SHORT ANSWERS - A FAREWELL TO ARMS BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY

SHORT ANSWERS 

A FAREWELL TO ARMS BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Answer the following questions.

(i) What is the meaning of the title 'A Farewell to Arms'?
Ans. There are two straightforward interpretations of the title "A Farewell to Arms", with a pun on the word "Arms". The hero, Frederick Henry, bids farewell to 'arms' as in weapons, and also, when Catherine dies, to the loving 'arms' of a human being.
(ii) What is Hemingway's opinion about war?
Ans. Hemingway thinks that war is a setting in which the qualities of discipline, competence and masculinity are constantly on display. However, war is a senseless waste of life. It is a fundamentally unjust atrocity from which people want to escape at all costs. Moreover, victory and defeat are meaningless terms.
(iii) How does love affect the characters' perception of war?
Ans. Lovers hate war. As the love between Henry and Catherine grows stronger and more legitimate, Henry abandons the army. Lovers nurture a desire of home and structured relations, therefore they dislike war which tends to break down the normally held structures of traditional relationships, to the point where doctrines such as marriage lose meaning and prostitution becomes the order of the day.
(iv) What is the role of foreshadowing in 'A Farewell to Arms'?
Ans. Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. The role of foreshadowing in 'A Farewell to Arms' is to build anticipation in the minds of readers about what might happen next and thus adding dramatic tension to the story. For example, rain has been used to foreshadow bad events in the future.
(v) What kind of weather dominates the novel 'A Farewell to Arms'?
Ans. Rainy weather dominates the novel 'A Farewell to Arms'. Rain symbolizing bad events and death is presented to the reader in the first chapter and is repeated throughout the entire novel. Although snowy weather has also been presented, it is the dominant one.
(vi) What do lowlands and mountains symbolize in 'A Farewell to Arms'?
Ans. The novel is crowded with the description of places. They all have their symbolism in the novel. Among the places, the lowlands and mountains are two important symbols in the story. The lowlands symbolize distraction, corruption, death and war. And the mountains symbolize peace, happiness, family, love and purity.
(vii) What does wine symbolize in 'A Farewell to Arms'?
Ans. Like everything in the novel, wine is a complicated business. Most of the men in the novel drink wine constantly. And often, when they do, wine seems to represent survival. Wine also represents a momentary respite from the pressure of war. Moreover, wine symbolizes spring, rebirth, art, fertility, sexual freedom and orgiastic divine ecstasy.
(viii) What are the major conflicts in 'A Farewell to Arms'?
Ans. (i) Love and war are a dangerous combination.
(ii) Henry's love for Catherine cannot quell his innate restlessness.
(iii) Reconciliation with reality is an unattainable as reconciliation with inner desire.
(ix) What is the 'Lost Generation' in 'A Farewell to Arms'?
Ans. The "Lost Generation" was the generation that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Hemingway, who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel "The Sun Also Rises". In "A Farewell to Arms", Hemingway describes "lost generation" through the character of Frederic Henry who thinks war is a senseless waste of life.
(x) Interpret 'I'm not brave anymore darling. I'm all broken. They've broken me.'
Ans. Catherine experiences a protracted and agonizing childbirth in the hospital. Henry encourages her to be brave but she is dejected because she is broken by 'they'. It is not clear who the 'they' is that she is talking about. Perhaps she is talking about people in her past, of whom no one knows. 'They' could be Catherine's personification of the abstract forces working against her.
(xi) How is Frederic Henry?
Ans. Fredrick Henry is the narrator and protagonist of the novel "A Farewell to Arms" by Hemingway. He is a young American ambulance driver in the Italian army during World War I. He displays courage in battle, but his selfless motivations undermine all sense of glory and heroism. His life lacks real passion until he meets the beautiful Catherine Barkley.
(xii) Why is Frederic Henry in the ambulance service instead of a combat unit like the soldier from Pittsburgh?
Ans.  "A Farewell to Arms" is semi-autobiographical novel. When Hemingway turned eighteen he tried to enlist in the army, but was deferred because of poor vision. When he heard the Red Cross was taking volunteers as ambulance drivers in World War I. he quickly signed up. That is why the hero of Hemingway i.e. Frederic Henry is in the ambulance service instead of a combat unit.
(xiii) What type of rifle does Frederic has? What country is it from?
Ans. Frederic has a sniper rifle. It is a man-portable, high precision, shoulder-fired rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer rangers than other small arms. The rifle of Frederic is from Austria.
(xiv) Why does Frederic Henry plunge into the river The Tagliamento?
Ans. Frederic is arrested by Italian army, tied to a tree and about to be shot when he breaks free and escapes to the relative safety of the water. He plunges into Tagliamento river, where he hold onto a log. Fredric's plunge into the river is seen by many as a baptism.
(xv) How is Henry wounded after he crawls out of the river? 
Ans. When Henry crawls out of the river, he attempts to hide on a train to Milan. In the attempt, he cuts his head.

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar