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Book Five, Chapters 38-41.Study Questions: Craft answers based on the details in the novel.29. What kind of family life does Frederic hint he has had (near the last page of Chapter 39)? In what sense does Catherine want to "ruin" Frederic at the end of Chapter 39? Does she succeed? (Hint: Revisit this question after you finish the novel and know what happens to them.) 30. Toward the end of Chapter 23, Frederic remembers two lines from
Andrew Marvell's poem, "To His Coy Mistress." What are the next
two lines of that poem, and are they relevant to Frederic's feelings at the
31. Even today, labor may last up to 20 hours or longer. As you read about the baby's birth, list what things seem believable and what things seem far-fetched about the delivery. Why would Hemingway have Frederic administering "gas" to Catherine about a third of the way into the last chapter, for instance, and in the middle of the chapter? 32. Was Frederic right about the world killing everyone 33. In the end, is what happens to Catherine "ironic" or a "dirty trick"? Who or what, according to the world view in this novel, is playing this dirty trick on her? How is her attitude at the end different from Frederic's? 34. In summary, what meaning(s) does the title of the novel have? (List as many as you can think of, then rank them with the most likely on top.) Research QuestionsThe following list of research questions ties in directly with Book Five. The list mixes military, historical, geographical, medical, cinematic, and biographical topics as needed to get you information you can use to help you understand this portion of Hemingway's novel a bit more deeply. The lettering continues the run started with Book Four's research questions. FX. Even today, labor may last up to 20 hours or more. How believable are the labor and birthing procedures for the era, as depicted in the novel? (Hints: What were the rates of infant mortality at birth? How common was death in childbirth until 1918 or so compared with today?) What complications occur late in a pregnancy that threaten the baby and the mother?GX. How dangerous was a cesarean section birth in 1918, and how was internal bleeding controlled? GX1. What child-birthing techniques existed in Western Europe in 1918? (Hint: It was probably before Lamaze and LeBoyer, but these doctors had forerunners.) HX. To what extent are the pregnancy and birth in the novel based on Pauline Pfeiffer's 1926-1927 pregnancy? IX. Why and how did Hemingway himself die in 1961, and what connection might there be between his death and the theme of the novel? (NOTE: You have to suggest an appropriate theme, weighing the circumstances of the author's death and the ideas of this novel.) (Hint: Were "they" out to get him?) JX. What endings did Hemingway consider for the novel, and why is the ending he designed as we see it in the novel the most appropriate? KX. What titles did Hemingway consider for this novel, and why is A Farewell to Arms an appropriate title. (Hint: Consider answers you have or heard for study question #34.) LX. What beginnings did Hemingway consider for his novel, and how is
the first chapter of A Farewell to Arms an "overture" or
preview of the major themes of the book? MX. What was it for: Why did World War I start? (For a really interesting contrast, consider Barbara Tuchman's Guns of August [also a video--1964], which suggests that military juggernauts were unstoppable and Robert Kennedy's 13 Days [also a movie on DVD or videotape] that explains how World War III was averted "by men of good will" during the Cuban missile crisis.) NX. What resulted from WWI, and was it worth it? (Hint: Connect with the novel's theme, as you see it.) What was the aftermath of WWI politically, militarily, and/or psychologically? How did the war change the way people thought about their world? OX. How did Hemingway get started as a fiction writer? Who helped him get his work accepted by a publisher in the early 1920s? What roles did Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, Ford Maddox Ford, and F. Scott Fitzgerald play in shaping Hemingway's career and writing style? Did Hemingway ever help anyone else get started in publishing fiction? Did his wives write and publish? What do his children do? PX. What did Hemingway do in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s? Do his actions suggest that he condones or condemns war? QX. Was Hemingway an irresponsible womanizer? How many wives did he have? Why did his marriages break up? Can you draw any conclusions about the transformation of Lt. Frederic Henry (or lack of one) based on Hemingway's early experiences with women? RX. What differences exist in plot between the 1932 movie (starring Gary Cooper, Helen Hayes, and Adolph Menjou) and Hemingway's novel? Did these changes constitute a change in the theme of the story? RX1. What differences exist in plot between the 1932 stage play by Laurence Stallings and Hemingway's novel? Did these changes constitute a change in the theme of the story? (NOTE: Find a copy of the play or at least of reviews of the play that mention similarities and differences with the novel.) RX2. What RX3. Find (and copy?) at least 3 reviews of the 1932 movie and of
the 1958 movie of A Farewell to Arms. Which movie version did the
critics/reviewers seem to prefer and why? Contrast critics' responses to
specific aspects, such as their presentation of the war, the love story, the
ending(s). SX. Literary Criticism: Read at least 4 different reviews or commentaries on the novel, preferably from different decades, and trace how critics have responded to the novel's themes or to some specific aspect of the novel, such as the characterization of Lt. Henry or Catherine Barkley. TX. Find and read the three chapters in Philip Young's Ernest Hemingway (New York: Rinehart, 1952: 28-143) that pertain to the "code hero"; then determine how this notion may have improved or misled the writer of the Cliffs Notes on A Farewell to Arms. TX1. Determine which of the student guides for A Farewell to Arms
is the best and why--Cliffs Notes? Monarch Notes? Barnes and Noble notes?
other? Which of these, if any, would you advise a teacher to have a class
buy if they are reading this novel--and why? UX. Read one of the following other books about WWI and related experiences, decide if it is fiction or nonfiction, and contrast its view of the war with that in A Farewell to Arms. You may compare movies when possible (if your instructor goes for the idea), being sure to focus on the ideas and themes of the contrasting movies and not just obvious differences of location, plot, acting, production qualities, and the like.
VX. Read The
Red Badge of Courage and commentary
about it to analyze parallels and contrasts between its protagonist, named Henry
Fleming, and Hemingway's Frederic Henry. WX. Find a head note for this website on "AFTA": Visit Steve Brown's website, Experience of War, to find poetry and prose reactions to WWI. Select a poem or a prose quotation from the readings linked there that you would like to nominate as a head note for this website on A Farewell to Arms. Explain how your nominated work echoes something of the theme in Hemingway's book. Email your nomination, including the link to the work listed at the Experience of War site plus your justification, to Prof. Eric Hibbison via ehibbison@jsr.vccs.edu Adding a head note will be an ongoing change made to this "AFTA" website as appropriate nominations come in. YX. Who was the greatest poet of The Great War? What was the greatest poem about The Great War? For an answer in English, consider works by the British poets honored in 1985 with a monument in Westminster Abbey. You have to state your reasons for "greatness" for the poet or poem that you select. |
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end
of the novel? 
(near the
middle of Chapter 34) or when he compares the world to the ants on a fiery log
in his campfire one time, about two-thirds of the way through the last
chapter? 
differences exist in plot between the 1958 movie (starring
Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones) and Hemingway's novel? Did these changes
constitute a change in the theme of the story?
Copyright
and Permission:
This web on Ernest Hemingway's early novel was begun under a small grant from the
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