HEMINGWAY’S A FAREWELL TO ARMS

Initial Discussion/Pre-ReadingWriting Response Assessment

Let’s Discuss as a class….

1) How is war romanticized in popular culture?

2) What are some examples of romantic notions regarding war and heroism?

3) How do we culturally define a hero?

http://www.bing.com/shopping/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3/p/034171382875AFB55020?q=call+of+duty+modern+warfare+3&lpf=0&lpq=call+of+duty+modern+warfare+3&FORM=EGCA&lppc=16

Agenda 11/22/13

1. Peer Review3. Final paper reminders4. A Farewell to Arms: book one discussion5. TWS6. Groups discussion7. Closure/Reflection

Homework: Final drafts due Monday. * Book Two AFA: Tuesday

Objectives: Peer Editing

(Edit/Revision)Peer Editing Edit writing for mechanics (e.g.,

punctuation, capitalization), spelling, grammar (e.g., pronoun-antecedent relationship, use of modifying phrases), style (e.g., eliminating verbiage), and tone and mood as appropriate to audience, purpose, and context.

Final Product Should Reflect Revisions Revise documents to develop or support

ideas more clearly, address potential objections, ensure effective transitions between paragraphs, and correct errors in logic.

Final Draft: Monday

Either a title page or correct heading

Double check your works cited Remember the grammar Rough drafts should be in your

portfolios Monday. (Bring to class)

Objectives: Book One

Analyze a literary work, using the characteristics of the literary time period that it represents. (WWI)

Analyze how authors develop complex, multilayered characters through the use of specific literary devices.

Analyze texts to identify the author’s life experiences, attitudes, viewpoints, and beliefs and how these relate to the larger historical, social, and cultural context of his or her work.

HEMINGWAY’S A FAREWELL TO ARMS

Book OneWriting Response Assessment

Think, Write, and Share: Characterization

“When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” – Ernest Hemingway

Groups: 1ST Block

Groups: 3rd Block

Question One: War

In Chapter IX, a heated debate takes place regarding the nature of war. There are many views reflected in the debate: “nothing worse than war,” “defeat is worse [than war], “war is not won by victory,” and “war is fought for money.”

1) What position does Henry take regarding war? Does this impact the way Henry “tells” the story? If so, how?

2) Why would Hemingway introduce this debate just before men are injured and killed?

Question Two: Character- Lt. Henry

1) Describe Lt. Fredric Henry’s character in 3 adjectives.

2) At the end of Book One, would you consider Lt. Henry a hero? Why or why not?

Question Three: Love

1) Describe Catherine Barkley’s character in 3 adjectives.

2) What stereotypical gender roles are present thus far in the novel?

3) What role does love play in Book One which is heavily dominated by war?

Question Four: Hemingway’s Style

What sort of statement does

Hemingway make by writing

this book (primarily about

war), and by crafting the

story in sparse language with

frequent dialogue?

Did we cover….?

Emotion- feels regret for not visiting the priest.

False feeling of soldering. Irony of Henry’s injury. Awkward in the “wardrobe of war.”

Pistol, Helmet, Salute (16, 29, 33)

What elements of Modern writers are present in book one?

Closure/Reflection

Hemingway’s BiographyIf we look at this novel as a semi-autobiographical text, what details from Hemingway’s life is evident in book one?

Remember, you should only pull information about his life prior to 1929 (publication date).

Agenda: 11/26/13

Small group discussion

Whole class discussion Love & gender Reader Response Journal

Homework: Book Three for Monday, December 2nd.

A Farewell to Arms: Book TwoWriting Response Assessment

Agnes Von Kurowsky and Ernest Hemingway

Question One: Turn to page 91…Henry sees Catherine for the first time in Milan. He is overwhelmed by her beauty. 1) Do you believe he is actually in love with her?

2) Why is there such an extreme attraction and attachment between the two?

3) Is Henry a reliable narrator?

