The most important factor that influences the reader's emotions is the detailed description. Hemingway describes the scene in first person, and as Frederick Henry he is able to express with freedom his own feelings. Everything happens so quickly that you feel you're in the war, in his place.
'I heard a cough, then came the chuh-chuh-chuh-chuh- - then there was a flash, as when a blast-furnace door is swung open, and a roar that started white and went red and on and on in a rushing wind.'
Francesca G.
In 'A Farewell to Arms' Frederick Henry describes the experience of being hit by a shell in the first person. The feeling of floating away from his body and the description of the feeling in his legs is very vivid. He describes his legs as feeling hot and sticky and in particular the part where he tried to find his knee but it wasn't there is incredible.
Sam W.
Frederick Henry describes this experience in the first person and this makes it very sincere. It's a very dramatic version of the actual experience which Hemingway had when he was at the front. His description has great emotional impact because the sounds, smells, sights and sensations of the experience are vividly presented. Henry sees all his life pass him by and he has some moments of pure fear. The scene is described with great suspense and horror at the same time.
Giulio T.
(written in first person)
A few days ago I was eating at the front with a few of my friend soldiers, when a bomb exploded just a few feet away from me. It killed Sargent Manera and seriously wounded Tenente Passini. and myself. It felt like I was dead. I slowly floated out of my body hearing the screams of Passini, machine guns firing, the meeting with pure flesh of speeding bullets.
Hemingway uses real, sharp feelings of a man in this dramatic situation to create a harsh and scary feeling of death.
Giulio C.
