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Farewell To Arms

Decent Essays

Hannah White
2-27-17
Period 1
Characterization in A Farewell to Arms

Ernest Hemingway gives a vivid picture of the characters and how they fit into the war. Book One has introduced to us a few characters, these including Frederick Henry, Rinaldi, the priest, and Catherine Barkley.

The narrator is introduced to us as a soldier in the war. We soon discover that his name is Frederick Henry. Henry is an American ambulance driver in the Italian army. It is revealed that he really has no interest in the war because he believes that it has nothing to do with him. He meets Catherine Barkley and says she is beautiful, but he lies about loving her. Henry is soon wounded, and refused to talk about any type of medal due to his belief of the war having nothing to do with him. Lieutenant Frederick Henry is a modest man who is meant to represent Ernest Hemingway himself. …show more content…

He is a surgeon in the Italian army. He really has no care for the war, and just wants to have fun. He can be seen seducing women, and sleeping with them quite frequently. He picks on the priest a great deal of the time because he is most likely an atheist. Rinaldi can be seen as Henry's closest friend. When Henry is hospitalized, Rinaldi brings him a bottle of cognac. He has a hard act, but can be nice when he wants to be.

The priest is a very kind young man who helps the few soldiers who are actually interested practice their faith. He does not get upset or angry when anyone talks badly about him. He seems to understand that not everyone will have the same beliefs as him, and he is okay with it. While Henry was in the hospital, the priest brought him mosquito netting, a bottle of Vermouth, and English Newspapers. These two can be seen as very good friends. In the beginning of the novel, the priest had even asked Henry to go and visit his family in Abruzzi while he was on leave. The priest is a very considerate

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