Sending out a friendly reminder into blogworld...Please post your five genius insights for Their Eyes Were Watching God by midnight on July 5th. If anyone misses the deadline, still post to receive a late grade. Thanks for the thought-provoking comments on novel #1; there is a lot to be gained from reading your blog posts. You are offering your interpetations, posing questions, and building on the ideas of others, and it's a wonderful thing to see - keep up the great work!
As you finish Hurston and are feeling the inevitable sadness that comes with saying goodbye to a great novel, fear not! When one book closes, another opens (or something like that...) :). Farewell for now, Hurston, hello Hemingway! As you sip your mango lemonade from a coconut on the beach, here are some things to think about for A Farewell to Arms:
*What tone is set at the beginning of the novel?
*How would you describe Hemingway's style? Are you a fan?
*What are your impressions of the narrator? Is he reliable? What are his attitudes toward war?
*How can you tell the narrator likes the priest? How do others treat him? Why?
*What do you think of the lieutenant's relationship with Miss Barkley? Why does she slap him? Why does he say he loves her? What does he mean, "This was a game, like bridge..."? How does he really feel about her?
*What happens to Henry at Plava?
*What countries are involved in the war at this time?
As always, feel free to respond to the above ideas, or post your own ideas, interpretations, and questions as you read.
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I just started Hemingway's Farwell to Arms. Hemingway uses imagery all over to describe everything happening and all the surroundings. He really does paint a picture in my mind as I read. I think the tone in the beginning of the book is kind of depressing with the constant talk about the battle going on. I am interested to read more into this book however.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Heartz I am a bit confused because the Honors Eniglish 11 Summer Requirements packet I picked up from the counseling office says that the blog posts for Their Eyes Were Watching God are due July 8th, but you put above that they were due July 5th. I was just wondering what date is actually correct?
ReplyDeleteMrs. Heartz, I have been on vacation for the past week and just got home. The packet says that posts need to be posted by the 8th so I didn't think that my vacation would interfere. So with the new July 5th date i was unable to post any comments. Is there any way I won't receive a late grade? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Heartz, I noticed that on the packet it says the blog posts for Their Eyes Were Watching God were due the 8th so I thought I would be fine to go on vacation. On vacation I was unable to get ahold of a computer, so I'm just confused on when the due date is.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Heartz, I too was going by the packet and it says July 8th. I really need to that time, so if you could please clear that up so I will know if I am going to lose points. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Heartz, let me be the first to say the packet has a different deadline than the blog. Did anyone else notice? Just Kidding. I figured I'd check the blog before I posted but I'm not done with the book yet. I’m really close to the end but I have a comment on something I just read. On page eight I think Pheoby is saying "It's hard for me to understand what you mean, de way you tell it." My thoughts exactly. I understand that even upper class whites talked like that in the south, and I also understand that someone would write things down the way they speak if that was the only way they had ever talked. But why in Science’s name would a rewrite never have gone through to assist modern day students and readers? It’s not like the poor speech is remotely significant to the plot, so why not do away with it? As a student, I feel as though I’m missing out because of the writing style. I don’t feel any compassion towards the characters and feel as though the plot is inconsequential. This book has received a lot of hype from experts like Oprah Winfrey and Halle Berry, so there is obviously an intense story I just can’t perceive. After all, would the media publicize a terrible book for easy money? I don’t think so.
ReplyDeleteRyan i agree 100 percent with you on the point that the dialect used for the book is very poor and is distracting from the reading. But i have to disagree with your idea of this book being a literary classic first off just because celebrities say a good word about it doesn't make it good and also the book is does not have a consistent story line, in the beginning it seemed to me like it starts off with the main character as an old lady with her friend. Then it goes back to her childhood with out any good transition. After that the book seems to branch off in unimportant subplots like when the book just focuses the life of the donkey, COME ON PEOPLE!!!!! Talking about a donkey for almost a whole chapter when it has no apparent ties to the storyline, plot, or any main characters detracts from the book. Unless some one can enlighten me on this i cannot agree with this book being any good.
ReplyDeleteim totally confused on what to do with this blogging thing, no offence but i personally feel it is a waste of time, because information relaying takes too long but its prob just me because i dont use my computer much and dont know what im doing.
ReplyDeleteokay. So I seriously just wrote my entire comment only to realize that i had not previously made an account on this website to be eligible to comment blogs. Of course my entire comment was just deleted. Furthermore, I was led to believe by the packet that these five comments or questions were due by the 8th of July. Sorry, hahaha griping is done. I find this book to be an interesting read simply because of the author's brilliant interpretation of the southern dialogue that the charactors in the book exhibit.
ReplyDeleteAs far as emotional, metaphorically deep books go, this one is actually fairly engaging to me. Once I completed the daunting hurdle that was the first couple pages, the book seemed to read fairly smoothly. I just had to get a grasp upon who was thinking what and who was who. once that was out of the way, I sometimes caught myself enjoying select parts and messages that "Their Eyes" had to offer.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main things that really had stuck out to me in this book was the heavy use of metaphors and similes. For example, back in chapter two it reads, "Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with things suffered, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the barnches." To me that seemed like a very powerful simile describing Janie as the tree, and the leaves that she blossoms were all of the different things that she enjoys and dislikes, and her accomplishments and aspirations. But were they portrayed to (symbolically) be held within place by death and birth? Or simply progression and failure?
ReplyDeleteSo having read this, many a times I have questioned to myself how many of the minor stories within the book really have much of a meaning to the main plot at all! Such as what Zack has mentioned above, did describing in that much detail the life of an donkey play that much relevance to the main story the author was trying to convey? Or was it some sort of bizzarro anecdotal story that related into something more?
ReplyDeleteAll in all, this book to me was a good read. It was quite hard to get into in the beginning, but when I started getting farther in it, I began to get more enveloped within its storyline. The deep metaphorical messages actually had meaning to me, and they have partially changed the way that i look at many things in my life.
ReplyDeleteZach, I was obviously joking about the celebrity thing, I would never think a book was good just because a celebrity said so because I know they’re only saying these things because they’re paid to. If you couldn’t tell by my post let me clarify that I thought this book was garbage. Maybe it has some kind of cultural significance, but I’m neither a female living in the 1930’s nor an African American, and there isn’t a plot interesting enough to supplement this fact. Ninety percent of the book is just her doing everyday things and whining about how she can’t fulfill her dreams. It was awful and cruel how woman were treated back then, and being African American only intensified this, but I find the topic very depressing and honestly overdone since so many of the books we read in English class are about racism and domestic violence. Writing a book to show the evils of racial cruelty is a good thing, and kids need to learn at an early age about tolerance of other cultures, but would a plot be that difficult to introduce?
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for writing so many negative things about this book, so there was one part that I really liked. After Janie kills Tea Cake he bites her. BITES HER! I have never laughed so hard in my life as when this happened. The author did such a terrible job making his death tragic, and just to make sure the scene ended on a stupid note Tea Cake bit her. Why? What was the significance? But the real stain on this book is that donkey. More text was given to the death of an insignificant dumb animal than to the main character’s one true love. Only a paragraph after she “pried the dead Tea Cake’s teeth from her arm” the focus is already shifted to her being in jail. Janie holds a funeral for him, but honestly I was too traumatized to pay any real attention, and what good is a little sentiment so long after his death?
ReplyDeleteJust from reading the first chapter of the A farewell to arms You can tell that Hemingway is very descriptive writer. You really don't get an introduction to any of the characters but a lot of imagery of where the book takes place what the surroundings are.
