Symbolism in a Farewell to Arms Essay Example
Symbolism in a Farewell to Arms Introduction:
In the novel "A Farewell to Arms", Author Ernest Hemingway uses many different symbols. One of the most used symbols is nature, and most importantly rain. We shall try how symbols serve different things in the novel
: Rain and Water
From the beginning up until the very end, rain serves as a powerful symbol of death and all the accompanying emotions of grief, pain and despair. As the rain pours down on a beautiful day, it turns all that is joyful or hopeful into desolation. This is seen on the very first page, where there is rapid progression of the seasons from summer into autumn. Summer is identified with dryness and a plain "rich with crops" (Page 7). This is immediately contrasted with autumn, where "the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain" (Page 7). This miniature transition of seasons foreshadows the larger transitions to come later on in the novel.
From the very first chapter, rain clearly symbolizes death. (Page 7) "In the fall when the rains came, the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain," Henry tells us. "The vineyards were thin and bare-branched too and all the country wet and brown and dead with autumn."
The first part of the novel takes place in relative dryness of season... up until when Catherine informs Henry that she is going to have a baby. As soon as she tells him the news, it starts raining, ending the dry part of the novel: (Page 104): "It turned cold that night and the next day it was raining". Therefore, we can see that the novel is separated into two segments, just as the first chapter is separated in summer and fall.
One of the main forms of symbolism in this novel is nature. Dryness and abundance are identified by summer. Summer is contrasted by autumn with wetness and bareness. The first part of the story takes place in dryness up until Catherine tells Henry that she is pregnant. Once she tells him her news, the
In the novel "A Farewell to Arms", Author Ernest Hemingway uses many different symbols. One of the most used symbols is nature, and most importantly rain. We shall try how symbols serve different things in the novel
: Rain and Water
From the beginning up until the very end, rain serves as a powerful symbol of death and all the accompanying emotions of grief, pain and despair. As the rain pours down on a beautiful day, it turns all that is joyful or hopeful into desolation. This is seen on the very first page, where there is rapid progression of the seasons from summer into autumn. Summer is identified with dryness and a plain "rich with crops" (Page 7). This is immediately contrasted with autumn, where "the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain" (Page 7). This miniature transition of seasons foreshadows the larger transitions to come later on in the novel.
From the very first chapter, rain clearly symbolizes death. (Page 7) "In the fall when the rains came, the leaves all fell from the chestnut trees and the branches were bare and the trunks black with rain," Henry tells us. "The vineyards were thin and bare-branched too and all the country wet and brown and dead with autumn."
The first part of the novel takes place in relative dryness of season... up until when Catherine informs Henry that she is going to have a baby. As soon as she tells him the news, it starts raining, ending the dry part of the novel: (Page 104): "It turned cold that night and the next day it was raining". Therefore, we can see that the novel is separated into two segments, just as the first chapter is separated in summer and fall.
One of the main forms of symbolism in this novel is nature. Dryness and abundance are identified by summer. Summer is contrasted by autumn with wetness and bareness. The first part of the story takes place in dryness up until Catherine tells Henry that she is pregnant. Once she tells him her news, the