Essay about The Irrelevant God in Ernest Hemingways A...

The Irrelevant God in A Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms begins with a gods-eye-view, cinematic pan of the hills surrounding Gorizia-the camera of our minds eye, racing forward through time, sweeps up and down the landscape, catching isolated events of the first year in the town as it goes. The film ultimately slows to a crawl, passing through the window of a whorehouse to meet the eyes of Frederic Henry watching the snow falling. As we attach ourselves to Frederic Henrys perspective we turn (as he turns) back to the conversation at hand, a theological debate between the priest and Lieutenant Rinaldi. This debate, its dialectic made flesh in these two polar opposites, is a central question of A Farewell to Arms: What is†¦show more content†¦Rinaldi, however, wants him to go to centers of culture and civilization, where he will have fine girls (8). This discussion further frames the debate between Rinaldi and the priest in a mental landscape dominated by two opposing images: the naturalistic landscape of the prie sts Abruzzi and the human-filled, civilized cityscape of Rinaldi. When he returns from leave in the next chapter he is extremely apologetic to the priest, repeatedly insisting in his drunkenness I had wanted to go to the Abruzzi, but one thing had led to another and he never made it there (13). A part of Henry wants to go to the Abruzzi, but something-a undeniable desire for a pleasurable life, perhaps-prevents him. Chapter Three ends with a statement of the priests uselessness in the face of the wars horror: He cant do anything about it anyway (14). This statement of the priests lack of agency in the face of the real world is echoed in the next chapter, which concerns Henrys first meeting with Catherine Barkley. The closeness of these two incidents suggests a necessary comparison between the priests lofty idealism and Rinaldis secular realism, here symbolized by the latters pursuit of women. It is interesting that Rinaldi is first interested in Miss Barkley; Henrys pursuit seems to happen therefore almost in emulation of Rinaldi, taking on the character of a revolt against religion. Here, as previously with the Abruzzi, Henry chooses Rinaldi over the