Throughout book three, Hemingway highlights the ways in which there is little room for morality in war by returning to a similar writing style as book one with detached thoughts and a focus on concrete details. Every soldier is forced to think practically rather than ethically, which takes a significant toll on their productivity as well as their morale. When Rinaldi explains his time spent at the front without Frederic, he states, "I am very depressed by it...I work all the time... No, by god, I dont think; I operate"(165). This robotic lifestyle reflects Rinaldi's lack of morality and lack of emotional attachment as a result of his numbing and mentally disturbing wartime environment. There is also no room for soldiers to be emotionally disturbed by death- even when it takes their most beloved friends. After Aymo's death, none of the soldiers discuss their feelings about what has happened. Frederic silently observes, "Aymo lay in the mud with the angle of embankment...his cap over his face...he looked very dead"(185) in matter-of-fact, concrete manner. Rather than dwelling on the emotional damage Aymo's death has inflicted, Frederic obsesses over who killed him and why because it is more practical and important for Frederic's immediate survival. This is reflective of the circumstances of war-- there is no time to worry about things that are not immediately deciding whether or not you survive. As a result, emotional trauma is tucked away and forgotten until it eventually destroys an individual in the way that it destroys Frederic and causes him to run away from the war. As Frederic begins to distract himself with thoughts of Catherine, and less practical thoughts in general, he is less successful as an officer. He also realizes that morally, he has no obligation to the Italian army after being mistreated. Frederic contemplates, "If they shot floorwalkers after a fire in the department store because they spoke with an accent they had always had, then certainly the floorwalkers would not be expected to return when the store opened again for business"(200) after understanding that he would have been shot simply for his accent as a result of the doubt that was spreading through the Italian army. In other words, once Frederic realizes the unjust and immoral treatment of soldiers taking place, he no longer wishes to partake in the war and runs away. Therefore, the idea that in a time of war, it is necessary to forget about morals and only consider concrete details and occurences is reinforced.
In my own daily life I am reminded of how important it is to be morally and emotionally attached to things in order to remain mentally stable. Also, I experience the desire to disobey people who mistreat me in a similar manner to Frederic. Often in today's world when soldiers return from a time of war they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the violent and immoral occurrences they have experienced and have not yet fully considered the virtue of. I think this supports the idea that war relies on the ability to think practically and realistically rather than idealistically and emotionally.
This post gave me a new perspective on Frederic’s abandonment of the war and his duties as a whole. Frederic’s realization that he morally has no obligation to the Italian army justifies his desertion of the war. I had always thought of Frederic’s constant avoidance of his problems as cowardice and weak, but now I view his decision to abandon his duties as simply an epiphany of where his loyalty actually lies. He is not simply discarding his obligations out of fear, but rather, he recognizes that his true loyalty lies with Catherine, and not the Italian army. Although I don’t agree that all of Frederic’s attempted distractions from the war are justifiable, I now have a fresh perspective on his desertion of the war.
ReplyDeleteYou highlight the importance of relationships and how instrumental they are in maintaining the emotional stability of a person, a point I don't believe we touched on in class. This created a new area of discussion in my mind because you are right, Rinaldi was miserable without someone to share his experiences with in Frederic, and as a result became a "robot". It just shows how crucial the bonds we form with people are to us as individuals; without them life doesn't have nearly as much enjoyment, especially in a time of war.
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