The Value under the Iceberg
--reflection on A Farewell to Arms
When I was in high school, I have read The Old Man and The Sea. Though I have heard this book is classic and is worth reading, I was not able to find its real value, because I could not understand what the author wanted to say. I have known, from that time, that it is hard to figure out the value under the iceberg.
This term when I know we should read Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, I am a little worried. As far as I know, it is a love tragedy, which discloses the hatred to war. As for the value of this work, I am totally confused. But I still insist on reading it until I finish it. Thanks to my insistence, I have found something valuable.
In my opinion, Hemingway is good at line drawing. He likes describing something with simple words and deleting something he thinks useless. Take the first paragraph as an example, the simple description introduces clearly the background and makes readers feel the dreariness for the war. In his book, there is nearly no description about psychology and appearance. So I should guess and figure out the mood of characters. He has referred to many wines like champagne, whisky and vodka and so on. Though I don’t understand wine, I can realize that kind of indulgence —rational indulgence. I know the hero is real and sincere.
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