Why You Should Read a Farewell to Arms… Why You May Struggle with a Farewell to Arms …
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Why you should read A Farewell to Arms … 1. It is considered one of the best war novels ever written, yet is predominately a romance. 2. Hemingway’s style is unlike anything that had come before and has been often imitated but never captured. 3. His journalistic style is quick and easy to read. 4. Many sections of the novel are taut with suspense. Why you may struggle with A Farewell to Arms … 1. Hemingway’s “tip of the iceberg” style requires reading between the lines; the reader is expected to infer a lot. 2. Hemingway’s use of dialog is existential at times; i.e., it is difficult to ascertain who is speaking without backtracking. 3. A pervasive sense of doom – regarding the war and the romance – colors the narrative. 4. The novel is set primarily in Italy, and Hemingway uses the Italian language without specifying the English meaning. Still interested? A few suggestions before you begin… The narrator is called “Tenente” initially, which is “lieutenant” in Italian “Maggiori” = major Grappa = after dinner drink Strega = herbal liqueur Bersaglieri = Italian infantry unit Granatieri = Italian guard infantry unit Carabinier = Italian cavalry unit Grenadiers = Specialized assault officers Croyant = a believer Fast Facts – A Farewell to Arms Pages – 332 (Scribner Paperback Edition) Author – Ernest Hemingway Date Published -- 1929 Setting – Italy and Switzerland / WWI Point of view – first person narrator: Frederic Henry Genre – Drama / War / Romance Issues/Conflicts – WWI / Love / Loss Beyond the Basics… Overview of novel and autobiographical connections: http://www.ernest.hemingway.com/farewell.htm Photos, quotes and interesting information: http://www.timelesshemingway.com/ Reasons why the novel has been challenged or banned: http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bbwlinks&Template=/Con tentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=136590 A Farewell to Arms -- Author Information Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson, once described her husband as having “so many sides to him you could hardly make a sketch of him in a geometry book.” Hemingway truly was “larger than life” and this brief synopsis will not do either the man or his talent justice. Please note the excellent resources listed below, including A & E’s Biography entitled “Wrestling with Life,” which most libraries carry. Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois in 1899, a town he once disparaged as having “wide lawns and narrow minds.” After graduating from high school, he moved to Kansas City to write for a newspaper. Similar to Frederic Henry, he entered WWI as an ambulance driver for the Italian army and was wounded. In a Milan hospital, he met and fell in love with a nurse named Agnes von Kurowsky, the inspiration for Catherine Barkley. After his recovery, he returned to Europe as a war correspondent. In the 1920’s he moved to Paris to write fiction. He published The Sun Also Rises in 1926 and A Farewell to Arms in 1929. In addition to writing ten novels and numerous collections of short stories, Hemingway was married four times, fathered three sons and was an avid fisherman, hunter, boxer, and sportsman. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature for The Old Man in the Sea, published in 1952. In 1962, after a long struggle with alcoholism and debilitating depression, Hemingway died of a self-inflicted gun wound in his home in Ketchum, Idaho. More information on Hemingway’s life and works: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1954/hemingw ay-bio.html http://www.ehemingway.com/?page_id=13 http://www.biographyshelf.com/ernest_hemingway_biography.html http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=71930 Printable Bookmark! Please print and then cut to use as a reference as you read!! Only basic information has been provided to avoid “spoilers.” The “Intro” column indicates the chapter in which each character is first introduced. Enjoy! Lt. (Tenente) First person Ch. I Frederic narrator; U.S. Henry ambulance driver in Italy. Captain Italian captain at Ch. II Gorizia. Priest Italian friend of Ch. II Fred. Lt. Rinaldi Italian friend of Ch. II Fred. Major Fred’s commanding Ch. III (Maggiori) officer; Italian. Catherine Fred’s love interest; Ch. IV Barkley English nurse. Helen Scottish friend of Ch. IV Ferguson Catherine. Manera, Fellow drivers at the Ch. IX Passini, attack at the Isonze Gavuzzi, river . Gordini Mrs. Walker Nurse in Milan. Ch. XIII Miss Head nurse in Ch. XIII VanCampen Milan. Miss Gage Nurse in Milan. Ch. XIII Dr. Varella Fred’s first doctor Ch. XV in Milan. Dr. Valentini Doctor who Ch. XV operates on Fred in Milan. Mr. and Mrs. Racetrack friends of Ch. XIX Myers Fred. Ettore Moretti Italian captain Fred Ch. XIX admires. Ralph American who Ch. XIX Simmons helps Fred. Crowell