Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms presents the numbing experiences of Lieutenant Federico Henry while serving in Italy during World War I. Despite being such a pitifully dispirited environment, war actually acts as a powerful catalyst in creating and strengthening relationships between others. humans. Lieutenant Henry's indelible bond with his lover, the intimate friendship he shares with his comrades, and the close bonds he creates with ordinary civilians are all illustrations of how war can bring people together. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get the original essay Introduced to each other in a British hospital near the front, Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley become closer more over time. the story. However, at first their relationship is quite superficial; although they can say endearing things to each other, they both know that neither of them means what they say. Lt. Henry even admits, "I knew I didn't like Catherine Barkley and had no idea I did." It was a game, like bridge, in which we said things instead of playing cards” (30). Catherine herself is also aware of this, acknowledging: "It's a rotten game we play, isn't it?... You don't have to pretend to like me... It seems very funny now, Catherine. You don’t really pronounce it the same way” (31). In this context, it almost seems as if Catherine is trying to trick herself into believing that her deceased boyfriend (another soldier killed on the Somme) has been reincarnated in the form of Lieutenant Henry. After Lieutenant Henry is seriously injured by a trench mortar shell, he and Catherine end up in Milan hospital. It's at this moment that they begin to realize how much they mean to each other: death is a proven reality that can happen at any time. Their initial attraction to each other has now blossomed into a deep and sincere love. It is this love that isolates and protects them from the cruel and war-torn world that surrounds them. This is illustrated by the image of Catherine's hair when they were making love: I loved to undo her hair and she would sit on the bed and stay very still except that suddenly she would bend down to kiss me while I did it, and I did it. I would take the pins out and put them on the sheet and it would be loose and I would look at her while she stood very still and then I would take the last two pins out and everything would fall off and she would lower her head and we would both be there. 'inside, and it was the sensation of being inside a tent or behind a waterfall (114). This image of isolation and comfort returns when Lieutenant Henry and Catherine are at the horse races; Catherine reflects: “Don't you like it better when we're all alone?... I felt very alone when they were all there” (132). Another example is right after Catherine revealed to Henry that she was pregnant and told him that they shouldn't fight "because it's just the two of us and in the world there are all the others. "If anything comes between us, we're gone and then they have us" (139). A final example of this imagery occurs on the day Lieutenant Henry has to return to the front after convalescing in hospital; and Catherine spend their final hours together walking around town, and at one point, when they kiss, "she had pulled [her] cape over her so that it covered them both" (150). Love acts as a cloak of protection and hope when itthere is almost no hope or happiness left around them. In times of war, the bonds between comrades in arms are indissoluble. They share a common fear of death and a desire to be with those they love, away from the fighting – this is the reality of war. Two people serving in the war who are particularly close to Lieutenant Henry are Rinaldi and the priest. In many ways, Rinaldi and the priest are each other's foils; the playful Rinaldi makes his friend happy through the pleasures of the flesh, while the more dignified priest exhorts Lieutenant Henry to achieve happiness through spiritual and emotional development. On the one hand, it is none other than Rinaldi himself who introduces Catherine Barkley to Henry; we can even say that he abandoned her to Henry (he was the one who had met her for the first time and had intended to go out with her.). After Henry is injured, Rinaldi is the first to visit him in the field hospital, armed with a bottle of brandy. He comforts Henry by assuring him that he will receive all kinds of medals for this injury. We learn the depth of their friendship when Rinaldi reveals how much he misses seeing Henry: "I wish you were back. No one to come on the night of adventures. No one to make fun of. No one to lend me money . No blood. brother and roommate. Why do you get hurt (65) After Henry recovers from his wound and returns to the front, Rinaldi expresses his desire for the war to end: “The war is.” terrible... Come on, we'll both get drunk and be merry” (168) This illustrates Rinaldi's quick fix for dealing with stress: get drunk and/or hire prostitutes He alludes to this when he says. : “I only like two other things: one is bad for my work and the other is finished in half an hour or a quarter of an hour” (170). no longer an intellectual who believes that Lieutenant Henry can find comfort in pure, spiritual things as a diversion from war. A good example of this is when Lieutenant Henry is considering where to go on leave. All the other soldiers recommend various Italian towns, distinguished by their prostitutes, their “beautiful girls... beautiful young girls” (8). The priest, however, suggests that Henri visit Abruzzo, where “it is good to hunt. You would love the people and even though it’s cold, it’s clear and dry” (9). The priest's vision of war is radically different from Rinaldi's; instead of being content to temporarily exclude war with miracle solutions – alcohol and prostitutes – he offers another type of escape. When he visits the injured Henry, he emphasizes the difference between prostitutes and true love: "What you talk to me about at night. It's not love. It's only passion and desire. When you love, you wish to do things for . You wish to sacrifice yourself… You will [love]. For the priest, love is the only force that can resist. to the ravages of war While lust is only a temporary escape, love is a solution that heals the wounds of war. In the final part of the novel, the reader witnesses the type of bond formed between. Lieutenant Henry and the civilians he encounters Three individuals in particular demonstrate the decency of the common man in difficult times When Henry lands in Milan after nearly being shot for being a German spy, he stops in. a wine shop for a break After the bartender gives him a glass of grappa, he immediately offers to help: "If you get in trouble, I can keep you... If you don't have papers, I can give you some papers” (238-9). When Henry seems.