A Farewell to Arms Essay Inevitability of Death Revealed

Inevitability of Death Revealed in A Farewell To Arms Ernest Hemingway has been greatly criticized for a supposed hatred of women that some feel is evident in his writings. One of the primary books that critics believe shows this misogynistic attitude is A Farewell To Arms. It is counterproductive to interpret the book using such a narrow focus because the author is dealing with much more profound themes. Hemingway is not concerned with the theme of gender equality, but rather with the greater themes of the inherent struggle of life and the inevitability of death. The first images of struggle and death are seen in chapter 9 when Frederic is wounded. Up to this point in the story Hemingway had portrayed a very serene,†¦show more content†¦They do not grow wise. They grow careful.(261). Hemingway seems to use the character of the Count for several purposes. The Count is a man on the cusp of death. He shows that though the body may get old and die, the spirit still lives on strong. Yet he also refutes the notion that age is wisdom. The Count is just another example of a man dealing with death, he also seems to be a vision of what Frederic will become in the future. Having left the war behind, Frederic is finally ready for peace and quiet. Hemingway, however, has other plans for his character. Catherine dies during childbirth, as does the baby. Thus, Frederic is confronted again with death. This time, however, he is unable to detach himself emotionally as he did with the deaths he witnessed in war. His neat and happy world is collapsing and there is nothing that he can do about it. The theme of the book is that all humans struggle in life and eventually die. Frederic tries to cheat this. He tries to live in a romantic world with his love, where they will never feel pain. He wants to drink all day, make love all night, and fish in the meantime. His utopia is taken away when the war hits close to home yet he does his best to remain detached. He tries once more to retreat into a romantic world with Catherine in Switzerland. Yet once again he is confronted with death. Hemingway is showing that man cannot escape his destiny. He is also showing theShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 PagesSilverman, D. (1970) The Theory of Organizations, London: Heinemann. Stern, R.N. and Barley S.R. (1996) ‘Organizations and social systems: Organization theory’s neglected mandate’, Administrative Science Quarterly 41(1):146–163. Schwandt, T.A. (1996) ‘Farewell to criteriology’, Qualitative Inquiry 2(1):58–72. T ranfield, D. and Starkey, D. (1998) ‘The nature, social organization and promotion of management research: Towards a policy’, British Journal of Management 9:341–353. Thomas A. (1997) ‘The coming