Race track friend of Ch. XX Rodgers Helen. Gino Italian soldier Fred Ch. relieves in XXVII Bainsizza. Aymo, Piani, Italian drivers who Ch. Bonello retreat w/ Fred. XXVII Emilio Swiss bartender Ch. friend of Fred. XXXIV Count Greffi Friend of Fred in Ch. Strese. XXXV Mr. and Mrs. Montreux couple. Ch. Guttingen XXXVIII Menu Idea – A Farewell to Arms A Farewell to Arms is an excellent novel in which to highlight the Italian setting and appreciate simple, yet delicious food from that region. Appetizer: Brushetta with fresh Roma tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil Here is wonderful recipe from the following website: http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/rcp/antipasti/bruschetta_1.shtml Bruschetta con pomodoro e basilico Tuscany Preparation - Easy When you take your olives to the local mill for pressing, make sure to take some country bread. There will be a small fire burning (it is November or December) in the fireplace in the corner of the pressing room, and when your oil emerges from the press, you will want to toast a bit of the bread on the fire to taste your oil on it. This is bruschetta in its simplest, and to he or she who tended the olives, tastiest form. The next step in bruschetta country is rubbing the toasted bread with garlic, before or after sprinkling on the olive oil, and adding a pinch of salt (see the previous recipe). The recipe here is more elaborate. • Italian or French bread, cut in 1/2 inch slices • fresh, ripe, firm tomato, washed and coarsely chopped • fresh basil leaves, whole or shredded • olive oil, extra virgin, the best • garlic, peeled, whole (optional) • salt to taste Grill or toast bread. Charcoal is great! Place sliced bread under the broiler, in the toaster or best yet over a charcoal grill and toast. Rub toast with a clove of garlic or not, depending on taste. Drizzle with olive oil. Spoon chopped tomato onto bread. Scatter some basil. Alternatively, place the tomatoes, basil, garlic (chopped fine), olive oil and salt in a bowl and mix. Set bowl at table alongside the toasted bread and simply spoon on mixture. Some prefer to use sliced rather than chopped tomato. Whatever way you serve it, it is delicious. Main dish: Spaghetti with marinara sauce Here are three sites with marinara recipes: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Marinara-Sauce-Yet/Detail.aspx http://www.italianchef.com/marinara.html http://www.helpwithcooking.com/sauces/marinara-sauce.html Marinara Sauce Ingredients • 1 can of crushed tomatoes (16 oz) • 6 freshly chopped basil leaves • ½ cup of red wine • ½ cup of water • 3 tbsp of olive oil • 3 sliced cloves of garlic • 1 tsp of sugar • salt Method 1. In a medium sized saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium-low heat. 2. Add the sliced garlic and cook gently until light brown in colour, taking care not to burn the garlic. 3. As the garlic just begins to brown add the tomatoes with the juice from the can and stir well. 4. Then add the liquids together with the sugar and salt and bring to the boil, stirring frequently. 5. Once the sauce starts to boil, reduce the heat to low, cover the pan with the lid and simmer gently for around 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. 6. Once the desired consistency has been reached, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the freshly chopped basil. 7. Serve with cooked pasta. back to top | © Copyright 2001-2007 helpwithcooking.com Crusty Bread with olive oil Chianti or Cabernet wine Espresso Dessert: Tiramisu http://www.heavenlytiramisu.com/recipes.htm Here is a recipe from the above site: Pat Baldassari's Low-Fat Tiramisu Pat Baldassari put this one on CompuServe Cooks Online Forum, but it is also included in her new electronic cookbook, MasterCook. Her low-fat recipe eliminates the raw eggs. Plus, she substitutes Ricotta cheese (partly skim milk) for the Mascarpone. She writes: "I was unable to find Mascarpone cheese, the traditional Tiramisu ingredient, in our local shops. I downloaded eight Tiramisu and Mascarpone recipes from CompuServe's Cooks Online Forum and created a spreadsheet data matrix from them. I altered quantities to equalize the number of servings and grouped the ingredients by type. This recipe was created by comparing the similarities and differences among the original eight. It is low fat, but not low calorie." Ingredients • RICOTTA CHEESE (part skim milk), 2 cups • VANILLA EXTRACT, 1 teaspoon • SUGAR, granulated superfine, 1/4 cup • COFFEE, brewed, 1 cup cooled to room temperature • SUGAR, granulated superfine, 1 tablespoon • LADYFINGER COOKIES, 12 • COCOA POWDER, 1 tablespoon • COCOA POWDER, 1 teaspoon Directions 1. Mix the Ricotta, vanilla and 1/4-cup sugar, blending well. 2. In a separate bowl, mix the coffee and 1 tablespoon of sugar. 3. Dip the cookies into the coffee and arrange in a nice pattern in a shallow serving dish. 4. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder.