The function of“and”in A Farewell to Arms

Ertian Tu

Abstract：Hemingway is the representative of outstanding writers known as the“Lost generation”in the United States，who have shown confusion and hesitation to life，the world and society in his works.His writing style as a tough man in the literary world has been fully reflected in this book.And this article will focus on the use of the word“and”，as well as summarize my new understanding of the word“and”in terms of the perspective of grammar and discourse after reading the book.

Key words：A Farewell to Arms；“and”；grammar and discourse；analysis；my reflection

1 A brief introduction to Hemingway and A Farewell to Arms

Hemingway.During World War I，18-year-old Hemingway volunteering to join the United States Red Cross ambulance team as a driver was sent to Italy，where he was shrapnel blown into serious injury and saw the collapse of traditional western civilization.After many years，Hemingway wrote his novel according to his personal experience.The novel with a strong autobiographical style，as well as grim realism combined withthe description of tough guy style，describes a gripping love story andthe exhausting war.The authors bland tone and simple description makethe whole novel linger in the faint uneasiness and fear brought by war.

A Farewell to Arms.Frederic Henry，a young American serving with the Italian Army medical corps in the Italian theater of war during World War I，meets and falls in love with a beautiful English nurse，Catherine Barkley.While Henry is recovering in a Milan hospital，their relationship deepens，and Catherine soon becomes pregnant.Henry returns to the war，but later escapes from the war when threatened with execution to neutral nation Switzerland with Catherine by boat.There，Catherine and their baby die，leaving Henry inconsolable.

2 Analysis of the application of the word“and”

“and”in the environment depiction.“Where it was clear cold and dry and the snow was dry and powdery and hare-tracks in the snow”

“It was a hot day and the sky was very bright and blue and the road was white and dusty.”

The two sentences are in the same way to depict the environment.“and”s are used here to connect several adjectives such as cold，dry，powdery，bright，blue，white and dusty.We all know that the word“and”can express addition especially when it describes one thing.However，the usage of a certain amount of“and”s does not only give us a detailed explanation about one sight，but bring us a sense of gloom，massiveness，continuance.

“and”in the character description.“They were big and shy and embarrassed and very appreciative together of anything that happened.”

“There were the good ones，and the brave ones，and the calm ones and the sensible ones，and they deserved it.”

Here，“and”s are also used to connect adjectives，as well as some nouns with adjectives ahead；but these adjectives are used to modify people，which means the author use“and”s with his own personal emotional intention.The author uses several“and”s here to describes the soldiers have so many good qualities and keep the goodness and integrity of the humanity before suffering from the devastation of war.It actually indicates and satirizes that the war is the most vicious and terrible slaughter which kills peoples most precious sentiments，dreams，happiness and lives.

“and”in the psychological description.“and the strange excitement of waking and not knowing who it was with you，and the world all unreal in the dark and so exciting that you must resume again unknowing and not caring in the night，sure that this was all and all and all and not caring.”

The reason why I pick it out is that it gives me the same feeling that is so-called lost generation.As a matter of fact，Hemingways indifferent and concise writing style penetrates the whole novel；but I think here，every time after the night given to sensual pleasures，Henry wakes up in the empty morning overwhelming confusion suspicion and despairs as if something important lost，which is the most specific embodiment of the thoughts and feelings of that generation.And I can quite understand that confusion，hesitation，doubt and disappointment.Every morning I wake up，but do not know the meaning of my life，and I am not sure whether my pursuit really matters and what it can bring me on earth.The author uses a lot of“and”s and“all and all and all”to make us know the unrestricted loops of that life style.In this way“and”also can bring us a sense of an endless circle.

“and”in the action description.“Eat and drink and sleep with Catherine.To-night maybe.No that was impossible.But to-morrow night，and a good meal and sheets and never going away again except together.”

The situation here is that Henry jumps onto a moving train after a long time escaping from a threatening execution by Italian military police who think he is a German.He is hungry and exhausted and is bleeding.He misses Catherine too much.Here“and”s are applied to connect those verbs to express the urgency and eagerness.Whats more“and”here can even create a rapid tone so that makes us be able to empathize.

“The priest smiled and blushed and shook his head.This captain baited him often.”

Though，two“and”s here just simply connect three actions together without any rhetoric，such a description method has an impact on the coherence of the movement，and it also makes us feel that this scene happened in front of us as if we were the characters in the novel.to a certain extent.The depiction is simple but powerful.

My reflection.Before reading this novel，we know about several usages of“and”such as addition，cause and effect，contrast，transition，purpose，sequence，concessions，conditions，comment and continuation，etc.But in the novel，the role of“and”is less specific and not so limited anymore.It can be with a certain emotional color，can be regarded as one kind of tone，and also can imply what the authors want to express.In fact，the book has many aspects worthy of careful taste and cautious consideration.After all，the iceberg principle is used throughout the whole novel，which means that the authors writing intention will not be obvious on the surface.But because there is resonance；thus the rest can be understood.