Essay The Dangers of a Feminist Perspective of A Farewell...

The Dangers of a Feminist Perspective of A Farewell to Arms Hemingways portrayal of Catherine Barkley in A Farewell to Arms is a subject of many debates. I do not agree with Judith Fetterly that Catherine is too idealistic, too selflessly loving and giving. Catherines death was the most fitting end to the story. Hemingways Catherine Barkley may be stereotypical on the surface, but is a much more knowledgeable and strong character underneath. In the early encounter with Henry, Hemingway sets up Catherines major faults. She is shown to us as not being emotionally stable. She says to Henry, Were going to have a strange life(27). This sounds crazy to us, who typically dont believe that you can know you will have†¦show more content†¦She knows that he realizes they are playing a game and makes him work for it. Then she throws a guilt trip on him, saying You will be good to me, wont you?(27). This forces him to think about it, and make a decision. If she had never asked this it would have been morally easier for him to treat her badly. He realizes this and in his mind resigns himself to it, thinking what the hell (27). She continues to use this method when they meet again. She makes him say Ive come back to Catherine in the night(30). Although this is silly, it forces him to realize that he has in fact come back to Catherine. He thinks to himself that she was probably a little crazy ... I did not love Catherine Barkley and had no idea of loving her. This was a game, like bridge, in which you said thins instead of playing cards(31). It is in this little scene that she pulls his card, and shows us that she is not entirely crazy She then calls him on this belief by telling him Youre a nice boy, and you play it as well as you know how. But its a rotten game. She is perfectly aware of his beliefs, and of the seeming insanity of her own actions. She has no intentions of letting him believe that he has fooled her in anyway. She does not say that he plays it well, she says he plays it as well as he knows how. This indicates that she knows that she knows more about the whole thing than he does. This behavio r is not weak, and shows herShow MoreRelated The Forgotten Female in the Works of Ernest Hemingway Essay3143 Words   |  13 PagesMany of his stories are seen as prototypical bildungsroman stories--stories, usually, of young men coming of age. There are few, if any, stories in the canon of women coming of age, however, and Hemingway is not the first to suffer the wrath of feminist critics. But is this wrath justified?    In his dissertation, Mark G. Newton reviews some of the critical literature that places Hemingway within the misogynist genre. Cliches [sic] abound, he says. Hemingway was in search of his manhoodRead More Sex in Othello and Hamlet Essay4016 Words   |  17 Pagesbest portrayed throughout her encounters with Hamlet in scene three of the play. Hamlet accuses her of promiscuity just because he feels threatened by the hold she has over him. He says this in the unforgettable line, Get thee to a nunnery. Go, farewell. Or if thou /Wilt needs marry, marry a fool/ For wise men know well/ Enough what monsters you make of them (III.i.139-42). Like a little boy flirting with his crush, he is trying to get some spark of reaction from her. (Pitt 54) But Hamlet isRead MoreSAT Top 30 Essay Evidence18536 Words   |  75 Pagesher navigator disappeared and were never found again. The mystery of their disappearance is still a lively and controversial topic of debate. Amelia Earhart left behind a legacy of adventure, independence, and courage. She is widely held as a feminist icon and an inspiration to women everywhere for the conviction with which she pursued her own goals and career rather than giving in to the current view of women as less-capable than men. P age |7 Christopher Columbus (1401 - 1506) â€Å"I shouldRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagescaused by a parasite or bacteria or something living in the water. Could cholera be that different 5 from Giardia, you wonder. Thinking about all this you conclude it is likely that boiling will do the trick. So, Juanita’s worry about the danger of getting a bad disease such as Giardia is more than offset by the low probability of actually getting the disease if you boil the water. So, you recommend that your group stay in the mountains, boil the water and drink it after it cools. Thats