A Farewell to Arms Lesson Plan

What do we learn about Rinaldi in Chapter XXXV?

Ask students to think about what we know about Rinaldi up to this point: he seems unflappable, coldly detached from the rest of the war, always ready with a punchline or a clever quip. In this chapter, we see that veneer break down just a little bit. When he talks to Frederic, he says that he has become depressed now that he has no work to do. As we have often seen throughout this novel, its characters try their best to keep themselves distracted from the horrifying reality in front of them. Once Rinaldi has no work to do, he is forced to think and confront the world in front of him.

Why does Frederic criticize words...