Is it just me, or does that sound like a lyric from a bad eighties song? Alluding, of course, to Catherine, who cries when it rains. Why does she do that? Hmm...here are some other little tidbits to ponder:
*Describe the relationship between Lt. Henry and Miss Van Campen?
*Why is the barber hostile to Henry?
*How does Henry fell when he sees Catherine again?
*Describe Henry's experience when he llok at the wound? Have you had a similar experience? Why do we do this?
*What is the surgeon's advice? Why does he want a second opinion? What does this reveal about Henry?
*Why does Catherine want to know about Henry's past love? Why do you think he lies? Would Catherine think less of him if he told the truth?
*Describe Catherine's behavior toward Henry.
*Who is Fergy? Does she like Henry?
*Why is Catherine opposed to getting married right now?
*What are Catherine's and Henry's views about religion?
*Has Henry changed in any way since the beginning of the novel? Is he more or less selfish?
*How does Henry lose his convalescent leave?
*What important information does Catherine reveal to Henry?
*What else do they talk about before he leaves?
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ReplyDeleteBefore Henry leaves to re-enter the war, Catherine announces she is 3 months pregnant. This starts to demonstrate the difference in the role of women back then versus present times. After relaying the news, Catherine is constantly asking Henry if he was angry with her for being pregnant. She fears he will feel trapped, and immediately offers the option of her deal with the pregnancy and parenting herself, with no help from Henry. It seemed like both characters were still growing and developing from the first initial meeting up until their personalities in the last chapters.
ReplyDeleteI also have noticed a huge difference in the way Catherine acts compared to the present day women. She is more dependent on Henry and constantly wanting to please him. Today women are way more self reliant and able to handle themselves. I am sure that in this book you will find very little single mom's. I think that the books plot is growing more and it is becoming a better read I feel.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are that this is a true love story; there is an emotional bond between two people. As I read through book two, Henry and Catherine’s love grew, and Henry no longer treated it like a game. In book two, there love became more truly, and much more than a physical attraction. Their relationship got stronger while Henry was in the hospital because of the bonding that they did. Henry wants to marry Catherine, but the love between them was complicated by the past. In my opinion, Catherine feared the commitment of marrying Henry at first because she feared loosing him.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Catherine and Henry's relationship grew a lot stronger in book two. Catherine got jealous when she asked Henry if there were any other girls he loved. Even though Henry did love another girl, Catherine told him to lie to her so Catherine would feel better. Henry only said that Catherine was the only girl he ever loved.
ReplyDeleteI noticed foreshadowing when Catherine and Henry were talking about marriage. Henry asked Ferguson if she was going to come to his and Catherine's wedding and Ferguson said that they will never get married. She said that they will fight or die before they get married. I could tell that Ferguson was worried about Catherine, because she started crying and told Henry to not get her in trouble.
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed reading this book so far and I feel that it's starting to turn into one of my favorites. Does anyone else appreciate the humor that comes up from time to time? I find myself grinning or laughing to myself as I read, which is something I would never have expected myself doing with a war novel. Henry's wit has certainly come through in his dialogue, and I love it. I loved his comment about amputating his leg so he that could wear a hook. The scene with the barber mistaking him for an Austrian soldier was a great addition as well, by means of comic relief and showing wartime tensions. As I read I noticed that every time Henry and Catherine are away from each other, when they're together again, he loves her even more. In the time from when he left, was wounded, and ended up in the hospital, you could tell that his feelings of lust for Catherine had turned into love, without her even being there. Then in the various shorter times they are apart, he comments on getting back together with her and feeling like they had met and fallen in love all over again. Their relationship is truly a great example of the saying, "Absense makes the heart grow fonder." I also noticed the foreshadowing that Lauren Carter saw. I'm surprised that no one has said anything about Catherine's fear of the rain yet; It's obviously going to have some strong relevance to what happens in the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren Carter about the foreshadowing subject. I didn't catch on to that before but now that she brought Ferguson up that makes a lot more sense to me. Ferguson is a character who obviously does not like Henry much at all. When i read that part in the book, I just figured that she was being her normally grumpy self by saying Catherine and Henry would never be married. That clears up a lot.
