Abstract

A Farewell to Arms, a novel mainly about the theme of war, is a masterpiece of Ernest Hemingway, an outstanding American writer of the 20th century. This thesis begins with a brief introduction to the author and this novel, and then analyzes the rich symbols from three aspects—weather, places and animals. There are seven symbols in the thesis: rain, snow, mountains, plains, mules, ants and birds—rain is the symbol of death; snow is the symbol of peace; mountain is the symbol of happy life; plain is the symbol of decaying life; mules are the symbol of despaired soldiers; ants are the symbol of humble people and birds are the symbol of freedom. This thesis not only analyzes the symbolic meanings of various symbols, but also explores the functions of symbolism in illustrating the characters’ mental activities and conveying the anti-war theme.

Key words: A Farewell to Arms, symbolism, anti-war theme

摘要

《永别了，武器》是二十世纪美国杰出作家欧内斯特•海明威的一部以战争为题材的长篇小说。本文从简要介绍作者生平和小说入手，进而从天气、地点和动物三个方面探讨小说中其丰富的象征意象。全文总共分析了七种象征，分别是雨、雪、高山、平原、骡子、蚂蚁以及鸟——雨象征着死亡，雪象征着和平，高山象征着幸福的生活，平原象征着荒凉的生活，骡子象征着无奈的士兵，蚂蚁象征着卑微的人们，鸟象征着自由。该论文不仅分析了一系列意象的象征意义，也探究了象征主义在表现人物心理活动和表达小说反战主题方面所起的作用。

关键词：《永别了，武器》；象征主义；反战主题

1. Introduction 
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is one of the greatest novelists in American literary history. He was one of the so-called “the Lost Generation” in American Literature. He wrote many novels, among which The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929) and The Old Man and the Sea (1952) are the best known. Hemingway reveals his world outlook and his attitude to life in his writing. His novels and short stories emphasize the reactions of characters to the world that is not up to their expectations. Hemingway’s war experience in World War I not only helped him create many great works, but also affected him profoundly, later inspiring him to create one of his most celebrated novels, A Farwell to Arms (1929), which deals with the disillusionment brought by the war. Hemingway believed that man cannot get rid of the war and must face “the grim reality of war” (Phillips and Hopson 27)—the war that leads to deaths of innocent people and destroys their peaceful life.