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry but I just can’t get over the festering diarrhea dump that is this book. Why, when she found Tea Cake’s revolver did she just twirl the cylinder around like a little baby? Why not dump the cartridges like she did with the rest of the ammo? If it was clip fed would she take spare ammo, take it apart, pull the powder out, put everything back together, eat the powder so he wouldn’t know and put them in so that she would still have three shots to get away? That would make more sense than what she actually did. What an idiot. How about a better idea, take the gun! "Oh if he sees me take the bullets he’ll be soooooooo mad!" What? Why does it matter? He’s going to kill you and if he gets mad take him out back like Old Yeller. What’s he going to do, shoot you with one of the two guns that he doesn’t have? That really makes my brain strain I mean what was she thinking? If anything she wanted him killed. After all, she was the one that got him bit by that dog. She probably thought that if she tried to climb onto the floating cow she could get the dog to bite Tea Cake, and she made sure that Tea Cake would have the opportunity to attack her, giving her reason to kill him. It was all a scheme, now that would have made a good book. Maybe that was the book. She did have a reputation for leaving dead husbands. Why have only three people commented yet? Seems like everyone’s cutting it pretty close.
ReplyDeleteSince I’m so sure there’s something I’m not getting about this book I went ahead and started reading the foreword. I think I understand a little more why this book is popular. In the beginning, this book was dismissed because it was too fictitious and based on African Americans. Publishers “had difficulty believing that such a town as Eatonville” could be real. So I think the book was picked up just to spite the publishers for being so racist, something I can really respect. However, I still don’t understand the novel’s attraction. In 1987, the fiftieth anniversary of the book’s first publication, some reviewer named Doris Grumbach said that Zora Neale Hurston would have been shocked to see that Their Eyes were watching God was proclaimed “the finest black novel of its time” and “one of the finest of all time.” Tell you what, I was shocked when I heard that too, just maybe not in the same way. I’ve read a few black novels, and I liked a lot of them, so why do people think this one is so good? Fun fact, two famous black novels are called Push and Knowing, coincidentally these are the names of two movies coming out soon; one starring Nicolas Cage the other starring that girl from the horse movie, and are coming out on the same day in a joint effort. They even appear in each other’s commercials. I don’t think they have anything to do with the books, but what are the odds?
ReplyDeleteEvan, i agree that this book definately has an array of good metaphors and is very deep. I also agree with you when you say in the beginning the book is rough but finally gets easy and more interesting as the book goes on. Ryan i agree with you on ur points of saying that this book is on a lower level of the scale because its almost completely un-relatable and for a book to be of "high literary merit" the book should have timelessness at least and some relatability. I think even at this point and time african american women would not be able to relate to this book except for fact of being african american.
ReplyDeleteAlthough i felt that the book was not of a high literary level the book had some good points. Such as towards the end when Janie finally defends herself instead of being walked all over, although she does end up killing her husband, who by the way, had a ridiculous name "Tea Cake". I also thought it was interesting when Janie was with her second husband and they moved to eatonville how much he improved the town in such a short time.
ReplyDeleteRyan i agree with you this that this book's attraction is somewhat absurd and im not trrying to be racist here but i just noticed that both celebrities, that according to ryan, supported this book are african american and female. I just feel that this book is being propped up by people who try to get their fame by trying to help struggling people who haven't gotten their ten seconds of fame like the author of this book who obviously had a "swing-and-a-miss" with this book.
ReplyDeleteRyan your comments about this book have to be the most outrageous and controversial i know this book is bad, but a festering diarrhea?, thats taking it too far in my mind this book shouldn't be read by an honors class, except to see if you can understand the book by reading in southern dialect which is retarded, sorry if I offended anyone by using that word, but your just going to have to live with it im going to that word a lot in class so tell me now if you don't like it. Also Ryan your "old yeller" comment was funny but the reason she didn'e use logic is because it made for a better story if she didn't take the gun so thaat way janie and tea cake could have their showdown, which by the way, wasn't as climatic as i thought it woulda been but oh well thats what you get with a crappy book
ReplyDeleteHemingway writes kind of straight forward, terse sentences. It seems very direct, which makes the story seem clear, but I don't know if I'm a big fan of the way he writes because it seems a lot of the art of writing bunches of adjectives for description and feeling is missing from his work. In another sense, his prose seems like e.e.cummings short poetry, which is artful in its own sense, so I guess it's just his own style, and he manages projecting what he wants understood pretty well.
ReplyDeleteOk now that Ryan and Zach have discussed how much the book sucks, was there anyone that actually liked it??
ReplyDeleteLietenant Henry doesn't seem like a really great guy in the beginning of the novel -- he doesn't seem to care so much about her personality than her physical form. She seemed kind of gullible at first too, because they knew each other for like 3 days and she wanted to know if he loved her. At least she realized later in the conversation that he was lying, but it seems a little early to ask something like that. Maybe that's how things were in that time?
ReplyDeleteI have read the book, and in the beginning was very undecided about both Henry and Catherine. It confused me when Rinaldi was the one who was interested in Catherine first and just stepped aside for Henry. Catherine seemed still stuck on her old fiance and uninterested in cultivating any sort of relationship with Henry. Also, Henry immediately notices her long and beautiful hair which became an important symbol in both our novels.
ReplyDeleteOops- I just got back home and see the mistake about the two deadlines. We'll definitely go with the later one, July 8th, as was written in your packet. Thanks for the thought-provoking comments and insights! Can't wait to meet you all in the fall.
ReplyDeleteI also find that Catherine is a very interesting character. She seems very uninterested into Henry in the beginning and slapped him for trying to kiss her. Then as they see each other more and more she begins to warm up to him and ask him if he loves her. It threw me the most however, when she told Henry how much she loved her fiance who died at war, but then it appears she totally forgot. I like the book but I don't know if I would call it my favorite yet.
ReplyDeleteMy first impression on A Farwell to Arms was favorable. I like the style of Hemmingway’s writing because it paints a picture in my mind. I agree with Robin that the beginning of the book is a little depressing because he is talking about the battle surrounding his home. Having read the first four chapters has really intrigued me to find out what is going to happen next.
ReplyDeleteYou can kind of tell the narrator likes the priest because when he was supposed to be in Italy with the priest's family and forgot, he truly felt bad. He also seems to sincerely listen to the priest, which most of the other guys don't. I think the other guys treat the priest badly because they're soldiers during wartime and they don't really want to take the priest seriously, who seems kind of like an outsider to them.
ReplyDeleteIs it just me or does Catherine seem crazy?! When Henry and her first meet their conversation seemed strained and awkward, yet he is still very interested in her. Not only that but his friend has been talking about how he is in love with her! At least there was no conflict between the two friends. Then she smacks Henry for trying to kiss her, but then lets him a second later? Then she's making him say that he loves her though she later admits that she knew he didn't mean it and tells him to stop saying it. I don't that she has the best moral standards either, I think that Henry and her got a little, Im sorry, WAY to friendly on their first date. When Henry says that its like a game, I think he means that he knows he has to act a certain way to get what he wants. He even said that he thought she was a little crazy! If anyone reads this, im a little confused... do we have to post five comments per book in the novel, or five comments through out the whole novel?
