A FAREWELL TO ARMS: Part II (pgs. 79-159)
“‘I hear you are going to get the silver metal,’ Ettore said to me. ‘What kind of citation you going to get?’ ‘I don’t know. I don’t know I am going to get it.’ ‘You’re going to get it. Oh boy, the girls at the Cova will think you’re fine then. They’ll all think you killed two hundred Austrians or captured a whole trench by yourself…’ ‘How many have you got, Ettore?’ asked the vice-consul. ‘He’s got everything,’ Simmons said. ‘He’s the boy they’re running the war for.’ ‘I’ve got the bronze twice and three silver metals,’ said Ettore” (Hemingway 105).
1. While the Italians are right up against the Austrians at the Eastern front, there seems to be “no sense of danger” and a “lack of investment” displayed by the men. In the excerpt above, Ettore, almost braggingly, shares the number of metals he has been awarded. He says, quote: “‘Believe me, I got to work for my decorations… but the papers on only one have come through… When the action isn’t successful they hold up all the metals.’“
This behavior contrasts the sentiments expressed by characters in both All Quiet and Not So Quiet, where metals are of little value to the men to whom they are given. Roy Evans-Mawnington in Not So Quiet is a prime example of this: “Sometimes I think Mother would rather have a decoration than me…” (Smith 225).
It has already been expressed by multiple characters that the war holds no value to the soldiers fighting in it. Do you think the men engage in this “competition” in order to motivate themselves to keep returning to the front?
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“He said that we were all cooked but we were alright as long as we did not know it. We were all cooked. The thing was not to recognize it. The last country to realize they were cooked would win the war” (Hemingway 116).
“‘This war is killing me,’ Rinaldi said, ‘I am very depressed by it.’ He folded his hand over his knee. ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘What’s the matter? Can’t I even have human impulses?’ ‘No. I can see you have been having a fine time'” (Hemingway 146).
2. The “willful ignorance,” with regards to the war, practiced by the men is also adopted by Paul and his comrades in All Quiet. Is this a coping mechanism? By acknowledging the war, does it gain power over you?
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“‘Come over here please,’ Catherine said. The flatness was all gone out of her voice. ‘Come over, please. I’m a good girl again.’ I looked over at the bed. She was smiling. I went over and sat on the bed beside her and kissed her. ‘You’re my good girl'” (Hemingway 133).
“‘You’re a nice boy,’ she said. ‘And you play it as well as you know how. But it’s a rotten game.’ ‘Do you always know what people think?’ ‘Not always. But I do with you. You don’t have to pretend you love me. That’s over for the evening. Is there anything you’d like to talk about?’ ‘But I do love you.’ ‘Please let’s not lie when we don’t have to. I had a very fine little show and I’m all right now” (Hemingway 27).
3. It can be argued that Cat is a “static character” used by Hemingway as an index of Henry’s “maturation” throughout the novel. However, in the excerpt above, Catherine seems to have checked her behavior in order to remain appealing to Henry. This is a contradiction to her behavior in the first few chapters within the novel, where she appears to be “hot & cold” and looks to Henry solely for his professions of love. What do you make of this change? Do you think there is one? Do you think it has anything to do with her pregnancy?
To answer your first question, we talked about this in the class of hoe FD since he was an American he did not put as much effort as the rest of the soldiers because he believes that he will not die since he feels as if it is not his battle to fight for.
1-To answer this question, you have to try and put yourself in the shoes of these men. The military is a lonely and difficult place and your fellow soldiers become a second family. The experience of combat binds men together in a common goal, which is not always a victorious end. Sometimes just staying alive is the victory. In an environment like that the war holds no value and glory becomes a ridiculous notion. This is the disillusionment of ongoing warfare.
The military is famous for its “hurry-up and wait” atmosphere and I think all this talk of medals and decorations is really a distraction. I know how I felt about my buddies in the Marine Corps and each of us had various levels of decorations but for the most part it was to impress the civilians, we did not need to impress each other because we were all in the same boat.
2-The “willful ignorance” seem to be a coping mechanism and I can understand it well. When facing a very difficult situation and the prospect of ongoing stress, I think most people either make light of the thing or ignore it. During the early months of the pandemic when we had so little understanding about COVID-19, I stayed at home and sometimes had to turn off the news. The fear and ignorance was at its worst and some days was just overwhelming. There were times that I just had to “switch off”. I think that by doing that, I did not let my fear overcome me and that is exactly what these men are doing in AFTA.
3-Catherine has never been my favorite character because I feel like Hemingway’s misogyny really shows in the way he crafts the dialogue. AFTA seems to be Frederic Henry’s story and Catherine is almost an accessory. She could have been written with so much more depth and complexity.
Hemingway fell in love with a nurse during his wartime service as an ambulance driver. He was wounded and returned to the US fully expecting her join him and marry. Unfortunately, she spurned him and married an officer. I think he was bitter about this youthful experience and that is why he made Catherine such a “flat” character.
3) I can agree with the majority of the class that Catherine is not my favorite character in this novel (I honestly don’t know if I have a favorite character in this novel at all). I think Hemingway could have done so much more with Catherine’s character though and she could’ve had better character development. Catherine is a pretty bland character so far through what we’ve read and this will probably stay consistent for her character through the end. I don’t know if this moment was a change but rather maybe just questioning Henry in this news of her pregnancy? Overall it’s pretty obvious Hemingway just threw in Catherine as a female character that is a simple subplot romance theme.
3) I agree with Hayley on this one. After reading this particular section, I grew to dislike every character in some way (something I unfortunately don’t have the space to elaborate on), but Catherine is one that makes me the most upset. I know there’s the whole “product of its time” argument, but god, bad female representation drives me out of my mind. Even in this moment, Cat is still moldable, still susceptible to whatever someone else tells her. She’s still relying on Henry to basically tell her how she feels about herself. Part of this might change with her pregnancy (I’m really hoping it does), but even after this moment, she’s still a marker for Henry’s maturity, or really lack thereof.
#2. I definitely believe the soldiers in both books detached theirselves from the war in an attempt to cope with the horrors that stem from it. However, the detachment in both books differs as in AQWF it is absolutely necessary to detach oneself from the war in order to survive because they are experiencing life on the front while in A Farewell to Arms the detachment is more of a choice because the men were less involved/associated with the war.