A Farewell to Arms

One of the major themes depicted in an essay on A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is harsh reality of war. All of those associated with the war are greatly affected by it. War causes much devastation and tragedy in the lives of everyone involved. War was harsh for the civilians too. Not only were the soldiers fighting for their lives but the civilians were as well. During the war people experienced total war. An excellent example of this is when the Italian Army is retreating and the Austrian Army is destroying everything in their path, including homes and innocent civilians. Love is found throughout the novel and is a big part of it. People are sad and lonely during war so they are desperate for attention and love. This shows how war really affects everyone involved. In the novel Fredric loses his best friend Rinaldi because of the war. Rinaldi was a great friend to Fredric; after all he did introduce him to Catherine. Rinaldi is also in the medical field as well. He is a surgeon in the war who has taken on the tough task of having to work way too much and having to work every hour of the day, every day of the week.

When writing a term paper on this novel it would be easy to see that Rinaldi and Fredric have a strong relationship. One may draw this conclusion because of a couple of things. When Fredric returns from the hospital, Rinaldi is the first person to greet him. This shows that these two are great friends and they have a strong friendship. At another point in the novel one may really see just how much Fredric cares for Rinaldi. This occurs when he is retreating with some other soldiers and is petrified that Rinaldi is sick and is not in good health. He is always wondering where he is and whether he is all right. Fredric also has a good relationship with the priest during the time of the war. This relationship is strange because the priest and Rinaldi have very different ideas and views. The priest believes that love is great because it shows devotion and that there is no selfishness involved in love. The priest thinks that God is wonderful and gives him his peace. God makes him feel great and secure. It is clear that Fredric is greatly affected by both the priest and Rinaldi because his views are composed of the ideas of both men.