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think Henry and Catherine's relationship is awkward at first. Henry is always asking for Catherine at the hospital, but most of the time she's busy. When Catherine aked Henry if he really loved her, Henry would say he did but he really didn't. When Catherine gave Henry her Saint Anthony necklace, Henry said that he would take good care of it, but in the end after he was injured, Henry lost the Saint Anthony. I don't Henry and Catherine love eachother right away, but it seems like they will later in the book.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten through a few chapters of A Farewell to Arms and I agree that Hemingway's style is very descriptive and straight-forward. The descriptions that I've been drawn to, like the one about the artillery flashes making it seem like a summer storm but how the chill in the air proved it otherwise, are the ones that are simple and yet great observations that I hadn't really thought about before. However, because Hemingway uses so much description throughout his story, I find it a bit distracting at times when it's used in excess. I haven't really gotten attached to Henry as a main character yet, since he seems like a man of few words and hasn't shown much personality. He's sort of stale to me. I immediately liked Rinaldi, though. He came off as light-hearted and fun, and I loved how obsessed he was with Miss. Barkley (I thought it was sweet :D). Henry and Rinaldi definately seem to have a strong friendship. There is some playful banter between the two and a sense of loyalty; Henry initially went along with Rinaldi's infatuation with Catherine and went to help him out, but then it switched to Rinaldi backing off from the situation because he saw that Miss. Barkley liked Henry better, and without any anger or tension. Catherine seems hung up on her late fiance and looks at her situation harshly, making remarks about her fiance (some detailing how he was killed; possibly her way of toughening herself up about it?), what could have been, and what she would have done differently had she known he was going to die. Her conversation with Henry seemed awkward mostly because of her struggle with coping and because of Henry's few-worded replies. But in his defense, I don't think I'd really know what to say either if some stranger vented to me their thoughts on their loved one's death.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren about Henry being sort of stale and somewhat boring. I finished the first book of the novel and I still find him very uninteresting. Rinaldi seems like the best friend that everyone wants. I love how he always calls Henry baby. I feel that Hemingway's style is very descriptive, but as Lauren was saying, sometimes it is just too descriptive and I feel like it is just a mess and it's all over the place. Especially the last chapter of the first book, it is so choppy I felt as though I wasn't even reading a novel, but a writing by a first grader. Although Catherine is not my favorite, she at least brought some excitement to the story. Most of the book was all war, which I understand is one of the main focuses of the book, but I felt like it just dragged and all it was was Henry getting his legs practically blown up, Rinaldi trying to get him a silver medal, and Henry getting drunk all the time. Im hoping the next book has a little more depth to it.
ReplyDeleteI just finished up book one of Hemingway's A Farewell to arms. I find it sort of clever to cut a novel up into little books. Book one was based around giving details, literally everything was described to a T! My thought is that it was so descriptive that it made me bored!At least Henry and Catherine's relationship spiced things up a bit!
ReplyDeleteAfter Henry and Catherine first meet, Rinaldi says how she seems to like Henry more than she likes him. It confused me because Rinaldi didn’t seem to care even after he had said that he loved Catherine and wanted to marry her. Catherine seems nice but also comes off like she might be crazy. When Henry tries to kiss Catherine she slaps him. I think that she slapped him because before he kissed her she told him not to and he tried to kiss her anyways. After she slapped him, she told him that she would be glad to kiss him. Then she started crying and asked him if he would be good to her. This whole conversation that they had seemed strange and awkward to me. It was also strange when Catherine asked Henry if he loved her and he told her that he did even though he didn’t. I think that even though they have an awkward relationship now, things will become more natural between them as get to know each other better.
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to like Catherine a bit more - not too much though, she's still a bit of a nutter. I do like the fact that she tested Henry when she had him telling her he loved her. Clever girl, catching on to his ways very quickly. She also said that she wasn't crazy, only sometimes, so I figured that all of the freaky antics she had just pulled fit into that, but now I wonder when she is actually being crazy. She's quite confusing. And I love Rinaldi even more every time he makes an appearance; Jenny was spot-on when she described him as the perfect friend! I hope that he doesn't end up being killed or something (seeing as how this is a war novel), but I've been picking up on a few things here and there that make me suspicious. Early on when Henry was talking about having to carry a gun with him, he said that he actually carried one but that Rinaldi stuffed his holster. Then there was the exchange at the hospital of, "Why don't I get wounded?"/"Maybe you will." There's going to have to be some sort of other conflict in the story at some point since it can't just be Henry whining about being in the hospital for another 3 parts of the novel. Perhaps Catherine will die instead? I would be much more okay with her getting killed off... And the joking remark that Rinaldi made about Henry with the priest, he meant a gay relationship, right? Haha, I just wanted to make sure that I understood it right :D I'm starting to like Henry a bit more as the story goes on and his personality comes out. I've also warmed up a bit to Hemingway's descriptions, maybe because I've been able to concentrate better while I'm reading or because there is less description of the environment.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading book one I must admit there were a lot of rough patches that bored me, but the relationship between Catherine and Henry kept me interested. Hemmingway’s style of writing is so descriptive that I found myself loosing interest in what I was reading. As others have said before, I must agree Catherine is rather odd at times. As I was reading I noticed Rinaldi calls Henry baby every time he says his name. It’s kind of funny but strange at the same time. I am assuming it shows they have a close friendship.
ReplyDeleteSo far, after having read the first ten or so chapters in "Farewell" I have been pulled in, and I'm actually interested in reading the book! Ernest Hemmingway does an absolutely fantastic job with descriptions and details in his writing. It is as if he is painting a picture right into my head. -Evan Madden
ReplyDeleteI finished A Farewell To Arms last week and it was a bit confusing to me.The language can be hard to understand. Sometimes Hemingway uses short sentences and it's confusing. I found something very ironic about the Saint Anthony necklace that Catherine gave Henry. She said it was supposed to be useful but Henry got wounded and he lost the necklace.
ReplyDeleteCatherine and Henry's relationship seems crazy at first. I have noticed a little bit of foreshadowing in the book. Catherine is afraid of the rain and she sees herself dead in it. Also Helen says that Henry and Catherine will fight or die before they are married. I don't want to give too much away to spoil the book for anyone.I have noticed that it rains very often in the book.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the novel, Hemingway intensely paints your mind with images and thoughts of war. He brilliantly goes into detail about the dreadfulness that is war. The narrator is a reliable person and he does seem to like the priest. Many of the men in the novel tend to make fun of the priest which I believe will come back to hurt them. I think the priest will stand for something larger throughout the duration of the book. Miss Barkley is a tad annoying although she is beginning to grow on me. Henry and Catherine almost seem as to play a good-humored game of cat and mouse. I think Hemingway uses their relationship as a way to lighten the war through comic relief. He says he loves her when he really does not and she slaps him for trying to kiss her. I think this playful relationship will eventually mature towards the end of the novel. Since Catherine’s finance was killed in the battle of Somme, she seems to attach to Henry real fast. I believe she uses Henry as a way to help her cope with the loss of her fiancé. I haven’t really grown fond of any of the main characters yet but I think I will. I’ve also noticed two recurring themes so far; the love between Catherine and Henry and the war that surrounds them. I am interested to see how Miss. Barkley will react when she hears how Henry is hurt at Plava. Maybe it will be the start of their blossoming love. The first book overall kind of seemed to drag on. It dealt mostly with war, which is an important theme to the book; however, I felt as though it was a little dry and needed more events to make it exciting.
