The Symbolism of Water in A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is based largely on Hemingway's own personal experiences. The main character of the book, Frederic Henry experiences many of the same situations that Hemingway experienced. Some of these experiences are exactly the same, while some are less similar, and some events have a completely different outcome.

 Water represents Sethe's transition from slavery to freedom. Sethe left Sweet Home pregnant with Denver, "and ran off with no one's help" (p.224). She ran scared and fearful of the trackers following her trail.  Sethe met Amy Denver, a white women, on her way to Ohio.  Amy helped Sethe find the Ohio River.  The river was "one mile of dark water...[and] it looked like home to her and the baby"(p.83).  When Amy left, Sethe traveled downstream and met Stamp Paid.  He helped her and Denver cross the river to freedom.  Stamp took Sethe upstream, "and just when she thought he was taking her back to Kentucky, he [Stamp Paid] turned the flatbed and crossed the Ohio like a shot" (p.91).  The river locked away the memories of Sweet Home and began her life with Denver at 124.   Water represents the transition of Sethe's slave life to her life of freedom.  Again, water has cleansed the soul of the sin of slavery. The river is now a barrier.  It separates Sethe's life of slavery, to her new life of freedom.

The rain is the key of the story making everything feel sad, nervous and curious. The author tries to create as horrific a setting as possible. In the quote, “March rain drilling his jacket and drilling his body and washing away the blood that poured from his open wound.” makes me feel spooked. I can imagine a person lying on his side with blood spilling out, washing away by the rain creating a red puddle. For example, if Andy was lying in a field of grasses, with no clouds, clear blue sky and the sun brightly shining, I will would not feel as frightened reading the story. The rain was also a good thing as it helped Andy remember the good moments in his life, in the lines, “The rain was soothing somehow”, “Rain is sweet, I'm Andy” these lines tell me Andy is realising he’s dying that’s when he remembers the time he danced in the rain with Laura. He wants to forget about the gang ‘Royal’ but only think of Laura in the last few moments before dying. In these moments time seems slow and painful because the rhythm of the rain, there Andy’s having regrets about joining the gang who cost him his life. He thinks about how young he was and the life he wanted to live in the future. His whole face and body are hot but it’s cooled by the raindrops symbolising how much Andy loves the rain and thinks it’s soothing thing washing away his blood and accepting he’s dying

    There are two major themes in A Farewell to Arms that Hemingway clearly conveys: war and love. The war theme is obvious because the book is set during the World War. The theme of love is less obvious, it begins faintly because of the uncertainty between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley. Neither desire love or commitment to anyone, but act upon their desires of passion. As the story progresses, so does their love. The strength of their love is enforced by various understandings and agreements. Love is the theme that closes the book, leaving a final allusion of what their love is about.

He had just suffered a major loss and dealt with it in the only way that he knew; through alcohol. Although drinking at this point was not actually mentioned directly, we can nevertheless assume that he was going to make this connection just because of the setting in the rain. This book had many examples of symbolism and they all point to the fact that there is always a terrible price to pay for weak actions or for blind love.

Gene moves away from the Devon River, still making his way to the Crew House. He spots the Naguamsett River, a river far dirtier than the Devon River. Gene says, “It [The Naguamsett] was ugly, saline, fringed with marsh, mud, and seaweed… Its movements were governed by unimaginable forces like the Gulf Stream…” (76). The Naguamsett, as Gene describes it, is filthy, impure, and commanded by outside forces. Just as the Naguamsett has been soiled by uncontrollable forces, the fate of Gene’s innocence is determined by the unruly war. This represents a connection between the dirty water of the Naguamsett, and the forces that threaten to strip Gene of his innocence. Later in the story, during the winter session, water is used as a symbol in its frozen state. At the start of the winter session, Gene says, “In the same way the war, beginning almost humorously… commenced its invasion of the school. The early snow was commandeered as its advanced guard” (93). Gene, in his own mind, compares the snow of the depressing winter session with the start of the war. In this situation, the snow acts as a symbol for the war. War will effectively strip Gene of his innocence, just as the winter session will strip him of his summer session freedom. Dirty water and snow symbolize forces which threaten to strip

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.

