Ernest Hemingway’s Farewell to Arms
Begin: 12/11/07
End: 12/22/07
Quality: Two out of Ten.
Reason: Reading Plan.
Genre: American Literature, War Novel.
Original Language: English.
Date of Publication: 1929.
Fog Index: N/A
Flesch Index: N/A
Flesch-Kincaid Index: N/A
Complex Words: N/A
Number: First.
Synopsis: Well, this story not only tells of Henry’s experiences as an ambulance driver in Italy during World War One but also his relationship with Catherine.
Thoughts: You know, I have always enjoyed Hemingway. I have only read a handful of his books but I have liked them all. This one I really detested. It didn’t really seem to go anywhere, other than the fact that war was bad. I also couldn’t stand the treatment of Catherine. She just didn’t seem to have any personality apart from her relations with Henry. I wanted to shake her. She is supposed to represent Hemingway’s ideal women. I have a much greater understanding for his chauvinist bullshit now. I had a hard time getting through it just because it all seemed so pointless and futile.
Some Quotes.
“There, darling. Now you’re all clean inside and out. Tell me. How many people have you ever loved?”
“Nobody.”
“Not even me?”
“Yes, you.”
“How many others really?”
“None.”
“How many have you—how do you say it?—stayed with?”
“None.”
“You’re lying to me.”
“Yes.”
“It’s all right. Keep right on lying to me. That’s what I want you to do. Were they pretty?”
Can I puke now? I mean really? Ideal women? How about a subservient robot without any spine or thoughts of her own?
"I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it. There were many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names of places had dignity. Certain numbers were the same way and certain dates and these with the names of the places were all you could say and have them mean anything. Abstract words such as glory, honor, courage, or hallow were obscene beside the concrete names of villages, the numbers of roads, the names of rivers, the numbers of regiments and the dates."
"But we were never lonely and never afraid when we were together. I know that the night is not the same as the day: that all things are different, that the things of the night cannot be explained in the day, because they do not then exist, and the night can be a dreadful time for lonely people once their loneliness has started. But with Catherine there was almost no difference in the night except that it was an even better time. If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry."