ReplyDeleteSince I have read a Farewell to Arms previously and enjoyed it very much, i would say i am a fan of Hemingway's style and the tone of the novel. Just from the first page I picked up on the meloncholy tone Hemingway sets. When Henry describes the area on page one, he states, "The trunks of the trees too were dusty and the leaves fell early that year and we saw troops marching along the road and the dust rising and leaves, stirred by the breeze, falling and the soldiers marching and afterwad the road bare and white except for the leaves." This passage makes me feel as if Henry is experiencing a depressing time in his duties in Italy. The descriptive words like mist and grey and white in the first chapter seem as if Hemingway is trying to portray the war as a black and white slow motion event. The description also gives me a feeling of stillness, and the pain of war even before any major event happens, and because Hemingway uses the color grey alot it portrays a very different setting from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteOk so I have only read until part way through chapter 11 in A Farewell to Arms, and at first I was so confused. Hemingway's style or writing gave no background information whatsoever. I was completly in the dark when it came to where the main character was, the situation he was in and what he did for a living, or what his occupation was. I soon found out that he was driving ambulances in the war although I'm stil onfused about what war it is. I know from talking to a friend that it is one of the world war's but which one?? Also, what is the main character's actual title and what does Tenente mean? Is that his name or is it a title or a nickname? Help! I was flabergasted when the main character siadhe loved Catherine, but didn't mean it. The words "i love you" should nobe taken that ightly in my oppinion. I really think the main character needs to figure out what he wants in terms of relationships before he goes around telling people he just met that he loves them.
ReplyDeleteAs I continue reading further into the book, it seems that the rain symbolizes a loss or seperation. When Catherine and Henry were sitting on the porch during the storm, she talked about how she feared the rain and that it caused problems between her and her loved ones. I now wonder if the rain will have any effect on Henry and Catherines relationship towards the end of the book. I have also noticed that Catherines hair is a symbol of seclusion. When she let her hair fall down around Henry and herself, Henry felt like he was in a tent or behind a waterfall. This shows that when the two are togther they seem to isolate themselves from whats going on around them, like the war.
ReplyDeleteI hope that I do not spoil the ending for anyone who has not finished "A Farewell to Arms" yet, but I was so happy when Catherine died! Honestly, it was a very expected thing. Henry had already left the war, and they had already made it through all the obstacles you know that at the end of Hemingway's never ending chapters on the two lovebirds happy life in Sweden that something tragic must happen. If it had not and the birth went peachy keen then the ending would have been extremely anticlimantic and should have been ended ages ago.
ReplyDeleteThe first chapter of the novel really creates a wonderful setting for the book. I am not sure if I like Hemingway’s writing style, but he does do a great job of description, which makes it easy to picture the novel in your head. The tone so far has been very somber and it seems as if no one really wants to fight. Everyone seems to not want to think about the war and it feels as if many really want to get it over with as soon as possible. Lieutenant Henry relationship with Miss Barkley seems a bit strange. Henry is described as someone is really does not like to be tied down and has really never been in a serious relationship. When he meets Miss Barkley, the lieutenant seems to be very fond of her; however, she is a little crazy, possibly because her ex-fiancé was killed. It should be interesting to see how their relationship works out.
ReplyDeleteCatherine Barkley is one of my least favorite characters ever. In the beginning of the novel not only is she 'crazy' and indecisive about where she wants this relation ship with Henry to go, but by the end of the novel she is a woman who completely identifies herself with a man. She goes from a woman who puts work first to an obsessed woman. For example " 'Now do you want to play chess?' 'I'd rather play with you.' 'No. Let's play chess.' 'And afterward we'll play?' Yes'(p. 300)." That along with her wanting to be just like Henry as shown with her talk of the similar hair (page 299) and wanting to fall asleep at the exact same moment (page 301). The most ridiculous of all the things said was with Henry "'I had gonorrhea.' 'I don't want to hear about it. Was it very painful, darling?' 'Very.' 'I wish I'd had it.' 'No you don't.' 'I do. I wish I'd had it to be like you.'(p. 299)" Then Catherine does one of the most vain things a woman can do she wants to wait until she is thin again to be married. A woman so unreligious that she doesn't want to get married while pregnant shouldn't be married at all in my opinion. So in conclusion in the end when she is going through her labor and the baby dies and then she dies of a hemorrhage I was smiling ear to ear and laughing so hard just because I found it to extremely fitting.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple thoughts on your entry Jessica. I agree that in the beginning of the novel Catherine was torn between her last fiance and Henry, but I wouldn't go as far to say she was obsessed, rather that plainly confused and indecisive between the two. And later in the novel when she learned of her pregnancy and relayed the information to Henry I don't think she wanted to wait and be married once thin again for selfish reasons, but because she didn't want to disappoint Henry. In that time period the women hoped to simply please the men they were with. This seemed to be what Catherine was trying to do, as she continually asked for Henry's blessing with the pregnancy along with giving him the chance to walk away. With that I don't think Catherine would be classified as a vain character.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is true that many women of that time lived most of their lives trying only to please the men in their world. I suppose, however, that I am just to used to todays way of living. On to a different subject, I agree with many of the comments on here about the descriptive writing style of this book, that at times can be almost too much. At first it paints a wonderful picture in your mind, but after awhile I found myself having to go back and rereading the last paragraph because I lost my focus. This may be perhaps due to the fact that the topic of war and the different place in Europe do not interest me as much as other topics do. My suggestion is to be fully awake and to drink coffee while reading this book.
ReplyDeleteAfter completing the first book in the novel I have decided that I’m starting to enjoy reading it a little bit more. When Henry was told that somebody was coming to visit him at the hospital, I thought that the visitor was going to be Catherine. The visitor turned out to be Rinaldi and I was happier to find out that it was him rather than Catherine. The friendship between Henry and Rinaldi seems to be a special one. I think it is sweet that Rinaldi calls Henry baby but sort of strange that he tried to kiss him goodbye. When the priest visits, Henry tells him that he doesn’t love. The priest tells Henry that someday he will love and when he does he will be happy. I think that Henry was thrown off a little when the priest told him that because Henry says how he has always been happy.
ReplyDeleteLike Elisa said, Hemmingway seems to write things short and to the point. He does not exactly describe the faces that the characters make or what they are thinking all the time. Sometimes when I am reading, I feel like Hemmingway is sitting among what is happening in the book and quickly jotting down what is going on, and it's not until nobody is talking and he has time to look around that he can use that time to describe the scenery in full detail. To my surprise, I think I enjoy the short, terse part better than when he goes into detail. It is kind of refreshing compared to other books. When he goes into detail I tend to lose interest and get bored.
ReplyDeleteI find the characters in this book all very interesting. When I look at how Henry acts and his relationship with the priest and Rinaldi, I feel like he would be a very trustworthy character. But when I look at his relationship with Miss Barkley, I get confused. Henry is very kind to the preist and understands him even though he doesnt always share the same beliefs as him. I think when I am reading, I am most interested when the two of them are talking. After reading the preist's talk with Henry, I wonder if Henry will find that happiness the priest is talking about, whether it be in God, a woman, or anything else. I also think Hanry and Rinaldi have a lovely relationship. Rinaldi radiates fun and excitement, which makes him a very enjoyable character. I think it is so sweet how he calls Henry baby and seems to really care for him like a brother. Both Henry's relationships with the priest and Rinaldi seem to be good and healthy, but it doesnt seem the same with Miss Barkley. When Henry is around Miss Barkley he doesnt give off the same trustworthy impression for me. It is like he wants to be around her just because she is a decent, good looking woman. And, to me, Miss Barkley seems to just want to be around Henry becuase he is a man she can love, without really loving him. It's like they don't really like each other personally, but the idea of each other. But maybe that's how is was back then. I'm sorry, probably none of that makes sense, but I just find their relationship a bit off.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad Catherine and Henry's relationship has matured as I read on. In the beginning of the book Catherine acted immaturely saying things such as 'I love you' when they have only met for a couple days. When she started to put her guard up and face the fact that their relationship was mainly infatuation, that is when the two evolved into something more compassionate. Her dedication to him is unheard of. In the book, she explained how she no longer would worry about herself but care for Henry and whatever he needs.
