Finding Truth in Lies in Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to...

Finding Truth in Lies in Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to...

Finding Truth in Lies in A Farewell to Arms



The foundation of Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms is based on lies. Hemingway exposes the reality, or truth, of love and war by presenting the story of Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley, lives ironically entrenched in lies. Henry in particular assumes a different role at every turn, pretending, for example, to be a soldier, a civilian, a doctor or Barkley's dead fiancé.



The lies in Henry's life begin when he joins the Italian army. Here, he pretends to be "one of the guys," silently siding with their bawdy humor and macho activities and not the morality of the priest. Hemingway best displays this conflict in the scene where the priest urges Henry to visit Abruzzi while the ... Show more content on Helpwriting.net ...Henry pretends to be a civilian, adopting many different forms of that which is anything but military dress.



Also, when the Swiss authorities question the purpose of Henry and Barkley's presence in Switzerland, he again must pretend to be other than an American member of the Italian army. Henry says to the officials he is a "sportsman" in Switzerland for "the winter sport" (279, 280). He also tells the officials he "has been studying architecture. My [Henry's] cousin has been studying art" (280). Henry uses this blatant lie to become a civilian, hiding his military background.



Others also understand Henry's tendency to pretend. For example, Rinaldi comments that Henry "only pretend[s] to be an American" (66). The priest later contradicts this statement: "You [Henry] are a foreigner. You are a patriot" (71). Henry often plays the role of the patriotic Italian, then the role of the patriotic American, then the role of the concerned observer, while never committing to any one ideology. Rinaldi and the priest have seen this change in facades within Henry, as he assumes different defining characteristics.



One of Henry's greatest lies centers around his relationship with Barkley. Initially, Henry wants Barkley only for physical satisfaction, and he will do whatever she wants to get some. He tells her he loves her with the hope that the declaration will prompt her to kiss him: "I lied. 'I love you' " (30). Once this false

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