Farewell to Arms

A detailed Summary of Farewell to Arms

War has always been a terrible thing. At times though there are always some people who become ignorant about what war really is. Otto Von Bismarck once said, "Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war." Otto Von Bismarck is trying to show that war is gruesome and that you do not want to live through it. This quote applies to Frederic very well. In the beginning of the novel Frederic thinks war is nothing and that if he joins nothing would happen to him. Later on in the novel, all he wants to do is just finish the war soon. Finally toward the end, he does not want to even think about it. Frederic's situation throughout the story relates to this quote because of his changing views of war, from being ignorant about what would happen, to starting to realize what is going on, and finally by actually seeing how foolish and horrible war can be.

When war starts, most people think that nothing serious can happen. First time soldiers, like Frederic, think that they can join the war and that nothing can happen to them. He thinks to himself that since his school is closed he can join the army as an ambulance driver and live through the war problem fr

When Frederic finally sees what war really is, he decides he wants to part of it. He wants to leave the war or hope that the war will end soon. During the retreat he realizes how foolish war can be. " If the rain should stop and planes come over and get to work on that whole column that it would be all over. All that was needed was for a few to leave their trucks or a few horses be killed to tie up completely the movement on the road."(199) He thought that the way the retreat was planned was poorly done. It was just an easy target for the enemy was his theory. Later on he finds out how ironic war is. As Frederic and his men are running from the Germans he come across Italian troops. This Italian troop decides to act before thinking, and begin shooting at their own men, Frederic's men. "We are more in danger from Italians then Germans."(214) Frederic wants to run and hide from his own army. He does hide and run but eventually is captured by his own Italian battle police. Frederic thought the battle police was looking for Germans in Italian uniform and they were executing everyone they thought was disloyal to Italy. "It is you and such as you that have let the barbarian onto the sacred soil of the fatherland."(223) Frederic wanted to escape the battle police and did. He saw what war can do and did not want anymore to do with it. "I was through. I wished them all the luck. There were the good ones, and the brave ones, and the calm ones and the sensible ones, and they deserved it. But it was not my show anymore and I wished this bloody train would get to Mestre and I would eat and stop thinking. I would have to stop."(232) Frederic had all he could take from the war. He was tired of running and he was tired of thinking about the war. Frederic had seen what war could do to people.

When Frederic begins to realize what war really is, he starts to become more aware about what is going on around him. Before the mortar shell hit him, the priest told Frederic that he should visit Abruzzi. The priest sees that Frederic is different from the rest of the men in his troop, t

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Approximate Word count = 1418
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English