ReplyDeleteEven though i do not like the style in which Hemingway wrote this novel, i am impressed on how he made the narrator and the priest connect. you obviously can see that the narrator has a great deal of respect for the priest, something that the others in the story lack. The way the others poke fun at the priest is what i could actually see happening in a war like barrack with "manly-men" Hemingway keeps the relationship with the priest and Henry very hidden. But you can see its there. The relationship between the priest and Henry is one of the stronger ones in this story.
ReplyDeleteOkay, at the moment, I am not yet enjoying "A Farewell To Arms." I am still at the beginning of the book but I find it somewhat...boring. I hopefully assume that it begins to get better the more I read. Anyways I feel that Catherine and Henry's rlationship is moving way to fast. It seems that they only know each other for two days before they start kissing. Hemingway does go way in depth with his story narrating and imagery, sometimes almost too much in to depth which is why I may find it somewhat boring.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading Farewell to Arms, I loved the way Hemingway described the setting. I think that the imagery he used was really exceptional. I like how he used snow and rain to foreshadow something that might happen in the novel. The use of rain foreshadowing negative events, and snow foreshadowing positive events, was imaginative and interesting. I have never seen this before in any novel I have ever read before. I also was amazed at one of the themes of the novel, namely, how war is not glamorous but is only filled with death, was made clear in the first chapter. I do have a few things that i didn't like about the style of writing. One of the things that he does is that he writes a conversation between two people and the reader can be confused because it is difficult to keep track of who is talking. It kind of was annoying at times.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I disliked in the novel was when Hemingway stopped writing who was saying what. When the characters went into a long talk I often got confused of who was saying what. There were a couple places I couldn't figure it out after rereading it leaving me puzzled and unsure of the events in the third book. Hemingway's overall style of writing was very upfront. He had the characters state on simple fact but they said it a myriad of times in the conversation. After finishing the book I realized the style of the dialogue added to the novel, however it was not one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteThere many things that surprise us in "Farewell to Arms". One of those things is how Henry is wounded in the story. Instead of being wounded in a heroic battle, he is hit by an artillery shell while he is having lunch. Of course we must consider the message that Hemingway is trying to send us regarding war. That message is not about heroics but rather that war is not supposed to make sense or be fair to anyone. Or as General W.T. Sherman put it, "one might think war is of glory, but boys it is all hell.". Another thing that might surprise the reader is the hospital that Henry goes to after he has been wounded. Instead of being able to treat his wounds with adequate care, we find that the hospital is unprepared for the task. They do not even have a doctor on hand to treat the wounded, nor are any rooms prepared for patients. The nurse that is there to greet Henry at his bedside in the hospital can't read the papers that tell of Henry's condition because she does not read Italian. This doesn't make much of a difference because she is unable to do anything without the doctor's orders anyway.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ending of the story was kind of disappointing. I didn't like how it ended so tragically despite all of the love that Catherine and Henry had for each other. At the beginning of the last chapter, we see that Henry is going more civilian-like by giving himself a beard (sorry if i spoil any thing.) I think that this is so that he can be more himself and so that he can put the war behind him. He and Catherine talk about things that they will have to get for their child and how they will have to prepare for the future. this shows that they have hope for themselves and for their unborn child. When Catherine is sent to the hospital we realize that the baby is unable to come out . The Doctors have to preform a c-section. Sadly the baby dies due to the umbilical cord choking him to death. Catherine also dies due to exhaustion. I find this to be very sad, and discomforting that a love so strong was destroyed. And yet, I can kind of see why Hemingway wrote the ending the way he did. If he had wrote the ending with both Henry's wife and child surviving then it would have been the perfect story book ending. The issue is that this is not the kind of message that he is trying to send. His writing throughout the book shows that war, and life, isn't fair. It would go against the nature of the novel to have the story end on a happy note.
ReplyDeleteOk so I've read through chapter 15. Im still a little lost as to what the author is trying to get across I'm writing the book. Im not sure what the significance of it is yet, but I guess I'll have to wait until I read a little more. I finally know what the main character's name is! And I'm glad that he actually falls in love with Catherine. I really hope he means it, because I'm so tired of reading books where the main characters say things they don't mean! So far the book is a little hard to get into, but in some other blogs I've read that it is in the beginning and it gets better as yo read. I hope that's true!!
ReplyDeleteI was laughing out loud when i read the scene about the barber in "Farewell to Arms". While Henry is at the hospital, he requests that a barber comes and cuts his hair. While the barber is doing his work, Henry tries to make small talk with him. The barber responds that he does not want to give information to the enemy. After numerous attempts to engage in polite conversations, Henry gives up and the barber leaves. It is only afterward that Henry learns that there was a break down in communication, and this caused the barber to think that Henry was an Austrian officer. i feel that Hemingway put this in to give us a bit of humor. I also think that this might have been put in to show us that in times of war information about the simplest things can be misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteI must agree with Jessica, some of the things that Catherine says are a little immature and don't make sense. In the start of her relationship with Henry, she tells him "I love you" when they have only just met. She also asks Henry if he has ever said "I love you" to any one else. When he lies about it and says no, she thinks he is the best thing on the earth. Sure there might be such a thing as love at first sight, but I think that Catherine can't grip the concept of deeply caring for someone else. Then again, maybe Hemingway meant for Catherine to be like this to show how she is in the first part of the novel and to see how she evolves in the last part of the book.
ReplyDeleteJust as all my peers, as I read the first few chapters of Farewell to Arms, I could not help but notice the author’s outstanding descriptive abilities. To be completely honest, I, until now, am not enjoying the book; it seems mundane and pointless.
ReplyDeleteIt took a while for me to realize in which war the book was taking place. After a few chapters, the references to certain countries led me to believe it is WWI, but I was not sure until I looked at the back of the book. I’m not sure whether that piece of information was mentioned, and I accidentally overlooked it or not.
It is apparent that the priest is not, in any way, respected. It also seems that he has accepted it. The conclusion that I came to, due to the dialogs in the second chapter, is that it is, to a certain extent, a competition between the priest and the captain/lieutenant. All new young men in the war must make a choice between the life of girls/adultery and the life of sexual preservation.
In the book, the definition of manhood or masculinity is quite limited to the ability of being sexually involved with women. That definition may be based upon the mentality of the author, time period, or both.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning of chapter three, lieutenant Rinaldi says, “I am now in love with Miss Barkley.” My first perception/assumption was that they have at least a partially matured relationship. In reality, the word love, in this book, seems to refer to lust. That first became apparent to me when Rinaldi took Henry to first see Miss Catherine Barkley. Rinaldi did not exchange more than a few greeting words with Catherine, and he came to the conclusion that she likes Henry better, although they had only spoken for a few minutes.
I am actually quite confused with Miss Barkley’s character. Her previous relationship with the eight year engagement suggested that she had a more mature perception of love and relationships. On the other hand, her actions and words with Henry were relatively contradictory to my original perception.
The book uses heavy imagery and is very, very descriptive when just describing one small part. I'm pretty amazed when Hemingway does this considering that he describes heavily of very minor things like when he describes the gun. So far the book is very interesting, and I like the setting and atmosphere of the book.
ReplyDeleteThe book so far is very good and detailing like I mentioned above. But the author has a weird way of dialect. When Rinaldi or anybody else that speaks to the main character, he dosen't use quotation marks to distinguish the fact that they are having a conversation.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was the writing style for Henry and thought it as his diary or journal entry. But later on, the author uses quotation marks also, in which that contradicts my first thought. It's weird how the author chose to do this, since it's often hard to read.