ReplyDeleteI believe that both Henry and Catherine's character has really begun to show. In the last book Henry was so flat and had no personality, but in this book you get a sense of his wit and I love his sarcasm, as Lauren said, when he was talking about having his leg amputated so he could wear a hook. Im glad that Henry realizes that he does actually love Catherine and he's not just leading her on, and I think he lied about past loves to sort of spare her feelings. Kudos to Lauren Carter for noticing the foreshadowing, because i surely didn't. I completely agree with her observation about either fighting or dieing. Catherine's fear of the rain will also no doubt come into play with the outcome of the ending. Not to be a downer, but their relationship, or the whole story itself, cannot end happily.
ReplyDeleteSo I can make a definite statement that I like book two better than I liked book one. However, there are things that I have been noticing that bother me. One is that the words lovely and darling are repeated constantly. The other thing is that Catherine seems so insecure with her and Henry's relationship. She is always asking him if he loves her, and following the question with "you don't do you?" I think she should know by now that he obviously has some feelings for her. Overall I am not enjoying this novel as much as I would like too.
ReplyDeleteFergy is Helen Ferguson and she is Catherine's friend. I think that she is very annoying. Helen doesn't like Henry. I did notice what Lauren said about Helen and Catherine and Fergy.I thought thatHenry and Catherine had a hard time. The war was going on and they tried to have a successful relationship but it was hard. Helen didn't like henry and didn't agree with the relatyonship. I hope that Henry could get stronger after Catherione and her son's death.
ReplyDeleteI love Hemingway's poerty so coming into the novel i thought i would enjoy it a great deal. But unfortunatly it is quite the oppisite, alot of things in this book bother me. while reading the book you can definatly tell that hemmingway is a poet by the way he describes every last detail that he can about the surrending nature. Most of Hemmingways poems have to do with nature, but when going into a novel sort of writing i believe that alot of his description are unnessacary. in the first book he describes the broken down road he is traveling on with more detail then when he describes the first meeting with Catherine which i think should be the otherway around. Catherine holds a higher meaning in the book then the road, therefore the details spent on the road should be used for more nessacary points in the novel.
ReplyDeletei am back to complain some more..=). Book two was actually my least favorite of the three. The second book did have a lot of plot thickening aspects when it came to the love portion between Henry and Catherine, but what bothered me a lot during this book was the introductions to random characters that had no meaning in the book. The people they go to the horse show with? I really think that those character were not needed. I understand that Hemingway wanted to make this into a journal sort of story, but i believe yet again that he went into to much detail when describing the activities and events that happened in this part of the book. I really did not enjoy this book at all, Hemingway should stick to poetry (sorry if that's a little harsh) but he drags the story farther than was really necessary.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others who have noticed that the relationship between Catherine and Henry is maturing. I think that when they are apart from each other Henry realizes how much he really does care about her. I was a little bit surprised with the reason behind why Catherine is so afraid of the rain. I think that her picturing either her or Henry dead in the rain may foreshadow an event later on in the novel. I am starting to enjoy reading the book more now that I have read through book two. The growing relationship between Henry and Catherine keeps things interesting. The fact that she is now pregnant also adds to the book. I am actually looking forward to reading more so I can find out what happens regarding their relationship and the baby.
ReplyDeleteAs I read on I have also noticed the foreshadowing in book two. The fact Catherine has an intuition about the rain having a negative effect on relationships and Helen Ferguson's assumptions of Henry and Catherine never getting married, must have a key role on the plot ahead. I am glad the story is starting to pick up and the relationships between the characters is becoming more meaningful and deeper. Like Jordan said, I am excited to find out what happens to Catherine (even though I have a gut feeling I already know what the outcome is).
ReplyDeleteAfter Henry gets wounded and gets an opinion, he asks for a second opinion when he doesnt like the first opinion. Because Henry goes with the second opinion and gets the next day operation, many new aspects of his character are revealed. This situation shows that Henry is not a patient person and knows exactly what he wants. Because Henry is in love with Catherine he does not want to keep waiting for the life they want to spend together. Henry knows that even through the war he wants to only be with Catherine. I believe that his want to be with Catherine is what keeps him going with his wound as well as the war.
