Organize your ideas around a thesis about the novel.

This statement or thesis should be

focused, with clear reasons supporting its conclusion. The thesis and supporting reasons
should be backed by references to the text. You may use your books for this exam.
Choose Three (3) essay topics and write a complete essay on each. This test may
continue on Friday.

1. Write an essay discussing Hemingway’s use of lowlands and mountains as

symbols.

2. Compare and contrast the novel’s most significant supporting characters: Rinaldi
and the priest.

3. Are Henry’s reasons for deserting the Italian army convincing? Why or why not?

4. Hemingway reveals almost nothing about the background of Frederic Henry or the
other characters. How does the elimination of character history contribute to
Hemingway’s crafting of the novel? Instead of biographical histories, how does
Hemingway provide us with insight into character development? In other words, what
devices substitute for personal histories? Has Hemingway used these devices
successfully?

5. Compare the novel’s two idyllic sections: the summer spent in Milan and the
winter in Switzerland.

6. Compare and contrast Italy and Switzerland in general, as they appear in this
novel.

7. Write an essay in which you disagree with the truism that the essential
Hemingway style is typified by short, declarative sentence.
8. Henry tells us of Ettore, an Italian-American who had received numerous medals,“He
was a legitimate hero who bored every one he met” (p. 124). What concept of heroism
does Hemingway present through Henry and others? Could Catherine be considered a
hero? What kind of hero? Or, does Hemingway depict Henry as an anti-hero? Cite
passages to support your argument.

9. Ernest Hemingway has been accused of sexism. Is Catherine Barkley a believable,

three-dimensional character? What about the other female characters in A Farewell
to Arms?

10. Is Hemingway’s treatment of the love between Henry and Catherine too much or
not enough?

11. Write an essay about the common man in A Farewell to Arms.

12. Catherine tells Frederic,“You’re my religion. You’re all I’ve got” (p. 116). Henry
implies that he has no religion. The priest advocates religion under very difficult
conditions and admits that he is hopeless. Provide a portrait of religion in the novel. Is
Hemingway making a statement about the relation of religious belief to the war? Support
your argument with quotes from the text.

13. How effective are the opening chapters of A Farewell to Arms? What makes them
effective/ineffective?