This book is so much more readable than the last. I like how the characters have personalities instead of dumb background information garbage. The plot however still retains too much extra crap and I swear that sometimes I'm reading Hemingway's notes before he completely edited the book. Still, there is a central story of interest that keeps me vaguely interested and really the only speed bump hit me at the end of chapter 11. It closes with a paragraph the size of a country and I'm pretty sure it was meant to be a bulleted list for later review. A fraction of it reads "The peasants call you Don and when you met them they took off their hats. His father hunted every day and stopped to eat at the house of peasants. They were always honored. For a foreigner to hunt he must present a certificate that he had never been arrested. There were bears on the Gran Sasso D'Italia but it was a long way. Aquila was a fine town." In context with the previous part it makes sense and I suppose it gives a marginal amount of insight into the character, but it reads like a fast food menu and its length is strenuous. I had to reread parts of it multiple times because it was so easy to be sidetracked.
ReplyDeleteI love Rinaldi, he totally reminds me of Ash Williams, except without the chainsaw. Everything he says is abusive and he treats women like such dirt and he's always at the bawdyhouse. He's a good hearted character yet he's such a playful jerk to everyone he meets at the same time. I'm glad he's in the story and I wish he was the main character instead of that other boring guy. Henry? I already forget. What a buzzkill. He lets Catherine walk all over him in my opinion and he doesn't really seem to care about anything. He reminds me more of eeyore not in the mopey cut myself Pessimistic sort of way but in the non-optimistic way if that makes any sense at all. He doesn't complain and he doesn't make lemonade out of lemons either. He's so neutral it makes me want to blow chunks. No seriously.
ReplyDeleteWow. I was going to read the other comments for ideas but i might as well stop before it gives the whole book away. Not that I'm actually angry, but just so everyone knows not to post stuff like that on the discussion board. Jessica Buford said..."I hope that I do not spoil the ending for anyone who has not finished "A Farewell to Arms" yet, but I was so happy when Catherine died!" ya thanks. As if I had so much incentive to spare for reading this book something like that could be given away and id still be interested. The plot had just started to revolve around Henry and Henrietta or Catherine whatever her name is and now that plot has been taken away from me like milk from a baby cow. I'm a baby cow now. Where's my milk? Don't try and feed me that processed crap I'll starve before I drink that. What I'm saying is, I sure hope there's another part of the story to keep me occupied
ReplyDeleteGrr... why does it even let you write if you aren't logged in? And what's the deal with the Turkey National Bird Joke? since when is the turkey the national bird? I thought that was just something Ben Franklin came up with but was shot down because the bald eagle was way sweeter. Is it just a gimmick to remind us they're speaking Italian? Well in that case it's pretty clever. Hemingway just kind of capitalized off of Turkey being a homophone or homonym whatever what is this English class of turkey to make a really stupid joke. It draws attention away from the story because it barely makes any sense, its inaccurate, its absurd, its risque, grotesque, and i don't like it one bit.
ReplyDeleteErnest Hemingway's writing in the beginning of the novel is very descriptive. It tells and shows the reader everything the main character is seeing in his surroundings. It is almost too descriptive for me. I find myself wondering off in my mind during the long paragraphs of description. I also found out as I was reading that the priest is often made fun of from the other high officials. They say very rude things to him, but Henry is fond of the priest. It's not a very noticible relationship for the other characters, but the relationship between them is there. Also I think it's funny how Rinaldi calls Henry baby all the time. I don't quite understand it, but maybe it shows that he is close to Henry. The relationship between Catherine Barkley and Henry is on a completely different level from a normal relationship. They get extremely touchy-feely before they even really know each other. I hope this relationship gets more mature because it's not looking like it's going to last very long like this.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for spoiling the ending for the people who have not yet finished, but that's why I wrote "I hope I do not spoil the ending..."(In otherwords don't read me if you haven't finished). On a different note however, I agree with many people with Rinaldi is an enjoyable character. He is lighthearted, funny, and sincere in what he does say (whether it be a complement or an insult). I do feel bad for Rinaldi though. When Henry flee's the country near the end my mind kept flashing back to Rinaldi and the priest, thinking how they would believe him dead or something. Seriously, how can Henry leave his friends behind never planning to contact them in anyway at all. Not a strong friendship at all on Henry's part.
ReplyDeleteIn the beggining I kind of get the feeling that Catherine is comepletely psychotic. Most men would probably run and hide if the first conversation they have with a girl consists of her talking about a previous guy that was killed, but then it also shows the lengths a guy will go to to get with a girl based on physical appearance. Also the fact that she was asking whether Henry loved her or not after only three days. Even though they didn't know each other very well they fell in love in a short period off time and their relationship moved beyond the physical and into the mental. Then I realized that Hemmingway was incredibly blunt when it came to Henry and Catherine's love, he didn't sugar coat it the way other writers do. Hemmingway just got right to the point.
ReplyDeleteA good thing about 'A Farewell to Arms' is the lesser character's are interesting. Rinaldi, the priest, Ferguson, etc. Each one has some description of their personality. Rinaldi is definetly made well known to the reader. Ferguson is seen as a good friend to Catherine and very concerened for her, almost like a conscience in the midst of her rushed love with Henry. The nurse in the hospital where Henry is taken is even given a little depth with her problem with Henry, yet being called a good woman by another nurse. The priest is slow to anger and has many good things to say to give Henry a lift, and the reader foreshadowing. Many times lesser characters are just stereotypical and say things only to show a one sided opinion, but I found each one to be a little bit more.
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of A Farewell to Arms was very descriptive like other people said, but I noticed that I had a harder time staying focused on the beginning of this book. I’m now on book three, but it seemed to take me longer to get interested in this book compared to most. The first thing that made me notice that the characters were going to be unusual is when Rinaldi said all these things about being in love with Catherine and marrying her. Then when Henry came to meet her, it was like Rinaldi had no concerns about Catherine liking Henry more than himself. The whole relationship between Catherine and Henry is weird, and I don’t see what the point of him lying to her is, especially when he knows it. This just proves that Catherine is as Henry would say “probably a little crazy”.
ReplyDeleteI just finished Book 1, but the more I read the more I dislike the author's writing style. He writes things as they are from a limited perspective, so it's difficult to feel the emotions of the character or the scene. For instance, readers couldn't feel the searing pain Henry probably felt when his kneecap got blown off, or the cold sight of a dying buddy. Character traits are only revealed through the way a character appears to act, not the way he or she feels, such as through short conversations with others. Is this just an aspect of Hemingway's writing or is it supposed to show the coldness of war?
ReplyDeleteThe tone of Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms in the beginning of the novel seems to be one of boredom. Lieutenant Henry, the narrator, describes the small Italian city that he is stationed in with his regiment in the Italian army in a very bored fashion. He says, "At the start of the winter came a permanent rain and with the rain came the cholera. But it was checked and in the end only seven thousand died of it in the army" (Hemingway 4). This statement shows that Henry is bored of just staying in the small Italian town that his regiment is stationed in because he exudes an attitude that is one as if he does not care that the war is even going on. As Book One progresses, the first couple chapters become even more evident that Lieutenant Henry is bored. For example, after Henry's regiment moves to Gorizia and he meets Miss Catherine Barkley, he seems to be more lively and excited about being in World War I. Being with Catherine, even if she is a little "nutty" makes Lieutenant Henry seems like a more "round" character, rather than the "flat" one he was at the beginning of the novel. Even after Henry gets wounded, he does not seem to be disappointed or disheartened.
