How Does Hemingway Use Literary Devices In Farewell To Arms

1. Hemingway utilizes several literary devices throughout the story in order to help the reader acquire an understanding of the circumstances that the victims of war were faced with and reasons for why they reacted the way they did. The following are a few literary devices used pervasively:
Irony: The title itself is quite ironic as Henry bids farewell to the war, the weapons, the army and the savagery just to be with Catherine. He finally finds a reason to survive and is successful in finding the meaning for which he was looking for. He plans out his future with Catherine where they flee to Switzerland and have their baby and become a content and complete family. What happens is so tragic and saddening, Catherine dies while giving birth and so does the child. Thus, Henry ends up having to bid farewell to both and although he deserted the army in hopes of a brighter and happier future, he was once again left with endless pain and agony.

The cartridges signify death as they are used for deadly weapons. Whereas, on the other hand the simile he uses to describe them as looking as though they were pregnant, depicts life and new beginnings. Thus, he puts two opposites together as these ideas dominates the novel.
The decoration of Henry for heroism is quite ironic because when he was questioned by Rinaldi of his heroic act, he replies with the following: “I was blown up while eating cheese”. This creates irony because those who lost their lives fighting were disregarding while Henry was being decorated for bravery and heroism when he showed