Moral Values In A Farewell To Arms

Britney Watts once said, “You don’t need religion to have morals. If you can’t determine right from wrong then you lack empathy, not religion.” A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is a novel that follows a man, Frederick Henry, through the up and downs of war and love. One of the theme’s in the book is to follow Frederick’s moral code. Hemingway writes Frederick having a strong moral code; he writes this way so that the reader has a code to fall back on when their own falters. All of the morals Frederick shows are life changing and very helpful. His moral code is strict and respectful, leaving hardly any room for fault. An important part in Book 1 is, before the mortar shell hit, Frederick made sure all his men are fed. When the men said they were hungry Frederick

When Frederick was transferred to the hospital in Milan he tipped the stretcher carriers even though he was upset at the lady in the front. This is a kind and respectful thing to do, due to the circumstances. Frederick not taking his anger out on the stretcher carriers was what Frederick believed to be the right thing; which it was. Frederick still paid and tipped the barber even though the barber was ready to kill him for believing he was a traitor. He didn’t trust the barber but he still paid him for his job and tipped him for his time. That has a major role in Frederick’s moral code; it shows that he isn’t a cheat. If Frederick hadn’t have paid it would’ve been cheating the barber out of his well earned money. “They looked at me. I took out my pocket-book and gave them a ten-lira note.”(206). Frederick gave the two girls money to get food and find family, even though he just shot someone. This shows a caring nature because Frederick knew that they needed to eat. Frederick’s caring and giving nature is a great thing to have if you plan on being a parent or even be in a job requiring you to work with