ReplyDeleteLet me just say real quick that Ryan Seal's comments are cracking me up. Why does it let you write if your not logged in?
ReplyDeleteSo anyway, I noticed a big difference between the writing syles of Zora Neale Hurston and Ernest Hemingway. I believe that Hurston has a more emotional way of describing what the narrator is feeling, while Hemingway's style is much more bland. I must say I find Hurston's style, in my opinion, much more interesting to read. Also, I am glad Catherine and Henry's relationship matures from the beginning of the novel to the end. At first, I agreed with Henry. I thought Catherine was little crazy. I could not understand her. Near the end of the book, I could see that Catherine is not as crazy as she used to be, and Henry seems to have developed a better love for her. It's hard to describe, but she actually seems to "think". That's what makes the ending (not going to say if you don't already know) much more emotional, because you can actually see how strong their love is, and how their love seperates them from the rest of the world.
As I was reading chapter ten, when Rinaldi visited Henry at the hospital, I noticed that women were not just judged by their beauty, but that they were viewed as only important or vital for sex. Rinaldi says “What else is an Englishwoman good for?” In addition, it seemed that his view of women is like that of today’s prostitutes; they are objects to satisfy the sexual urges without any commitment or “pain.” In the beginning of the book, it seemed as if everyone looked at the priest negatively, when in reality, it is just the Captain. It shows that for a mood to be set, or a person to be picked on, all is needed is one person to lead or do all the action while everyone else neither supports nor opposes. Also, that if one is in a negative situation, or likewise a positive one, and does not participate in the action his/her surroundings are participating in, he/she still is perceived as participating.
ReplyDeleteThe tone for this book is really dreary and dark, and as a reader you are sort of just thrown into the lives of the characters without any background information. As for Hemingway's style, I'm kind of on the fence as to whether I actually like it or not. Many times in the book I felt lost, especially in Book One when he is describing the war. The way he was describing certain things made me feel like I was out of the loop, like he was being almost too direct. However, as the book went on I adjusted to Hemingway's writing and I really enjoyed the book. I really didn't like Catherine in Book One; she came across like a raging lunatic, such as when she slapped Henry when he tried to kiss her. It was like she had no clue what she was doing but she did it anyway, the only reason I understand that she slapped him was because she didn't think that kissing was aloud during the "nurse's evening-off". Then after they did kiss, she came off really strong, suddenly calling Henry darling and talking about how their life was going to be strange together. Personally I thought she sounded like one of those freaky stalkers that get attached to someone and sneak into their apartment. But as the book goes on Henry and Catherine get to become a really nice couple, and their relationship blossoms. I was also very disappointed with what happened to Henry at Plava because Henry is a really good person so it was sad to have him hurt and disabled. I had a good laugh though when the Captain doctor at the post told Henry “Vive la France” when he was done bandaging him up despite the fact that Henry’s an American. Though with him being injured it opened up a window of opportunity for Henry and Catherine to advance their relationship and become closer. As well, I want to say that I agree with Sam about how the way Hemingway didn't say who was saying what during conversations was really annoying. I kept having to go back and try to figure out who was saying what during lengthy conversations.
ReplyDeleteI find this novel to be very boring and difficult to read because it’s hard to focus while I am reading it. The tone seems to be sad and depressing, which is expected because of the war that is going on. The amount of description used is overwhelming and, in my opinion, not an essential part of the novel. Some description is necessary in a story to establish the setting and tone, but there is too much in this novel and the things being described don’t explain the time period or location very well.
ReplyDeleteThe characters in the novel are somewhat puzzling to me and are not like you would expect them to be. Henry seems very blasé and disinterested with everything that is going on around him. Because he has a high ranking and is involved in the war, you would expect him to be passionate about winning the war but he is the exact opposite. There is a part in the novel where a few soldiers are talking about the war with Henry and one of them says “You should not let us talk this way, Tenente,” and Henry responds by saying “I know how you talk… but as long as you drive the car and behave-.” It almost seems like he really has no opinion about the war and does not care what happens in the end. The character of Catherine acts “crazy” but both the war and the recent death of her fiancé could cause her to behave strangely. Henry and Catherine’s relationship moves very quickly throughout the first book in the novel and it seems to be almost awkward for both Henry and Catherine. Hopefully as the novel goes on, their relationship will progress and make the novel more interesting.
I love deciphering what people are talking about in those long paragraphs full of short sentences. It's not like the narration that I hated where you can barely string things together. In the narration its describing all kinds of things one after the other but in the dialogue it's one event with one person talking. There' a part where it only says what Dr. Valentini is saying, and you still have to imagine what henry is thinking, even if it's obvious like he says Does that hurt? and that's it. He responds, just skipping whatever anyone else is saying he asks to take Catherine to dinner and then right away says no I'm not trying to steal her. At the end of the paragraph he says thank you very much miss that's all and I could only guess what that was about it must have been a nurse. It's written in the same way as a part of the book I hate, but I thought it was pretty funny, so I guess it just depends on how the style is used
ReplyDeleteI really like the characters that Hemingway has in A Farewell to Arms. Catherine is that confusing but sweet girl that Henry falls in love with more and more throughout the book. Rinaldi is such a womanizer but he really brings joy to the book. He really cared for Henry and was looking out for his best interest. I liked how Helen Ferguson was also looking out for Catherine's best interest like Rinaldi did for Henry. The priest is a very sweet man who gets fun of all the time but his faith in God never wavers. I really respect that about the priest because he doesn't let other people get to him and he stays true to himself.
ReplyDeleteWhenever it's Henry's main point of view, the author has major run on sentences. Starting with one thing and keep adding "and" after everything and having a period after 5 lines. It gets a bit irritating to read, since it just looks like one big sentence to read. The priest in this book is quite a guy, being the butt of all jokes and dosen't let his faith get shaken. But I'm also seeing a bit of a tension between Henry and the priest. Since they seem to be really, really nice to each other.
ReplyDeleteI love Hemmigway's style but i do agree he runs on alot. The book seems to be written like he is dreaming about it, it is fuzzzy and gives the reader the power of imagination more so than other books do. This dream like quality seems to clear up when he is "awoken" or shaken by the retreat.
ReplyDeleteHemmigway also seems to give more attention and description of nature or the surroundings then he does to Henry's thoughts or feelings.
I love how Rinaldi takes care of Henry so much. At first, I thought he was some guy who just liked to mess with Henry, but turns out he's a pretty good friend to depend on. The way Rinaldi is portrayed is like a drunk and womanizing best friend. Similar to the cliched characters in comical movies we see today. Funny how he could introduced Catherine to Henry though, considering he's the one who liked Catherine first.
ReplyDeleteRight off the back I realized that Hemingway uses many similes and metaphors in his writing. His descriptions of even the littlest things are long and artistic. Yet, I found it very hard to read through the large masses of descriptions without my mind wondering. However, I did find the relationship between Catherine Barkley and Lieutenant Henry interesting. In the beginning it is obvious that it is just a game, Catherine even states “This is a rotten game we play, isn’t it?” This game is not a game of pleasure and fun but a distraction from the pain in their lives. Catherine is a distraction to Henry of the war, and Henry is a distraction to Catherine of the death of her fiancé.
ReplyDeleteGetting farther and farther into the book I still find it a bit boring. I have realized that I find it difficult to pick up the book and start reading. So I think that Rinaldi is a very odd character. When he was visiting Henry in the hospital I found that he had very interesting interactions with Henry. However, its seems that Henry and Catherine's relationship has either slowed down some or kind of hit a stand still. It hasn't seemed to get quie too serios yet.
