AFTA Question 4

Chapter 9…oh, Chapter 9, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  I could give an entire test on this one chapter alone – did you grasp its significance as you were reading?  There is a significant speech about war and the nature of defeat – THIS topic comes up again and again in the novel, both in relation to and apart from war.  At this point, what do the men feel about the war?  Discuss Frederic’s stance on the issue and what his opinions reveal about him as a man. 

Also, Frederic is critically injured in this chapter.  Compare and contrast this scene and the action that follows it (to end of chapter) with notions of courage, battle, and heroism depicted in the early British literature we’ve read – Beowulf and the characterization of the Knight in The Canterbury Tales.  What can we say about Modern heroes?  Modern war? (Modern = Modernism, you know, the era spanning from c. 1900-1950’s!)

AFTA Question 3

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 introduce Frederic’s love interest and one of Hemingway’s most critically reviled (by Feminist critics at least) characters, Catherine Barkley.  What is YOUR opinion of Catherine?  Does her past play at all into her behavior – and does it make a difference in how you read her?  Discuss their early relationship – their motivations, their level of trust, etc.  What do you predict for their future (if you KNOW and spoil it, I will NEVER EVER EVER forgive you!)

AFTA Question 2

Chapters 3 and 7 both contain passages with noticeable departure in style from Hemingway’s typical "journalistic" syntax.  Google “stream of consciousness” as a literary technique (even if you know what it is…see what others say about it) and discuss its usage in these two chapters.  Are the circumstances similar or different?  Discuss why Frederic’s narrative shifts in these scenes and what we perhaps learn about him from these departures.

AFTA Question 1

Chapters 1-2 of A Farewell to Arms serve as exposition, introducing the novel’s major motifs, such as rain and religion, and major characters, such as Frederic (the narrator), Rinaldi, and the priest.  In both cases, World War I provides the backdrop for these opening scenes.  Discuss the impact of the war on the natural landscape and the men.  Is there any common ground between the how the two (nature and men) “relate” to the war?

*if you don't know WWI very well...google it!  do some background reading!