant with Frederic’s child yet there is no true plans for the future as a family. There is an awkwardness between them at the hotel. Catherine states she feels like a whore with the stay. Yet, is it really the stay or is it the condition that she finds herself in that makes her feel this way. Two things stick out about their relationship. The first is when Catherine tells Fredric that she is pregnant, in a by the way fashion, she comes out with the truth that she has never loved anyone. It is not overt but muddled in one of her rambles. She has gotten trapped by her own game. It is telling that Fredric does not question this and simply accepts it. The second is that in the final chapters they were speaking of each other’s
Frederic's education is enhanced by his relationship with the English nurse, Catherine Barkley, as well. Originally, Catherine is nothing more than an object of sensual desire, but as the novel progresses, Catherine becomes symbolic of Frederic's final resolution. At first Frederic views Catherine as a replacement for the boring prostitutes that he is accustomed to visiting. He takes advantage of her situation; Catherine's fiancé has been killed in the war.
There is great power in being an author; you can make things happen which do not necessarily occur in real life. Hemingway felt throughout his life, powerless, and so to escape this, he created alternative lives by writing stories. Hemingway, who fell in love with Agnes, an American nurse, seven years older than he, while wounded in Milan, was deeply hurt after she didn't return his affections. While the beginning of A Farewell to Arms, up until this point is similar, this is where the story changes. In the book, Frederic and Catherine are both in love with each other. Hemingway continued his affair with Agnes through Frederic and Catherine. He put his dreams of what his faded love affair would have been like in the love scenes between Catherine and Frederic:
The rain appears whenever complications arise in the novel. First, it appears in the war as a “permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera” (FTA, 4). When Henry promises to love Catherine, she says she is “afraid of the rain because sometimes I see me dead in it” (FTA,126). When he left her to go to war, he said goodbye and “stepped out into the rain” (FTA, 157). Finally, Henry said goodbye to a dead Catherine and “walked back to the hotel in the rain” (FTA, 332). Every time tragedy comes to Henry, it begins to rain. The rain is a constant symbol of the failure that awaits Henry. Malcom Cowley, contributor to Twentieth Century Interpretations of A Farewell to Arms, explains, “The rain becomes a conscious symbol of disaster.” Henry is always facing uncertainty with his love, which is a central part to Hemingway’s literature. Wilson even states, “The uncertainty, nevertheless, almost become a constant, the horror almost taken for granted.” Henry is always uncertain about if he made the right decision. Even in Switzerland, Henry knows “that they were still fighting” (FTA, 291). The complications and hopelessness of life always lurk in the back, constantly coming to him in the rain. The rain gives Henry the remainder that his meaning will not prevent tragedy, furthering the nihilistic belief that meaning serves no