Saturday, July 30, 2011
The To Quiet For Me Priest
In Ernest Hemingway’s semi autobiographical 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms, Hemingway depicts the world that so many American solders had know just ten years earlier. Hemingway’s novel fallows the life of Lieutenant Henry, wall giving an intimate look into a solders life. What I don’t quiet understand why the Priest takes so much abuse from the solders. The men constantly ridicule and make offensive comments towards the priest. One man in front of the priest says “’All thinking man are atheist”’(8). By directly charactering intelligent man as atheist Hemingway allows the lieutenant to indirectly characterize the priest as unintelligent. The Priest though does not retaliate, witch I don’t quiet understand. If hemming way allows the priest not to retaliate he ether indirectly characterizes him as weak, or incredible patent and loving. Why cant the priest still live as a solder and defend him self wall still being a good priest. Can true Christen character allow some one to just sit and allow other to deprave them of all there moral stand points? I don’t think the ignoring of others truly portrays a religious leader. Would it have been so wrong fro him to stand up for him self and defend his beliefs? I think Hemmingway did a grate disserves by allowing the priest a quiet role.
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To a certain degree I agree with you Dani. Religious people often come with a negative connotation and those like the priest ought to defend themselves at times, but I also think the priest acted wisely at times. Often religious people carry a negative connotation because of their vocalness. He knows most of the officers joke with him without the intention of hurting him. And I also think he realizes his silence and subtle remarks speak more loudly than his words do. I definitely feel Henry takes greater notice of him and his values because of his understated attitude. At times though, the priest definitely should have spoken up.
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