AFTA Essay

Religious Uncertainty A Farewell To Arms is a novel that captivates a reader with a character’s struggle through life, beliefs, and relationships during times of war. Those themes such as love, war, and identity are developed, but one of the key themes of this novel is religious uncertainty. Religious uncertainty is a key theme Hemingway develops through important events of the war, which affect the soul and beliefs of a character, a characters’ loneliness, and through religious symbolism. Religious uncertainty is a key theme. Religious uncertainty can form in a person under certain circumstances and possibly permanently affect one's beliefs. This theme is carefully developed by Hemingway by placing small clues that build up to the bigger idea. In the beginning of the novel, disrespect of religion displays religious uncertainty. A conversation is being held between the major, the lieutenant, and the priest, in which they discuss the priests’ purpose of being there is and their opinions on religion. The major says, “All thinking men are atheists.” (Hemingway 8). The major is disrespecting the priest, and disrespecting religion itself. The war has changed the characters from faithful to unfaithful. The war is constantly present in the characters life by the way they live their lives and how they are shaped. This also incorporates the dichotomy of believers versus non-believers and depicts the cruel and cold reality of the war. This shows that the men at war numb to all feelings. It could be assumed that although the war is not fully shown throughout the novel, the war is always present. The war has shaped the characters in the way that they have difficulty forming relationships and led them to only satisfy their bodily needs. The multiple deaths they see and injuries they receive, influence their beliefs and thoughts. The troops have no other choice but believe there is no way out of this war, and there’s nothing else but to end it. They believe everything