Pages to reference: 92, 93, 114

Question Two: Catherine states… “There isn’t any me. I’m you. Don’t make up a

separate me” (115). “You’re my religion” (116). “I suppose all sorts of dreadful things will happen

to us” (116). “I’ll try and not make trouble for you” (138).

1) Do you have a different view of Catherine’s character than from the beginning of the novel?

Look at passages on 114 & 126

Question Three: War and Heroism1) How does Hemingway portray Ettore? Why?

2) What does this say about Hemingway’s idea of a war hero?

3)”Perhaps wars weren’t won any more. Maybe they just went on forever” (118). Significance?

4) What role does war play in Book Two which is heavily dominated by love?

Question Four: Allusions“To His Coy Mistress”…Sound familiar? Andrew Marvell’s Carpe Diem Poem

Hemingway alludes to this poem when Henry recites: “But at my back I always hear, time’s winged chariot hurrying near…”(pg. 155).

Why does Henry recite this poem at this moment in the novel?

Why is “time’s winged chariot hurrying near?”

Agenda 12/2/13: Book Three Small group discussion

Study Questions Assigned Group Question Anti-Hero Discussion

Whole Class Discussion Study Questions from Groups Reader Response Journal Anti-Hero Discussion

A Farewell to Arms: Book ThreeWriting Response Assessment

Rinaldi?The

Priest.

Question One: Rinaldi & ReligionRinaldi says, “I am the snake. I am the snake of reason.” Henry responds, “you’re getting it mixed. The apple was reason” (pg. 170). Rinaldi has “no sacred subjects” and notes that he has no married friends, presumably because he can seduce any woman through reason. Finally, he admits, “We are born with all we have and we never learn. We never get anything new. We all start complete” (pg. 171). These biblical symbols draw us back into questions of religion.

1) Could Rinaldi provide a symbol of the atheist or a world without religion? Explain.

Question Two: Henry & Religion1) In this book, Henry implies that he “believes in nothing.”

- Is this view the result of his war experience?

- If he believes in nothing does this include Catherine and love?

2) Has Henry’s outlook changed from Book One?

3) If this view hasn’t evolved from life-experience, is Rinaldi correct when he says, “We all start complete?”

4) Could Henry be an existentialist?

Question Three: Henry and Rinaldi “The war is terrible. We’ll both get drunk

and be cheerful.” “You are my best friend and my war

brother.” “Now I am depressed myself, That’s why

I never think about these things. I never think and yet when I begin to talk I say the things I have found out in my mind without thinking.”

How does Rinaldi deal with the war? Is Henry’s friendship with Rinaldi

the only true relationship he has? Explain

Question Four: Diction

Hemingway’s description of the retreat is a very important aspect of the entire novel.

1) What do you notice about Hemingway’s diction that reflects the content of the novel?

2) How does Hemingway overturn the romantic notions of war in Book Three?

* Quote page 185.

Question Five: Distractions & Symbols

1)In what ways does Henry distract himself from the horrors of the war?

2) What instances of rain or water do we see in this book? Symbolism?

3) How has Henry changed in his interaction with the war since his intimate time with Catherine in Milan?

- Has love changed Henry?

Question Six: War Activity & Desertion

1) What is your reaction to Henry shooting the sergeant? Is this out of character? Why does he shoot him? Irony? Is it murder? Commentary on war?Turn to page 224… 2)Who is the hero? The man before Henry who is shot rather than answering questions? Or can you rationalize why Henry deserts the war?Turn to page 232….

3)What is your reaction to Henry abandoning the war? Is this noble, cowardly, or something more complex? Explain.

Is Lt. Henry an anti-hero?

Anti-Hero

In your group, discuss whether or not you believe Henry fits the definition of an anti-hero.

On the card provided write yes or no, and then give two examples to support your position.

If your group consists of yes and no stances, provide one detail to support each.

Here is a narwhal to help you think.

A Farewell to Arms: Book FourWriting Response Assessment

“Hmmm…I wonder what Hemingway intended with the use of Catherine’s view of her unborn

child….”

Contemplative Baby

Question One: The Wardrobe of War

In Book One Henry mentions how he feels ridiculous carrying a pistol, how the men in uniform appeared as if they were “six months gone with child,” how uncomfortable he feels saluting, and how he often has a “false feeling of soldiering.”1) When Henry throws off the ‘wardrobe of war,’ how does he feel in civilian clothes? Significance?Turn to page 245….2) How does this quote reflect the sentiments of the lost generation?

Question Two: Turning Points

1) What are the two most important turning points in the novel?

2) In this book, we find that Henry makes “a separate peace.” What does he mean by this?

3) So, how could you relate the title, A Farewell to Arms, to the above quote?

Question Three: Courage

Turn to page 249…. 1) What is your reaction to this quote?2) What is Hemingway’s tone in this quote?3) Why is this quote significant to the novel?4) A few pages later Henry admits, “I feel like a criminal. I’ve deserted from the army” (251).

- Does this indicate actual guilt?- Does it matter enough that he

would return?

Question Four: Count Greffi

1) How does Hemingway portray Count Greffi? Why?

Which character does he portray in a similar way?

2) Count Greffi, “No, that is the great fallacy; the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful” (261).Turn to 263… Henry and Greffi discuss religion. 3) How can love be a religious feeling?4) Does this validate the love between Henry and Catherine?

Question Five: Antagonist & Conflict

1) Who or what do you believe is the antagonist of this novel? Support your position.

2) Are there multiple conflicts within the novel? Explain.

Question Six: Row, Row, Row Your Boat…

1) Any symbolism with the couple fleeing to Switzerland by boat? Remember a boat travels on….

2) Reactions to how Henry, but more importantly, Catherine perceives their unborn child?

Which character do we see in a more negative light?

Why?

A Farewell to Arms: Book FiveWriting Response Assessment

The Ending….

“I rewrote the ending to Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied.”

-Ernest HemingwayThe Paris Review, Spring 1958

Question One: Weather & Time*We have discussed weather and water imagery throughout the novel. 1) What is the significance of the snow in this section? What is snow? Symbolism?* The sense of urgency continues throughout the final book. “Times winged chariot.”

“We knew the baby was very close now and it gave us both a feeling as though something were hurrying us and we could not lose any time together” (311).

2) Then, the ending of the novel is extremely abrupt. What is the significance?

Question Two: Catherine & ChildTurn to page 320…“This is what people got for loving each other.”1) Notice the urgency in his thoughts regarding Catherine’s possible death. Does this confirm that his love is true? Why or why not?Turn to page 325…

“I felt no feeling of fatherhood” (325).2)Why? Significance?

Question Three: Catherine’s DeathTurn to page 330…

Henry prays that Catherine would not die.1) Significance? Is this surprising? Does he know it is futile? What does this show regarding his love for Catherine?

2) “It was like saying good-by to a statue” (332)

Significance?

Question Four: The Lost Generation

1) How might Henry’s character and challenges reflect the era?

2) Is Henry himself a symbol of the “Lost Generation?”

Question Five: Defining Greatness1) What are characteristics of a great book? What elevates a novel to greatness?2) Is A Farewell to Arms a ‘great’ novel according to our definition of greatness?3) A great writer can be the voice of a generation. What kind of voice does Hemingway provide through Henry?4) What does this voice tell us about the concerns and dreams of Hemingway’s generation?

Saying Farewell to A Farewell to Arms

1) The Romantic View of War vs. The Reality of War 2) Loyalty vs. Abandonment3) Masculinity vs. Femininity4) The nature of love and loss.5) Relationships6) Hope/Hopelessness

Any final thoughts?

Here are some royal mini-horses to make life not so sad.