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Brittany Steinruck
A Farewell to Arms

3. Frederic exemplifies Hemingway’s code hero. Explain.
Ernest Hemmingway defined a code hero as "a man who lives correctly, following the ideals of honor, courage and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful." The protagonist of A Farewell to Arms, Lieutenant Frederic Henry illustrates this by staying composed, even as an American soldier in the Italian army during a brutal war. He lived without truly caring about anything and seemed to drift, whilst preserving his honor. Moreover, the code hero measures himself by how well he handles the difficult situations that life throws at him. Frederic displayed this when he was badly wounded during an attack. He requested to let others be treated before him, and he protested when Rinaldi told him he was going to receive a medal. The code hero is also inherently masculine, a heavy drinker, and believes in nothing. Frederic embodied each of these characteristics. He showed little emotion and was only interested in concrete facts. However, he did become attached to Catherine, and commitment to women is not a trait of the code hero. Throughout the story, Frederic was constantly drinking and on his way to Milan he drank so much he vomited. Lastly, he stated that he had no religion after his child died during childbirth. Frederic displays almost every quality of a code hero throughout A Farewell to Arms.

What is pathetic fallacy and how is it used in the novel?
Pathetic fallacy is the attribution of human feelings to inanimate objects or nature. Hemmingway used rain to foreshadow death in A Farewell to Arms. While lying in bed with Frederic one night Catherine admitted that she was afraid of the rain because she saw her and Frederic’s death in it. Her anxiety turned out to be prophetic for when Catherine and Frederic’s child died, Frederic narrated, “I could see nothing but the dark and the rain...