ReplyDeleteAlmost done with the book I haven't posted up to how far I am. Anyways, when Henry arrives in Milan I thought it was interesting that Henry and Miss Van Campen take an immediate dislike to each other but, then she later sends him a peace offering. I guess it just took time for them to warm up to each other. I thought that Henry's exchange with the barber was also kind of funny. I could see where he would confuse American with Austrian. I was surprised when Henry just suddenly fell in love with Catherine whn he saw her, it was very, very sudden.
ReplyDeleteI am not counting this as one of my blogs but for all of A Farewell to Arms I have been putting my blogs here and not in the other ones. I hope that is okay!.
ReplyDeleteIt was lucky that Henry didn't have to wait the long six months before he could have the surgery. I thought it was good to know that Henry was making friens with various people from Milan. Being in a hspital and injured could be very boring for some people. When Henry finds out that he has three weeks left until he has to return to the front, I think that along with the information that Catherine is pregnant, are some of the reasons as to why Henry decides to run away from the army. You can tel that he doesn't want to leave Catherine by herself.
ReplyDeleteSince being reunited with Catherine, Henry and Catherine have a somewhat complicated life becasue Henry is on the run from the Italian army and he is wanted for frunning. By the end of tehbook, Heny and Catherine are settled down in a place called Montreux. I thought t was a good thing that Henry and Catherine always talked about their goals and dreams. Henry an Catherine are always talking about marriage and Catherine wanted to visit Niagra Falls and the Golden Gate Bridge and become an American. It is very sad that both the baby boy and Catherine die from the birth. Catherine never had the chance do some of the things she wanted to do. Speaking of the birth, I thought it wasvery sad that Henry never felt anything for the baby boy. And one last thing, it was raining all day on the labor day. Catherine had always mentioned that she felt rain as a bad sign, so you could guess tha twhen it started to rain things were going to get worse.
ReplyDeleteThroughout Earnest Hemmingway's "A Farewell to Arms," the characters seemed very dull and utterly emotionless. Besides Catherine Barkley and Lt. Henry's love and a few angry outbursts, there were no feelings expressed. When Frederic's comrade Passini died while Frederic was trying to save him, Frederic didn't express grief or remorse or any sorrow at all. Frederic barley expressed pain at his own injury much less anger at his attacker or any other emotion that typically comes with an injury in war. Throughout the book the characters seem disjointed from what is happening, or it seems as if the story is being retold in a monotone from someone who never had any knowledge of the actual characters, even as it is told in first person.
ReplyDeleteThe people's conversation during "A Farewell to Arms" in the first book did not seem to fit a major war. The characters mainly talked of possible coming attacks, girls, and alcohol. I would expect more talk of other war fronts and the overall war from soldiers, especially on the front line where any enemy action is very important. People wanting to get away from the war through conversation would typically talk of home more, or perhaps any local or famous artists or attractions, such as opera singers or painters in Italy. Idle conversation consists of more than what was talked about, it made the book seem a bit less realistic.
ReplyDeleteThere's really something wrong with Catherine..It seems in the beginning of Henry and Catherine's romance, it was like she was living just for the nostalgia of her former love who died. It's really strange that she acts a certain way and I think she still thinks of Henry as her old love time to time. Considering she always asks him if Henry won't leave him, like she's obsessed. I guess that's what happens when you lose someone you really love, you don't want that same hurt again...But she's really kind of not right in the head, considering Rinaldi realized this by saying she was not right in the head to Henry and Henry defending her. Even taking offense to the fact and them having sort of a fight over it. I think Henry realizes this, but he dosen't want to let her go, considering he's full of lust and oddly wants to be with her. Even though she may be troubled and not right.
ReplyDeleteI think that Henry not feeling anything for his baby was a nice touch by the author, no matter how morbid that sounds, but it reinforces his focus and love on Cathrine. His baby was something he didnt think about as a living thing, he didnt see it as real as Catherine was. So in the end all his sorrow and loss was directed toward the woman he fell in love with, the person he knew. Its was strangely sweet because throughout the book he was mellow in their relationship and never offerd that many strong words indicating his attachment to her so I think,that he kind of realised thier love really existed when she died and now it is gone.
ReplyDeleteAgain sorry for the procrastination on my part! I try my best to do these things, but I'm having a very active summer with the job I just started. Anywho, I personally am a fan of Hemmingway's style of writing. It's very descriptive and creates a good image in my mind. Also, his word choicing makes me feel very involved in the book almost as if I were experiencing it myself.
ReplyDeleteThe lieutenant's relationship with Miss Barkley is quite complicated. At first he's just playing with her emotions trying to satisfy his own "needs". He even refers to their relationship like a game of bridge where it's all about laying the right cards. Both the lieutenant and Miss Barkley view their relationship differently also. Miss Barkley looks at their relationship as something she wants to build on and continue for a long time, slowly, but the lieutenant only wants a short term relationship that moves quickly in a physical sense. However, as the lieutenant continues to spend time with Miss Barkley he grows more attached and starts to become sad at their time apart. I look forward to seeing how this relationship develops.
ReplyDeleteErnest Hemingway's style of writing is extremely descriptive. Although it provides the reader with a lot of detail, I find it very unneccessary to have to read so much detail, my mind often wanders and I find myself not retaining what I have read. The positive side of such detail and imagery is that he literally is able to paint a picture in my mind. But overall I would not consider myself to be a fan of Hemingway's writing style.
ReplyDeleteHemmingway is a very descriptive writer but sometimes going into too much detail distracts people from the main details the they really should be noticing. In the beginning of this book i was totally lost the first chapter doesn't even belong in the book from my point of view and anyways at first i thought the book was going to bad like the first one but it turned out pretty interesting even if the ending was disturbing.
ReplyDeletebeing the ever intelligent kid i am, I forgot to actually do the blogs for this book once i got caught up in soccer. so sorry for the late start here =)... But i believe that the beginning of this book was a perfect way to give the reader a sense of the setting. Instead of describing the chaos of war on countries as a whole, hemmingway sets up a setting by describing the trunks of trees and other small charectoristics of the town. Although i found it kind of annoying at times, i thought that this writing technique was a pretty cool way to immerse the reader in the world of the book.
ReplyDeleteoh and i forgot to mention, Zachs comment from july 7th made me laugh histarically. I thought the exact same thing, but i have to respect the author's attention to detail, i havent seen it to this extent in to many other litary works lol
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I really enjoy about this book is it is smooth and doesn't bombard you with war language that you don't understand but the author still gives you a taste of the war. I liked Hemingway's style but would probably have to read more things written by him before I declare myself a positive fan, but Farewell to Arms was a good read.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help but notice even from the beginning of the novel that Henry is very stoic in reguards to the war. He mentions the brutalities of the warring circumstances as if they are just apart of every day life, such as the cholera epidemic that killed seven thosand soldiers.
ReplyDeleteHenry had no will to fight and seems to only be going through the motions as a requirement rather than an act of passionate belief. War is just an every day part of life for him, nothing to get worked up over.
The war has no doubt numbed Henry's emotions.
My first impressions of the book are good. For the most part, I enjoyed the first book. Something about Hemingway's way of writing appeals to me- perhaps the use of super descriptive details and imagery. I was surprised at the views that some of the characters have toward the priest and toward women. When Catherine comes into the picture, I feel she is a bit crazy. When Rinaldi learns Catherine likes Henry more than him, he pretty much just drops her like she is nothing even after saying he wanted to marry her. Henry is interested in Catherine and they begin a strange game of cat and mouse, which provides entertainment for the book. Their relationship is quite strange, and I'm interested to see how it plays out during the rest of the book.
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