The “Anchors” in A Farewell to Arms: Sources of Stability in Wartime Anonymous College

In A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway explores the inner personal struggles that arose from a war that killed over twenty million people. Hemingway illustrates how the war affects people from various walks of life and specifies the “anchors” that each character leans on to survive. In the novel, the protagonist, Frederic Henry, is an ambulance driver for the Italian army in World War I. After taking a winter leave from the front, Frederic meets and falls in love with an English nurse named Catherine Barkley. Throughout the novel, several characters are affected by the war in different ways, and each has an “anchor” that helps them get through the chaos and horrors of the war.

On his journey, Frederic makes many friends, but his closest companion is a man named Rinaldi. Rinaldi is a skilled surgeon, and he enjoys having a good time. Rinaldi represents the light-hearted masculinity that is celebrated in Hemingway’s writing. Frederic and Rinaldi become extremely close, as they are roommates in their building. Rinaldi cares very much for Frederic, and Rinaldi even introduces Frederic to Catherine Barkley. After Frederic gets injured, Rinaldi goes and sees him. Rinaldi is extremely sad that the war hurt his dear...