A Farewell to Arms
...son. Even when he discovers the infant is dead; he expresses only resentment that the child had so much trouble being born. Another theme of Hemingway’s is that of war. Hemingway experienced war in World War I, and he did not believe in the glory of battle. Through A Farewell to Arms he tries to show that war is not all honor and patriotism and courage. It is an endeavor filled with suffering and death and cowardice. This is shown when Fredrico is offered the Bronze Star even though he showed no bravery. Hemingway states that the medal is simply a symbol, meaning nothing. All the characters in the book believe that the war is futile and pointless, and none truly believe in it anymore. One character even claims that it would be better to lose the war than to continue it. Also, Hemingway does not portray, or imply, bravery or glory during the fighting. In fact, most of the fighting in the novel takes place during a botched retreat. Paranoia and fear are the abundant emotions in the fighting, as seen in the unflinching murder of Italians by other Italians because they don’t look or speak exactly as they should. The last theme addressed by Hemingway is that of religion. In the novel, the author seems to hold the institution in contempt. No one in the book is religious except one man, and he is mocked incessantly for his beliefs. Some of the soldiers of the novel, despite facing the possibility of dying at any moment, openly profess to having no religion at all, and Fredrico even fears, rather than calls on, God. When Catherine gives Fredrico the necklace of Sai...