A Farewell to Arms , a novel by Ernest Hemingway was written during the First World War. The story is about two lovers Henry and Catherine. Henry is a young American and works as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during the period of the First World War. On the other hand, Catherine is a young English assistant nurse working at a British Hospital. When Henry returns to the front after winter, he meets Catherine. After a while, Henry is wounded in a battlefield and is taken to a hospital in Milan to undergo surgery and is supposed to have bed rest for six months. During this period Henry learns that Catherine is being transferred to Milan Hospital and starts his recovery under her care. After a few months that followed the love between Catherine and Henry deepened as it became real and powerful. After a while, Henry travels back to front and later reunites with Catherine in the town of Stresa.
The journey, as an organizing structure in A Farewell to Arms plays a significant role. Notably, the story is set during a period of war and all the scenes are joined together in a continuous pattern of a journey. The book shows Henry’s journey on the train to Milan to meet his lover Catherine. It is hence indicating that the novel focuses mainly on a love story. Also, Henry is seen traveling back to the front to continue with work in the Italian war (Kautsar, 2017). The journey of Henry back to the war shows that the story focuses on not only the structure of love, but also the structure of war. In addition, a journey is seen when both Henry and Catherine are escaping for safety to Switzerland by boat. This journey is remarkable because it shows the devastating effects of war as shown in the novel.
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On the other hand, The Reivers, written by William Faulkner was set in early 1900 and it centered a group of people from Jefferson. The story is about Lucius Priest who invites individuals to listen to an account of what happened when he was a young boy aged eleven years living in Jefferson, Mississippi in the year 1905. The story begins when Lucius grandfather known as Boss Priest buys a car that amazes all the people in their town, particularly the family’s retainer Boon Hogganbeck. When Lucius’s other grandfather passes away, Boss attends the funeral leaving his car under the care of Boon. Boon convinces Lucius to help him steal his grandfather’s car and drive with him to Memphis. On their journey to Memphis, they are joined by Ned who is related to Lucius grandfather. On arriving at Memphis, Ned departed to meet his people while Boon takes Lucius to Bordello where his girlfriend lives. On returning, Ned tells Boon he had traded the stolen car for a horse race.
The journey plays a vital role in organizing the structure of the novel. Throughout the trip to Memphis, the readers learn about the racism, jealousy, sexism, corruption and the betrayal that is portrayed in the novel (Kreyling, 2017). Particularly, racism is seen when Ned is not allowed to claim any property of Lucius’s grandfather because he is half-black. This shows the structure of the novel which is based on racism. Also, through the journey, the main character of the novel Lucius learns about the consequences of non- virtue and the power that greed has in the world. Therefore, the journey in the novel is based on self-exploration and the experience of being human in the early years of the 20th century.
References
Kautsar, A. L. (2017). Tragic fate of main character on a farewell to arms .
Kreyling, M. (2017). The last Faulkner: The Reivers on the road to banality. The Southern Quarterly , 54 (2), 10-27.
