Book Five, Chapters 38-41.
Study
Questions: Craft answers based on the details in the novel.
29. What kind of family
life does Frederic hint he has had (near the last page of Chapter 39)? In
what sense does Catherine want to "ruin" Frederic at the end of
Chapter 39? Does she succeed? (Hint: Revisit this question after you
finish the novel and know what happens to them.)
30.
Toward the end of Chapter 23, Frederic remembers two lines from Andrew Marvell's poem
,
"To His Coy Mistress." What are the next two lines of that
poem, and are they relevant to Frederic's feelings at the end of the
novel?
What rushes Frederic and Catherine in the Milan hotel? What rushes them at the
very end of Chapter 40?
31. Even today, labor may last
up to 20 hours or longer. As you read about the baby's birth, list what
things seem believable and what things seem far-fetched about the
delivery. Why would Hemingway have Frederic administering "gas"
to Catherine about a third of the way into the last chapter, for instance, and
in the middle of the chapter?
32. Was Frederic right about
the world killing everyone (near the middle of Chapter 34) or when he compares
the world to the ants on a fiery log in his campfire one time, about two-thirds
of the way through the last chapter?
33. In
the end, is what happens to Catherine "ironic" or a "dirty
trick"? Who or what, according to the world view in this novel, is
playing this dirty trick on her? How is her attitude at the end different from
Frederic's?
34. In
summary, what meaning(s) does the title of the novel have? (List as many
as you can think of, then rank them with the most
likely on top.)