Let’s talk about Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms Obviously…
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Let’s talk about Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms
Obviously this post probably will have spoilers involved so if you haven’t read it, go to your second hand book’s store and give it a read to come back.
Having not been a reader of fiction most of my life and having just jumped on the fiction train, I decided that Hemingway was a good place to start. I haven’t done any research on what critics think of the book so I will just riff with my thoughts and see if others would like to chat about it.
1. The amount of alcohol was astounding. I’m a whisk(e)y/wine/bourbon drinker. So I’m not anti alcohol, but it seems as if ole Tenente had a drink or four in every scene. Absolutely an alcoholic.
2. He didn’t love Cat in my opinion. He desperately wanted something else to think about other than the war. He even says so himself. He wanted to love something and feel something other than soul crushing depression that the war was undoubtedly making him feel (also a reason he drank so much I’m sure.) He had strong feeling about her as a sexual object for sure, but I don’t see the actions of a man who truly loved a woman, instead a man who wanted to love something and tried to force the feelings on her.
3. Catherine was hollow and thin. I couldn’t help but shake that she embodied the perfect woman a 17 year old could come up with. Only focused on making Henry happy. She had no nuance whatsoever. She was hot and would give it. She even self admitted that she was “a little crazy” when they met. Maybe I am missing something but she just seemed like a puppy who was absolutely obsessed with Henry. Maybe she also needed something to love to ensure the war didn’t take her sanity.
4. Rinaldi was the best character by far. Baby he just cared about people baby. Going from seeing the war as an adventure of sorts, to being a shell of himself. After Henry returns to the front Rinaldi hedonistic and alcoholic coping mechanisms caused him to lose himself. In my opinion he went from a man full of life (for better or for worse) to a dead man who is just waiting for his time to die. I feel for him and although we never find out, in my mind he didn’t have syphilis, survived the retreat, got cleaned up from the alcohol, found a nice woman and opened a surgical practice.
5. The events of the ending was the universe’s way of getting its pound of flesh. Henry lost his object to love. Cat lost everything. They were supposed to fight those battles in the war, instead they fought them in a small Swiss hospital. War is so evil that even after all the events to get away from it, the loss still finds you.
Happy to hear what you all think. I’m by no means a critic and I’m sure I’ve got it all wrong. Also typed on a iPhone so please excuse the typos I’m sure are present!
#entertainment
source
Obviously this post probably will have spoilers involved so if you haven’t read it, go to your second hand book’s store and give it a read to come back.
Having not been a reader of fiction most of my life and having just jumped on the fiction train, I decided that Hemingway was a good place to start. I haven’t done any research on what critics think of the book so I will just riff with my thoughts and see if others would like to chat about it.
1. The amount of alcohol was astounding. I’m a whisk(e)y/wine/bourbon drinker. So I’m not anti alcohol, but it seems as if ole Tenente had a drink or four in every scene. Absolutely an alcoholic.
2. He didn’t love Cat in my opinion. He desperately wanted something else to think about other than the war. He even says so himself. He wanted to love something and feel something other than soul crushing depression that the war was undoubtedly making him feel (also a reason he drank so much I’m sure.) He had strong feeling about her as a sexual object for sure, but I don’t see the actions of a man who truly loved a woman, instead a man who wanted to love something and tried to force the feelings on her.
3. Catherine was hollow and thin. I couldn’t help but shake that she embodied the perfect woman a 17 year old could come up with. Only focused on making Henry happy. She had no nuance whatsoever. She was hot and would give it. She even self admitted that she was “a little crazy” when they met. Maybe I am missing something but she just seemed like a puppy who was absolutely obsessed with Henry. Maybe she also needed something to love to ensure the war didn’t take her sanity.
4. Rinaldi was the best character by far. Baby he just cared about people baby. Going from seeing the war as an adventure of sorts, to being a shell of himself. After Henry returns to the front Rinaldi hedonistic and alcoholic coping mechanisms caused him to lose himself. In my opinion he went from a man full of life (for better or for worse) to a dead man who is just waiting for his time to die. I feel for him and although we never find out, in my mind he didn’t have syphilis, survived the retreat, got cleaned up from the alcohol, found a nice woman and opened a surgical practice.
5. The events of the ending was the universe’s way of getting its pound of flesh. Henry lost his object to love. Cat lost everything. They were supposed to fight those battles in the war, instead they fought them in a small Swiss hospital. War is so evil that even after all the events to get away from it, the loss still finds you.
Happy to hear what you all think. I’m by no means a critic and I’m sure I’ve got it all wrong. Also typed on a iPhone so please excuse the typos I’m sure are present!
#entertainment
source
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