Significance of the Title �A Farewell to Arms'
A giant in the field of American literary modernism, Ernest Hemingway has long been called an important spokesman for the � lost generation� of disillusioned, war-torn young Americans. In �A Farewell to Arms� , Hemingway uses his characteristic unadorned prose, clipped dialogue, and understatement to convey an essentially cynical view of the world. It is the title of the novel, A Farewell to Arms , itself that first catches the attention. Critics are basically in agreement that there are two straightforward interpretations of �A Farewell to Arms� , with a pun on the word 'Arms'. The hero, Fredrick Henry, bids farewell to 'arms', as in weapons, and also, when Catherine dies, to the loving 'arms' of a human being. Hemingway consciously borrowed his title from the 16 th century English poet George Peele. He did refer to the Peele�s poem intentionally to pay ironic homage to the war. Since Frederic deserts the army during the retreat, ...