Book Three, Chapters 25-32.

Study Questions: Guess answers based on the details in the novel.

19.  On War: Near the middle of Chapter 25, Dr. Rinaldi observes, "We never learn."
    a. What do you think he means?  (Hint: See question and answer #1 again for comparison or contrast.)
    b. What events have made Rinaldi more cynical? (Hint: Consider his revelation in the last two pages of Chapter 25.)
    c. About a third of the way into Chapter 27, what does Lt. Henry mean when he comments on the meaninglessness of abstractions and the dignity of place names? (Hint: Ask a veteran of any war, if you can't guess for yourself.)
    d. In summary, then, how is Hemingway depicting war at this point?  (Contrast your answer here with your answer for study question 39.)

20.  Early in Chapter 29, how does Lt. Henry treat the three soldiers who don't want to help him get the ambulance out of the mud?  How does he seem to feel about his action?  (Contrast your answer here with your answer to study question #8.)

21.  List several ironic occurrences during the Italian retreat that spans Book 2 and Book 3.  (Hint: Events are ironic if the unexpected happens or the expected doesn't happen.)

Research Questions

The following list of research questions ties in directly with Book Three. 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 Two's research questions.

W.  What was the U. S. reaction to World War I--before, during, and after the war? Why did the U. S. get into the WWI?  How was the war perceived in the United States after America was in the war? Look for reactions to war news in newspaper accounts of the day.  Will any local library have old newspapers in hardcopy or microfilm? Check also for magazines from 1917-1919.

W1.  How much reaction was there in the United States against entering WWI?  Why? Find out, for instance, about the conclusions of the 1935 Nye Commission report on U.S. entry into WWI done in the 1930s.

X.  What made World War I the first "modern war"? Note casualties (and other statistics), the number of nations at war, dismemberment and disease during and as a result of the war, weapons (in the air, on the ground, at sea), strategies, if possible emphasizing the Italian front as depicted in Hemingway's novel, such as the battle of the Plava river and the Tagliamento river and action between the cities of Udine and Gorizia in northern Italy, e.g. at Mt. Grappa.  Include notes and photos of weapons and equipment.

X1.  Describe the hazards and horrors of trench warfare that cost so many lives; if possible, mention the Italian front specifically, and how networks allowed troop rotation.

X2.  Describe the Battle of the Somme in which Catherine's fiance died. Calculate what year he died from the clues early in the novel.  What did the British and French expect the battle to be like? What was it really like? List casualties from all sides who fought in this battle.

X3.  What forms of chemical warfare were used in World War I? Were they used on the Italian front? (If not, where?) By which nation? What effects followed?  

On X, X1, X2, and X3, see also the memorial site about World War I at Ypres in Flanders Fields, Netherlands on the Western Front.  This site focuses on local details from the war, such as the battles for the Ypres Salient under "History," a database on local monuments, and a growing collection of "Links" about The Great War. 

X4.  What was it like to be a prisoner of war during World War I--in Switzerland, in Germany, in France, in Austria, in Italy, in England? How many prisoners were there and how were they treated? Were there any famous escapes?

X5.  In terms of weapons and battle tactics, how were the American Civil War, the Crimean War, or the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 forerunners of World War I?

X6.  Why did Italy switch sides in the war from an alliance with the Central Powers (Germany and Austro-Hungary) to an alliance with the Allies (Britain and France)? What did Italy gain from the switch? Did it lose anything from this switch?

Y.  Suddenly, after Feb. 1918, several divisions of experienced German soldiers appeared opposite the Italian lines.  Where did they come from, and why weren't they still there?  Explain how the Russian Revolution allowed the Austrians and Germans to focus their efforts on the Italian (and Western) front rather than the Eastern front. Mention how many soldiers were aligned along the Austro-Hungarian border with Italy.

Y1.  What caused the Russian Revolution? What were the major goals of the revolutionaries? How did the Bolsheviks differ from the Mensheviks? How did the Trotskyites fit in? How does this revolutionary plan compare with the Italian ambulance drivers' and the priest's view of war? How do the revolutionaries' goals fit with the "we" vs. "they" feeling of Catherine and Frederic, if at all?

Z.  What are the facts about the retreat from Caporetto? Why did it occur and when? What was the eventual result--give details such as dates, casualties, desertions, spies, battle police, field courts martial, etc., as you find them.  Did the army hold and later advance? Compare your findings with Chapters 21-32 in the novel to report on what Hemingway did to fictionalize his account of the retreat. What are some important differences between the actual retreat from Caporetto and the version in this novel?

AX.  What are the locations of Gorizia, Udine, Pordenone, and Milan, and how did each serve as a goal for Lt. Henry during the retreat? (Hint: Search Expedia for these "places.")  Secondarily, what were these places like in terrain, culture, size, manufacturing (especially munitions)? 

AX1.  Locate and identify on a map the rivers mentioned in the novel, e.g. the Tagliamento and the Plava.  Is Caporetto a city or a river?  Where is it?

BX.  Allusions: An "allusion" is a literary device, specifically, a reference to another literary work or work of art, song, religious belief, myth, historical incident--anything famous--or an echo of it.  Allusions work on our emotions, the mood of a work.  What do these allusions add to the novel?
    a.  A quotation from Andrew Marvell's "dramatic monolog" of an attempt at seduction, called "To His Coy Mistress" (at the hotel before Lt. Henry's train ride back to the front near the end of Chapter 23: "But at my back I hear/ Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near.")
    b.  The bump on Lt. Henry's forehead from a rifle butt is reminiscent of the ironic bump on the head taken by the protagonist of The Red Badge of Courage. (on the last page of Chapter 31)
    c.  At the end of Chapter 32, Lt. Henry claims that "All anger was washed away in the river along with any obligation."  Was his escape by water, then, a kind of baptism?
    d.  What thematic importance does the lyric "Western Wind" have for this novel?  Start with what the lyric seems to mean to Lt. Henry when he is in the gondola car with the rifles.  Find the poem in an anthology of poetry or with the help of a reference librarian so you can set a context for the portion recited by Lt. Henry.

Copyright and Permission: This web on Ernest Hemingway's early novel was begun under a small grant from the VCCS, which holds copyright.  © 2001 by the Virginia Community College System.  This web was made by Dr. Eric Hibbison, Professor of English and Chief Chair, VCCS Regional Centers for Teaching Excellence (1998-2002). Materials in this web may be used free for educational purposes, but this web should not be behind a portal for which users must pay a fee without written permission from the VCCS.  If you're an educator using this web, please inform ehibbison@jsr.vccs.edu, especially if you'd like contact with other educators who are using this web.