A Farewell To Arms Essay

The novel, A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway takes place during WWI, in Italy. Rinaldi, Henry’s roommate, introduced Henry to Catherine because Rinaldi had an interest in her, but Henry developed an attraction for Catherine and Rinaldi became interested in Catherine’s friend Helen. When Henry met Catherine, he tells Catherine that she is beautiful. Henry spends a great amount of time with Catherine. Henry returned back to the war front only to desert the war to be with Catherine. Throughout the novel, Henry shows loving, honest, and brave qualities.
Henry displays his love for Catherine when she needs it most. Henry and Catherine were sitting on the balcony in the hospital room, while Catherine was on night duty and Henry in the hospital from being wounded on duty at war, and it started raining. Catherine expresses her fear of the rain and that she sees herself dead in it. Henry consoles Catherine and reassures her that he loves her. “I'll love you always” (126). When Henry tells Catherine he loves her it comforts her and makes her feel safe. This shows Henry proving to Catherine he can be a loving person. Although Henry is loving, he portrays himself in other ways during war.

While Henry was on duty, he was wounded. Henry and Passini, ambulance drivers, were sitting in the dugout when a Trench Mortar went off killing Passini instantly and leaving Henry with a severe leg injury. Henry did not let this accident impact him, he up-kept his dedication to his responsibilities. Gordini, a fellow soldier, came to visit Henry while he was in the hospital and Henry told him, “There are much more worse wounded than me. I’m alright.” (58). Henry proved he was a brave man by overcoming his wound and worrying about the men that were more severely more wounded than him. Not only is Henry brave, but he is also honest about the