In stanza four, “there is still some water left over” alludes that the friendship of the persona and their company will endure and the strength of it will be enough to “refresh them”, even though their time is limited. Harwood comments on the use of the water motif in “Lamplit presences”; “In “At Mornington”, elements of the past, present and future are used in images of water…the first source of the flux of life: the water of the infinity of death”. The concept of the water motif alludes to the ________ of death and rebirth, and of the transitional stages of life. At the beginning of the poem, water represents the innocence of childhood, toying with the childish belief that life is infinite, displaying the persona as a child being saved by her father and tossed amongst the waves; “…and was caught by a wave and rolled/ like a doll among rattling shells/ and I seem to remember my father/ fully clothed, still streaming of water/half comforting, half angry”. Towards the end of the poem, the water is seen as a method of redemption and death, depicting the persona introspectively alluding to their acceptance of death; “…and when I am seized at last/ and rolled in one grinding race/ of dreams, pain, memories, love and grief/ from which no hand will save me…” This central motif of water, and its

In the chapter “On the Rainy River”, the title itself expresses sadness, grief, and or pain because rain displays emotions and the mood feelings. In the beginning of the chapter, he was as an innocent young

“I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain.” from “Acquainted with the Night” shows the depression of the character because most of us relate to rain as an emotional moment and makes us feel vulnerable. When it rains, the whole atmosphere becomes very gloomy and sad, and the author is trying to express the characters sadness.

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

Ernest Hemingway wrote A Farewell to Arms, a celebrated historical fiction, amidst a time of war and personal suffering. Hemingway believed at this time that “life is a tragedy that can only have one end” (Hemingway, VIII). He continues further, calling war a “constant, bullying, murderous, slovenly crime” (Hemingway, IX). Hemingway also suffered at home, in addition to his issues regarding the state of the world. His wife had just endured a difficult pregnancy and delivery, which contributed to the last bitter chapter of his story. Keeping in mind the tortured and surly mental state of Hemingway, it is difficult to swallow the idea that he would write a wholesome, well founded love story that attracts people. To some readers, A Farewell to Arms tells of a whirlwind romance between an ambulance driver and a nurse that is based on an unbreakable foundation of love, trust, magnetism, and compassion. Anxious modernists, like Trevor Dodman who are cited in Joel Armstrong’s nonfiction text, will come up with a remarkably different outlook on this tragedy. With aid from “‘A Powerful Beacon’ Love Illuminating Human Attachment in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms”, the loveless relationship between Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley will be seen as rushed, meaningless, and mentally destructive to the parties involved.

Survival, both its temporary means and its ultimate permanence, is certainly a theme throughout this story, and the river is the most obvious metaphorical representation. Among the undulant hillsides, the river remains steady

In Big Two Hearted River, Ernest Hemingway used his own experiences he had during the war and the issues he had when injured in the war. As soon as Nick stepped off the train the reader could feel the disappointment that Nick had and the understanding that he was a troubled soul. At the same time this was Nick’s way to treat himself by staying close to nature and the simpler things in life. No matter how happy Nick would get he would continue to have flashbacks of things he has done and friends he has lost along the way. Throughout the short story by Hemingway, Nick will continue to move through his problems from the war by camping and catch his food from the river and the reader will be able to see Nicks pain and happiness.

In Ernest Hemingway’s fiction book A Farewell to Arms the reader follows protagonist Frederic Henry through his continuously winding journey. This colorful wartime book possesses many themes, but contrary to the idea hinted behind Joel Armstrong's literary criticism “‘A Powerful Beacon’ Love Illuminating Human Attachment in Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms” love is not the central theme of the book. The topic that does reoccur and therefore proposes itself as the central principle, however, is the idea associated behind the process of healing from pain. In the book, both Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley had to fight against pain during the times when Barkley loses her first lover, when Henry suffers from the trench mortar trauma, and when Henry bids farewell to the dying Barkley.