Bhaskar Lokanathan
American Literature
Ryan Martin
12/5/10
A Farewell to Arms: a love story A Farewell to Arms by Earnest Hemingway is a novel that tells the story of strong, yet strange relationship between Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley. Both are medical workers in the Italian military during World War I who fall in love soon after their first meeting. In the beginning, the love between the two seems fake and almost a game. Throughout the novel, Henry begins to develop a more serious love for Catherine, but this relationship is not a true connection between two lovers. Instead, the relationship is an escape from the war that helps the two get over their pasts. For Barkley, this escape helps her to get past her previous …show more content…

They were subconsciously using each other as escapes from the war. When Henry was with Catherine, he realized that what he wanted most in life was to have a family of his own, but when the baby came out, Henry did not even feel a connection with it (325). After seeing Catherine for the last time, Henry was able to just walk home. This leads readers to believe that he would be able to move on after her death. Catherine too was able to move on. She came back full circle and was able to unite in heaven with her true love, her ex-fiancé. Although Henry lost his fiancé and child, he didn’t come out empty-handed. For one, he had escaped the war which he had forced himself to deal with for several years. This also gave him a chance to restart his life, but the most important thing that occurred was that Henry had learned to love. For the first time he had experienced emotions that had given him a purpose in life. This experience would give him the initiative to go out into the world and try to do something with his life. For both Catherine and Henry, this relationship served as a temporary escape to get their lives back on track and lead them towards true