From the time Ernest Hemingway became a renowned author, his works, as well as his life, have been analyzed by many. Under such scrutiny, many aspects of Hemingway’s works and life experiences have been in question to the realities and fallacies, which he laid forth. Much of Hemingway’s life, especially his time volunteering as an ambulance driver in Europe, has been in question to the true validity of his myth as a true adventurer and hero. However, as I have found, much of the mythology surrounding Hemingway is very true indeed, which leads me to believe that he did not embellish his life but rather used his experiences to create some of the greatest works of literature to be written throughout the twentieth century. One of Ernest Hemingway’s greatest novels, “A Farewell to Arms”, has been surrounded by controversy among literary, as well as historical, scholars regarding Hemingway’s inspiration for the famous novel. Many feel that Ernest Hemingway created this fictional book solely from his imagination rather than his experiences, while others believe that Hemingway drew the inspiration for this book from his experience as a volunteer ambulance driver throughout the war.
Even though there has been much controversy, there is documented historical proof that the experiences that Hemingway had experienced from his time in the war had influenced his creation of “A Farewell to Arms.” One of the most prevalent sources for Ernest Hemingway’s inspiration for “A Farewell to Arms” can be found in his relationship with (? Anges, the Amer. Nurse), who was a love interest and nurse at the hospital that Hemingway recuperated at after being injured by machine gun fire. The relationship that was created between Hemingway and (Anges) led to the inspiration and creation of one of the main character in “A Farewell to Arms”, as Mrs. Catherine Barkley. The similarities between these two characters of Hemingway’s life, one real and the other fictitious, is astonishing. For instance, both Catherine Barkley and (Anges) where pretty American nurses during a war, while both also being in love with a wounded ambulance driver at their hospitals.
The Essay on Ernest Hemingway 7
... his novel, A Farewell to Arms, the characters experience "the chaotic and brutal world of war" (Warren 35). Ernest Hemingway had written ... of the full spectrum of experiences in life. According to the critics, Hemingway's views on life are marked in the novel, ... again the character reflects the real life Hemingway's attitude towards life. The critic notes that Hemingway himself had come unhappily into ...
The similarities between the people of Hemingway’s life and his fictitious characters can also be found between Lieutenant Henry, the main character of “A Farewell to Arms”, and Hemingway himself. Once again, the similarities between these characters is astonishing; so much that Lieutenant Henry seems to be Hemingway’s idea of his younger self rather that a fictitious character. For instance, both Henry and Hemingway were injured ambulance drivers during the war, who fell in love with an American nurse stationed at the hospital. Another example of the similarities between Hemingway’s fictional characters and his life is that he created Henry as a heavy drinker, just as Hemingway himself was, which leads us to believe that the character of Lieutenant Henry is a fictional persona of Ernest Hemingway.
