Ernest Hemingway served in World War I in the Red
Cross Ambulance Corps. At the age of 18, in June, 1918, he arrived in
Europe and was wounded on July 8. He spent nine months recuperating in
Milan, sitting in cafes and bars and falling in love with his nurse, Agnes von
Kurowski. After the war, he moved to Paris where he began writing A
Farewell to Arms. He did not finish the novel there, but continued
writing it as he traveled in America in 1928 and 1929. Many of Hemingway's
own experiences in the war are reflected in the novel. Many of the characters
are also based on real people Hemingway met and knew during his time in Italy
and France. When the novel was published, it helped cement Hemingway's
reputation as one of America's greatest young writers.
Characters:
Frederic Henry - An American serving as
an ambulance officer in Italy
Catherine Barkley - A beautiful English
nurse serving in Italy in World War I
Rinaldi - An Italian army surgeon
Setting:
Italy and Switzerland during World War I
Topics to consider:
A tragic love story compared by Hemingway to Romeo and Juliet. The futility
of love and war, exposing the false idealism in wartime and the futility and
senselessness of war. Impressionistic realism.
Style:
First person narrative from Frederic's point of view.
Keywords:
Childbirth | death and dying | doctor-patient relationships | hospitalization | love | nursing | trauma | survival | war and medicine.
BOOKS:
Librarian
Talk . . . About Books!
Books
offer helpful information about time periods, authors and the
literary works. Use
them to help begin your review of literature on Farewell to
Arms .
Apply
online for a library card.
Use your card to 1) Place a Hold on a book
and have it sent to the library closest to you 2) Access
journal and reference databases from home, and 3) Access Online
Book Database (NetLibrary).
Online
books (database paid for by our libraries) are available at
NetLibrary.
Use your library card to log in. Create a free account to
save favorite titles or your own notes on the books you read.
Ask a librarian for help if you need it. Some
good resource books in Lone Star College-Kingwood Library are:
REF PN 41 .D5 - The Dictionary of
Literary Biography - Volumes 4 and 9 contain information on Hemingway's
life.
REF PN 771.G27 - Twentieth Century Literary Criticism - Vol. 115 is the primary book for information about Farewell To Arms. This article is a great place to begin your search for a topic for your paper. Excerpts of articles will help you understand major themes and how literary critics viewed the novel.
REF PS221 .T834 - Twentieth Century
American Literature- Volume 3 has an article on Hemingway and some
discussion of the novel.
REF PN50 .L574 - Literature and Its
Times - Places the novel into the time it describes.
D521 .K57 - The First World War: an
eyewitness history - a personal view of the war.
REF D523 .G634 - Chronicle of the
First World War- A two volume chronology of WWI.
Lone Star College-Kingwood Library also has a video set
on WWI which gives viewers a pictorial feel for the war. Look for it
in the Circulating videos:
D521 .G74 The Great War and the Shaping
of the 20th Century.
JOURNAL ARTICLES:
Librarian
Talk about Finding Journal and Newspaper Articles!
Electronic databases are purchased by the libraries for your research
use. Use them to find articles in newspapers and journals, letters,
reference books, illustrations, photographs and more. Home access
to article databases is available with your updated library card barcode.
If you need assistance finding an article contact the Reference Librarians
and they will see that you get the article. They will need full bibliographic
information - and your name and address. Send your phone number as
well, so they can contact you if necessary.
Use your library card to login to these online
journal databases.
Databases most useful for understanding and
writing about A Farewell to Arms are:
JSTOR
Arts & Sciences - Search
and browse the full text of nearly 250 scholarly journals. There are several
artilces about this novel.
Because this database is entirely scholarly, the articles are the appropriate
academic level.
Project
MUSE- Search
and browse the complete back issues of more than 117 scholarly journals.
Included are many journals in literature with articles about this novel.
Because this database is entirely scholarly, the articles are the appropriate
academic level.
Academic
Search Complete - Scholarly, multi-subject, full-text database.
Be sure to check the box marked "Scholary (peer reviewed) journals" in order
to retrieve the appropriate level of journal article for your research.
Suggested search terms: Hemingway and farewell entered in this manner.
Proquest- Over 1900 journals in all subjects, mostly full text, updated daily.
Limit your search to "Scholarly journals, including peer reviewed" in order
to retrieve scholarly articles. Suggested search terms: Hemingway
and farewell, or world war 1 and personal and account.
Literature
Resource Center - Full text articles from reference books
and Twayne's Masterworks books. Journal articles, some full text and
some excerpted. Ask for help if you can't decide which resources are
suitable. Use the title search to find information on Farewell
to Arms and limit to "all words entered."
MLA
- This database is an index to literary criticism in scholarly
journals and books. It is the most authoritative source of literature
journal article citations, but it has only limited full text. This
index will locate articles in the databases and on microfiche (which are
on file in the library). You will want to use it in the library in
order to find the full text of articles on microfiche.
INTERNET:
Librarian
Talk about the Internet!
The internet
can be a wonderful source of original documents. Browse the
sites we have suggested below. Remember, you DO want to find
reputable sites. Evaluate for:
Accuracy
- The information should be researched and show proof of that
research.
Source
- Look at the domain: .edu .gov
.org .net are valid research sources. Your company's
website is also a valuable resource.
Authority
- What are the author's credentials? (Don't quote from another
college freshman's paper.)
Coverage
- Does the page have the information you need for your research?
Objectivity
- If a work is biased, use it - just make sure your professor
knows YOU know. Offer both sides of issues, where applicable.
The Ernest Hemingway Society
This web page is a collection of information about Hemingway and his work. The society was founded in 1965 by Mary Hemingway, his widow .
Ernest
Hemingway: a centenniel assessment This web site offered by
CNN is written by Dr. James Nagel a Distinguished Professor of American Literature
at the University of Georgia.
Ernest
Hemingway These links are presented by Simon & Schuster, Inc,
a publishing company. The photos are great. There are some particulary
good ones of Hemingway in his WWI uniform, and as a wounded soldier recuperating
in Milan in 1918.
To learn more about Ernest Hemingway, Farewell To Arms: About the Author
(Becky Bradley; approx. 5 min.; Requires QuickTime.)
Librarian
Talk about the Internet!
