"I Was Blown up While We Were Eating Cheese”: Deconstructing the Hero in A Farewell to Arms
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Faculty Mentor
Leslie Bickford, Ph.D.
Abstract
In their analyses of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, many critics consider Henry a victim of war and an honorable soldier, but few recognize that Henry is not a brave war hero. In this paper, I utilize a deconstructionist view to deconstruct key scenes that reinforce the hero/anti-hero binary opposition and more accurately depict Henry as an anti-hero. Henry’s anti-heroism is first illustrated in the nature of his wound and the value soldiers place on medals. Regardless of being severely wounded due to an indifference to danger and a preoccupation with eating, Henry is still rewarded with medals, which signify him as an honorable hero. Through slippage between the signifier and the signified, though, the medals’ illegitimacy identifies him as an anti-hero. Through Henry’s murder of the soldier, there is additional slippage between the signifier and the signified of the word honor as Henry’s actions are dishonorable. Furthermore, in Henry’s abandonment of the war, différance is exhibited in both the sharp contrast drawn between Henry’s and the officer’s values and in Henry’s postponement of death. Additionally, not only does Henry’s abandonment demonstrate his self-preservation, but he also fails to see that his situation has been flipped with the solider he killed. Lastly, there is further slippage between the signifier and the signified of the word bravery as Henry identifies himself as one of the broken and non-brave and Catherine as one of the brave. Consequently, Henry confirms himself to be an anti-hero, while Catherine becomes the hero.
Course Assignment
ENGL 300- Bickford
Previously Presented/Performed?
South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA), Jacksonville, Florida, November 2016
Start Date
21-4-2017 1:30 PM
"I Was Blown up While We Were Eating Cheese”: Deconstructing the Hero in A Farewell to Arms
West Center, Room 217
In their analyses of Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, many critics consider Henry a victim of war and an honorable soldier, but few recognize that Henry is not a brave war hero. In this paper, I utilize a deconstructionist view to deconstruct key scenes that reinforce the hero/anti-hero binary opposition and more accurately depict Henry as an anti-hero. Henry’s anti-heroism is first illustrated in the nature of his wound and the value soldiers place on medals. Regardless of being severely wounded due to an indifference to danger and a preoccupation with eating, Henry is still rewarded with medals, which signify him as an honorable hero. Through slippage between the signifier and the signified, though, the medals’ illegitimacy identifies him as an anti-hero. Through Henry’s murder of the soldier, there is additional slippage between the signifier and the signified of the word honor as Henry’s actions are dishonorable. Furthermore, in Henry’s abandonment of the war, différance is exhibited in both the sharp contrast drawn between Henry’s and the officer’s values and in Henry’s postponement of death. Additionally, not only does Henry’s abandonment demonstrate his self-preservation, but he also fails to see that his situation has been flipped with the solider he killed. Lastly, there is further slippage between the signifier and the signified of the word bravery as Henry identifies himself as one of the broken and non-brave and Catherine as one of the brave. Consequently, Henry confirms himself to be an anti-hero, while Catherine becomes the hero.