ReplyDeleteI just read the part about Catherine being scared of the rain. I really dont understand why she would be afraid of the rain other than sometimes it puts people in a depressive state. But how can she see herself dead in the rain. That honestly doesn't make any sense to me. Hopefully it is a symbol that will be explained later on in the book. When Henry looks for a second oppinion about his surgery I think it shows, one that he is persistent, and two that he is a little restless. He doesn't want to sit in bed for six months, which is very understandable, but the doctors gave him a lot of suggestions about how he wouldn't have to be in bed. I would think that he would want to do what a surgeon thought was the best for his leg. I thought he was going to have to face consequences for being impatient and in my oppinion, he got lucky that nothing went wrong. I definatley think that part of his impatience is his longing to be with Catherine and maybe its a subconcious feeling that the sooner he can get back out on the force, the sooner the war will end, although the two obviously don't effect eachother. I think that the relationship between Henry and Catherine is maturing, and I hope that when the war is over, they will get married legally.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but feel as I read the novel that not much seems to be happening. Hemingway dedicates parts of chapters or even whole chapters to things that seem as trivial as getting a shave or meeting friends at the raceway. Perhaps this is to build the character and get a sense of belonging among friends and spouses, but somehow the irrelevence of all the events strikes me as pointless in the novel. Much of this seems merely to be a year in a man's life, with some big events, but mostly a wandering man with his wife, either hanging out in Italy or thinking about each other from the front lines. I agree also with Kelsey that he talks about nature more than the characters, which should be the most important aspect of the novel since it's a romance.
ReplyDeleteLike Sarah said, the part where Henry got the wound showed a lot of his true colors. Along with showing that he didn’t have very much patience, it also proved that fact that Henry didn’t really care about any of the glory that came with his injury, and instead that he just wanted to go back to the front. I also agree with what Lauren said, it did seem like the book was foreshadowing when Henry and Catherine were talking about getting married. I didn’t really put much thought into it when I first read that part, but after seeing someone else say something about that I’m thinking maybe something will happen in the fourth book? Although the second book is starting to get into a little more detail about the characters, I’m still finding that this book isn’t totally grabbing my interest. Hopefully it will get more interesting in the other books.
ReplyDeleteI can tell you one thing I like book two way better than book one. The first one was about war and hatred while the second one was more about love and happiness. Also more personalities are beginning to show and it makes the book a bit more interesting. However, the book is still slow and boring and i'm not seeing the point to it yet. I'm glad Henry and Catherine's relationship has become more mature and stable. However, Helen Fergenson seems worried when she says a person either fights or dies. I agree with everybody else that there is some forshadowing here. I wonder if the relationship will survive throughout the war or die. Also I am curious as to how the baby Catherine is carrying will turn out. I'm not sure if it will help her or not. The symbol of rain is also becoming more predominant near the end of the second book. However, it does not sound like a good thing when it rains.
ReplyDeleteThe tone of Book Two was way different from Book One, it was lighter and more about Henry and Catherine opposed to Book One and how it was dark and about the war. Book Two definitely revealed more about Henry, his impatience is seen when he refuses to wait six months for surgery, how he really isn't a selfish person; not wanting glory for his battle wound because he didn't deserve it, and how all he really wants is to make Catherine happy. However, that leads to my next thought about how for most of this book Catherine comes across so waif like and needy but is selfless at the same time. She constantly is pestering Henry to say that he loves her and at the same time all she wants to do is make Henry happy. It just goes along with the way women acted during that time period, they were fragile and needy of their man and they felt that their duty was to please. It was just super annoying to have to read on and on about Catherine asking Henry every time they were together whether he loved her or not. When it comes to Catherine asking if Henry had loved anyone else, I think it was because she was self conscious about whether Henry was genuine when he told her he loved her or whether he told that to everyone. So by Henry lying to her about who he had loved, I think that he had protected her because their relationship was still new so he didn't want to create a rift. One last thought about Catherine: when Catherine tells Henry about the baby three months into the pregnancy I was super annoyed, it was such a stupid thing to do who waits that long to tell someone! I agree with Annie how the rain is a symbol of something bad to happen, especially how much it rains in Book Three. I also agree with Lauren about the humor in A Farewell to Arms, I was constantly smiling to myself or laughing throughout the book, mostly from Rinaldi’s snarky comments and from Henry's wit. This book thoroughly entertained me!
