A Farewell to Arms | Discussion Questions 51 - 51

How does Hemingway's spare writing style affect his representation of war in Farewell to Arms?

Hemingway's spare style gives a sense of immediacy to the text, making readers feel as if the scenes are happening to them and thus making the war seem more horrific. He uses few adjectives, and his short sentences have a strong sense of rhythm. He also uses repetition often. For example, in the description, "There was a great splashing and I saw the star-shells go up and burst and float whitely and rockets going up and heard the bombs," the only adjective is great, an understatement for the sound of a shell landing in a river. The "star-shells" seem almost like fireworks as they "burst and float whitely." The word and, used five times, gives a sense of continuous action, so that readers hardly need the words that end the description: "all this in a moment."