A Farewell to Arms Essay

All throughout time there has been an eternal debate: what is man’s basic nature? Is it solely righteous, in no require of a God, or is the human race pure evil and in desperate need of a higher power to redeem us? In A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway answers this question using allusions to the Christian faith in an effort to express the corruptness of man.

Knowledge has been long said to be power, yet what is the purpose of this discovered power if nothing is obtained from it? Fredrick demonstrates throughout the novel that he is, knowledgeable of the Bible and of religious traditions; but he continuously rejects this knowledge as truth and power. In his refusal to follow the Christian faith, Fredrick gives any allusion a negative connotation, asking Catherine in one situation, “You’re not a Catholic are you?” (Hemingway 43). Fredrick appears to have such a hatred for the beliefs of Christians that he will not even fall for someone practicing the religion. This hatred seems to come from an underlying fear of the peace and tranquility that is associated with the Christian faith. Being the friendliest to the priest, “I smiled at the priest and he smiled back,” Fredrick shows his fear: due to the misconception that maybe the priest will cut him down for his refusal to accept the Christian beliefs as his own (8). In making Fredrick so fearful, Hemingway starts to shed light on the true nature of man: one of evil and fright.

With this idea of knowledge, another meaning comes to mind: one of sin. Sin is a recurring motif in this text due to all the allusions to Christianity. This definition is based off the symbol of the snake which plays a major role in the fall of man, “and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4). Though Adam and Eve gained the knowledge of good, they also received the knowledge of evil, which tags along in the form of a basic sinful nature. Hemingway portrays this thought throughout the novel, playing into Fredrick’s “hollow” feeling (Hemingway 227). The lack of purity in Fredrick’s soul, from his nights of, “waking and not knowing who it was with [him],” to being, in Ferguson’s mind, “like a snake,” Fredrick displays the basic human quality: sin. The snake being especially harsh, as it is the devil himself, is the purest evil entity known to man. Fredrick is without substance the entire story, having no true identity. His only character lies with Catherine, and is one of only lust and pseudo-love, which again correlates with his sense of being hollow.

Hollowness also relates to Fredrick’s sense of procrastination. With no true sense of identity, he feels no sense of urgency to commit himself in marriage or faith. Count Greffi, as a character, symbolizes this procrastination, as he is 94 years old and, “outlived [his] religious feeling” (263). Fredrick, when hearing this, has no reason to care anymore. With no self-defined morals, he certainly would not just randomly decide something for himself, for once. His procrastination can also be connected to the fear he possesses of faith and commitment. Fredrick’s attachment issues are a result of Catherine’s problems with commitment, again because he has no sense of self.

Ernest Hemingway, in A Farewell to Arms, stresses the evil nature of man through references to the Christian faith. In doing this, Hemingway may imply that he believes Christianity is the right way in life, but mainly wants to show that man alone is not pure. Only in looking beyond ourselves and seeking out a higher power which can redeem us, can we be a pure being.