After careful revision of my first draft I realized that I had too many details in my introductory paragraph—they sounded better in a paragraph on their own. I also eliminated the deadwood from my first draft. Finally I fixed some spelling errors and decided the second draft was perfect.
Ernest Hemmingway and A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemmingway was born in 1899 in the town of Chicago, to a musician and a doctor. He grew up attending the neighborhood high school where he picked up the love of boxing. His boxing passion didn’t last long though. He soon became infatuated with writing.
àHis high school newspaper, “The Tapula” publicized many of his early writings. After high school, Hemingway moved to Kansas where he became a reporter for the local newspaper, “The Kansas Star”. Shortly after, he and his friend headed off to Italy to join in the war. This life changing experience became the basis for his novel, A Farewell to Arms (AFTA). ß
While in Italy, Hemmingway drove ambulances on the front, just as Henry does in AFTA. On the front, Hemmingway was brutally injured by a shell that exploded just feet in front of him. Despite his injured leg, Hemmingway picked up his fellow solider and carried him to the nearest dug-out, shelter. This act of bravery earned him two medals in the Italian army. In AFTA, Henry endures this exact same experience.
Due to his injury, Hemmingway was transported to the hospital where he met and fell in love with an American nurse. During his stay there, she visited him often and they would occasionally take trips together and sometimes even venture off to the races. When Henry, in AFTA, is in the hospital he meets Catherine and the two form a relationship. Eventually Henry learns that Catherine is expecting a child which he is the father of. Henry, however, must return to the front once his leg is healed—this will be the test of his and Catherine’s relationship. Hemmingway left Italy, unlike Henry, and returned to the states where he received a terrifying letter from Agnes which told how she had fallen in love with an Italian officer—she and Hemmingway’s relationship was over.
From my personal viewpoint, based on where I am in the novel, I believe that Hemmingway wrote AFTA based on his personal experience in Italy and how he hoped it would end. I believe he wanted to be with Agnes and the two would start a life together. He based this hope for a new life with his first love in his novel through Henry and Catherine. Catherine is expecting a child and claims to love Henry and to always be with him. I believe this is how Hemingway wanted his relationship with Agnes to end up, but sadly it didn’t. Through this knowledge that I have gained from watching the biography on Hemmingway I now believe there is a different ending to AFTA. An ending closer to what really happened between Hemmingway and Agnes is what I now expect. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