ReplyDeleteBook two seemed much for interesting than book one did to me. It developed Catherine’s character and much of the book was devoted to Henry and Catherine’s summer. I now feel that instead of Catherine being a semi crazy, dependent, emotionally unstable woman, is much more rounded than I expected. I first noticed at the horse races when Catherine preferred to bet on a horse of her choosing than that of a man who often won. Also, Catherine asserts her independence when she tells Henry about her pregnancy. She states of her willingness to not let the baby be a problem. Although some of their strange conversations still seem a bit sketchy, I believe Catherine will remain faithful to Henry one-hundred percent. I also read of an odd similarity in this book compared to Julius Caesar on sparknotes. Henry states that a coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave but one. Caesar said a much similar line in Shakespeare’s play; Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste death but once. I also learned that only a few scenes later, Caesar died a tragic death. Could this be foreshadowing a similar ending for Henry? Or is it just a coincidence? Henry and Miss. Van Campen have a sort of unspoken dislike for one another. I thought maybe because she was somehow jealous of him, but I’m not real sure. I also became intrigued when Henry asked for a second opinion on his surgery. He chose a strong, alcohol loving man compared to a “thin quiet little man disturbed by the war”. I believe he did this because Dr. Valentini appeared more normal to Henry. He likes drinking, woman, and such the things that Henry much enjoys. Henry and Catherine do have some frivolous banter throughout this book suggesting their love for each other. For example, “oh-no. You have the lovely temperature. I’m awfully proud of your temperature.” It seems to me as a weird way to express your love towards one another but I think it also provides the characters with a relief from the war, possibly a bit comical. In the end, Henry goes back out to the front telling Catherine to take care of herself and “little Catherine” as well. I did like this book much more than book one because it was intriguing and kept me wanting to read more.
ReplyDeleteCatherine and Henry's attitudes toward each other seem to drastically change in this book. When Henry lies about his past love, I don't think Catherine would think less of him. Even though she wanted him to lie, she seems to really love him and would love him even if he didn't lie. When she tells Henry she is pregnant it doenst seem to effect their relationship much, which really surprised me. I was very angry at Miss Van Campen for ruining Henry's leave by saying he was making himself sick on purpose.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that Henry doesn't become angry with Catherine when she tells him she is pregnant. I am not surprised at all that she became pregnant. In fact, I don't know why I didn't see it coming sooner. It seemed a little inevitable. However, I wish that she would insist that they get married, so that the baby would be born into wedlock, and a little more of a stable family. Also, I don't understand how CHatherine isn't terrified, because she is having a baby and her family is not around her for support, and Henry will be out on the front. It's definatley not a perferred situation, but hopefully Henry and Chatherine's relationship is strong enough and they will make it through. I'm so glad the story is picking up a bit. It is hard for me to stay focused and to understand everything when the author is talking more about the military related things. Some of the terminology the author uses means absolutly nothing to me and I find my self confused for a few paragraphs. But it makes the book more of a challenge, which is always good.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the second book in the novel A Farewell To Arms, I am enjoying the book much more because it has gotten more interesting and there is a lot less description which is what made the first book such a bore. One thing that has really stood out to me throughout the first two books of the novel is the different things that Henry and other soldiers use to get their minds off of the war. He is constantly drinking which is one way that Henry is trying to distract his mind from the war. He drinks so much while he is in the hospital with a wounded knee that he gets jaundice and one of the nurses even thinks that he got jaundice on purpose so that he would not have to go back to the front. Henry also used his relationship with Catherine in the beginning to take his mind off of the war. When Henry tries to kiss Catherine and she slaps him Henry says “Yes… And we have gotten away from the war,” when she tries to apologize. In the beginning of the relationship, it’s a game to Henry and just a way to have fun and distract himself for awhile. As the relationship grows Henrys feelings toward Catherine change and he realizes that he loves her. Their relationship is good for Henry because it gives him something to think about and also something for him to look forward to once the war is over.
ReplyDeleteThe barber that came to shave Henry in this chapter was hostile because he had mistook Henry for an Austrian officer. It must have been a simple miscommunication between them sparking the Italian barber to turn very hostile.
ReplyDelete-Evan Madden
Just a question to clarify my reading. Does Hemmingway translate Italian to English without describing it? For example with the whole barber situation above, all it says is that the Italian "Doesn't understand very well". Would that imply that the Henry was already talking to him in Italian, and the barber simply could'nt understand his dialect very well?
