"You don't believe in God until the plane is crashing"

Throughout the last chapter there was a lot of reference to religion. When asked, Catherine said she didn't have a religion. A better answer would be my husband, or Frederic as she stated earlier. Also when the baby was dead, Frederic said even though he doesn't follow a religion, the baby would have been baptized. So we see all this secularism, the suddenly BAM!, Frederic sounds like the most religious person you would ever meet. When Catherine is in her last breaths, Frederic prays to God like he never has before. He also asks Catherine if she wants a priest to come. Where is this coming from!? He also contradicts these feelings with thoughts of death, how it is inescapable. Yes it is what is expected when someone is dying, but I never thought we would see this change in Frederic.

The ending

I love that the ending of AFTA was abrupt. At first I was aggravated, because I wanted to know more, but after I while I found myself content with the ending. An ending any different I don't think would have fit. I also enjoyed that fact that it was raining when Catherine died, and how before she had seen death in the rain. Maybe, she saw her own death in the rain. Frederick did not go back to the war in book five the war came to him. When Catherine died, it was like being at the front again, where death is all around Fredrick. Catherine died in a hospital, and while there is a lot of life in a hospital, there is also a lot of death, just like there is at the front.

A Farewell to Fretting..phew!!

Sooo I don't know about you guys, but I actually had a LOT of fun writing this parody and was stressing over nothing..phew!! I thought it would be impossible to mimic this wonderful author's techniques but  I am surprisingly proud with my work. It was kind of a way to take a breather over the heavy topic of the book, yet  still staying focused.  I think we should have more assignments like these, what do you guys think??? :)

Tummy

While reading, one thing really stood out to me, and it is probably one of the most insignificant things: that Fredrick used the word tummy. He tells Catherine: "Tell me when you're tired," I said. Then a little later, "Watch out the oar doesn't pop you in the tummy." (237) Personally, when I think of someone using the word tummy, I think of a child or a mother. I first I thought that maybe Hemingway was calling to light Fredrick's immaturity, but personally I think Fredrick has grown up in the past couple of chapters. Also I don't take Fredrick for a "tummy" kind of guy. I sure, when he was in the army, if he had used the word tummy, he would have got slapped. Honestly, I have no idea why this stood out to me.

Contradictions

So I realized while reading last night, that is whole book is really contradicting itself. Going way back when, to when we did the harkness, one of my only comments was about the horse race chapter, and how the characters almost excepted defeat when they bid on the horses they liked, and not the ones that would win them money. But if the horse race really did represent war, then why would they except defeat? Didn't they say that defeat was worse than war? And if so, why do they keep wanting everyone to stop fighting and stand down? Wouldn't that mean they were all defeated?
And also, all the male characters in the book talk about sex and girls without any restrictions really. I mean, some of it is disguised, but its pretty easy to figure out when they are talking about sex. But then, whenever they use a swear, its cut out of the book. On pg. 171, Aymo tells one of the girls, "'Don't worry...No danger of --' using the vulgar world. 'No place for --.' I could see she understood the word and that was all." What word are they talking about? It can't be that bad, considering they talk about sex like its a game. Just some food for thought.

Just a Thought

This is of course meant to be a less formal post...... but is it just me or is 'A Farewell to Arms' falling apart a little bit? Or perhaps, it's just Frederic Henry. I'dve thought it'dve been that Catherine was the one to fall to pieces without him, and granted, we've not heard from Catherine, but it seems almost as if Frederic's bought into her 'no separate me' story. Maybe it's just the drudgery of war without their love story - an interesting and valid point Hemingway could be making, but it really seems as if things are falling apart a little bit. Most of us aren't huge Catherine fans, but I have sympathy for her and I'm almost missing her part in the novel at the moment. It's as if Frederic's gone back to his apathy, but minus the independence he possessed before Catherine.

Then vs. Now

In class we've talked about how it is somewhat unfair to judge Frederick based on today's standards and I think there is proof of how much the world has changed in the reading due today. On page 164 they mention how the prostitutes from the soldiers whorehouse are being put into a truck as part of the evacuation and Bonello says, "I'd like to have a crack at them for nothing. They charge too much at that house anyway. They government gyps us." Today, the government would never even consider providing prostitutes for soldiers at war, let alone possibly making a profit from it. Because exploiting women in this way was normal during WWI, the way Frederick treats Catherine and how he interacted with her before they really knew each other seems much more normal to me.