A Farewell to Arms 6

A Farewell to Arms: The Hemingway Code Hero Ernest Hemingway’s 1914-1918 autobiographical novel, A Farewell to Arms, takes place on the Italian front during World War I. Frederic Henry, the main character, is a young American ambulance driver for the Italian army during the war. He is extremely disciplined and courageous, but feels detached from life. Rinaldi, a surgeon and friend of Frederic’s, introduces him to an English nurse named Catherine Barkley. Once …

…is there she says, “I’m not a bit afraid of it. It’s just a dirty trick.” Her cynic outlook on life proves that life is no more than a trick. During her last moments, Frederic is very unemotional. He has acquired the knowledge that life is an uphill struggle, which must be experienced alone and is inescapable to man. This proves his cynic outlook on life, and finalizes him as the code hero.