ReplyDeleteWhat I like about the second book is that you begin to understand the complexity of the characters. In the first book Hemingway is very straight forward with all of his descriptions. In the second book the author uses indirect characterization to introduce a different side of the characters. At first Henry seems very dull. When important agreements such as faith, war, and patriotism come up in conversations, Henry does not say very much. In the second book you begin to understand his distaste for war. Which is shown when he is very uninterested in getting a silver medal after being wounded. You also learn that although it is hidden Catherine brings out a side of him that is vulnerable. Catherine's character also changes remarkably. As Chelsea stated Catherine changed from being "emotionally unsable" to "independent."
ReplyDeleteBook 2 is all about Henry’s time in the hospital, recovering from his knee injury. Henry and Catherine’s relationship really grows in Henry’s time at the hospital. At first Henry is anxious to get the knee surgery done, so that he can return to the war, however, later on, he tries to delay his return as much as possible so that he can stay with Catherine. There were two major symbols in Book 2, Catherine’s hair and the rain. Just like in Their Eyes Were Watching God Catherine’s hair has some sort of symbolism to it. Also, I think that Catherine’s fear of rain has some importance, it is kind of weird when she says that she sees her and Henry dead in the rain.
ReplyDeleteBook Two seems to have a lighter tone than book one, and it seems to be mostly about Catherine and Henry's love as opposed to the war and the dark tone of Book One. Lt. Henry and Miss Van Campen get off to a very horrible start, and immediately dislike each other. Henry is eventually visited by Catherine, and right when he sees her, he realizes that he loves her. When Henry asks for a second opinion on his leg, it makes him seem impatient, for the first opinion was that he should be bedridden for six months, which he cannot stand thinking of. I also agree with Elisa when she says that Henry still dedicates entire chapters to small matters like getting a shave and having drinks.
ReplyDeleteBook 2 seems to shift the topic of the book from the somber and sort of dark tones of henry and his part in the war to the flare of a budding romance. This romance seems to actually change henry (<--as most do) from a man who seems non-dedicated to the war effort he's fighting for but does it anyway too a man who seems non-dedicated to the war he's fighting for because he has more important things on his mind in the way of catherine. This is shown by Henry's anxious behavior towards waiting 6 months to get back on the front changing into a want to spend as much time with catherine. Although this really isnt a durastic change for a charector (i think any of us would change the same way in his circumstance) i do believe it is important to the novel.
ReplyDeleteBook two was pretty interesting to read. It was much more entertaining than book one. I really liked this book party because Catherine and Henry's characters start to show and develop. Catherine becomes more indepedent and less focused on attention and less crazy. I really start to like Catherine's character throughout this book because she never ceases to surprise me. At one moment, she can be so insecure and somewhat annoying but then she can be so selfless toward Henry. She also surprises me with her intuition about the rain, and I think that will play a part in the rest of the novel. Henry and Catherine's relationship matures more as the book goes on and Henry becomes more sincere in his love for Catherine.
ReplyDeleteI've picked up that rain is an imporatant symbol throughtout the novel. I think it represents the harsh realities of life. Every time an unfortunate event occurs, there always seems to be rain.
ReplyDeleteThe most conclusive example of this symbol is at the end of the novel when Henry walks back to his hotel in the rain. The loss of the only person he's ever truly loved is the ultimate example of the cruelty of this world.
For this reason, I think Catherine crying when it rains is a deep symbol of mourning for a hectic, unjust world and even forshadows further sadness and her own death.
The relationship shared by Henry and Catherine is by far one of the best developed relationships I've ever read about. The way Henry's lust for Catherine has transformed into a deep, true love is incredible and could possibly be on the same level as the relationship shared by Romeo and Juliet if not on a greater level. I also found it neat how every time Henry is away from Catherine the next time he sees her, he loves her twice as much as the last time he saw her! If love was felt like this in every marriage, the world would just be an incredible place to live. Also something else I picked up on was the rain. Catherine seems to have somewhat of a sixth sense about the rain and feels that it will bring bad news. Unfortunately, she is correct and the rain symbolizes everything falling down in Henry's life. He loses the love of his life, his only child, and any true happiness that he had felt with them.
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