Resumo de A Farewell To Arms - Ernest Hemingway

'A Farewell to Arms' is a work that concentrates on psychological realism. It is set in Italy and Switzerland during the Great War. The novel starts when a young and handsome American Officer, Lieutenant Frederic Henry, returns from leave in southern Italy where he served in the Italian ambulance corps. During the evening Henry is convinced by his friend Rinaldi, an Italian surgeon, to go and meet a group of English nurses who have arrived nearby.
Rinaldi initially has his eyes set on Catherine Berkley, a British nurse, but in the end Henry started to court her: this did not bother Rinaldi indeed he started to banter Henry about his new love.
Soon after the meeting Henry?s legs were seriously damaged in a mortar attack whilst on the front line. He was then sent to Milan to recuperate, where Catherine had also been transferred. Soon after the two began a love affair, spending the nights together drinking a stash of wine. When Henry had eventually regained his health he was posted back to the front line, however, the night before he left Catherine gave him the news that she was pregnant.
Henry was ordered to move to the Po valley. People feared that due to recent Italian misfortune, the Austro-German forces were about to launch a massive attack. Henry soon became despondent and when Rinaldi became infected with Syphilis, he was sure that nobody would survive the War unscathed.
Eventually the Austrian assault came and Henry found himself retreating cross-country in a three-ambulance convoy. After their ambulances became stuck the group dismounted and continued their journey on foot. Soon a sniper killed one of Henry?s men, but by now they were part of a larger group who eventually reached the Italian border. At a checkpoint Henry was pulled out of the line and accused of being a deserter. This was not a good time for Henry as men were being executed after the most cursory of trials. On that night Henry decided that it was time to say farewell to arms and escape whilst another man was being dragged to his death by the guards.
After falling into a river Henry managed to land himself upon a riverbank a few miles downstream. He decided now that he would move to Milan by train, find Catherine and with her escape to Switzerland. After borrowing some civilian clothes from a friend he eventually managed to find Catharine on leave in Strega. Henry then promised Catherine that the war was now over for them both and that they would never be separated.
However, the police had been notified of Henry?s desertion and had orders to capture and execute him. Luckily a friend, who subsequently lent him a small rowing boat, which allowed him and Catherine to escape across Lake Geneva into Switzerland, tipped off Henry.
The couple settled in the town of Montreux in the Swiss Alps and passed the winter at leisure and discussing how they were going to spend their life together after the war. Their baby was now due and the couple moved to Lausanne with the intention of returning to Montreux after the birth of their baby.
Tragedy soon struck however, when during labor their were complications which led to the couples baby being stillborn and Catherine dying a short time afterwards. Everything that Henry held dear was lost in a matter of hours. Stunned with grief and not knowing what to do Henry stumbled from the hospital through the rainy streets a broken man.

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