Blog #1: Rhetorical Strategies

· Imagery- “I could see the river far down below, the line of ties and rails running along it, the old bridge where the railway crossed to the other side and across, under a hill beyond the river, the broken houses of the little town that was to be taken” (45).

· Humor- “‘When I tell him you were not an Austrian. Ho ho ho.’

‘Ho ho ho,’ I said bitterly. ‘How funny if he would cut my throat. Ho ho ho’” (90).

· Repetition-“It’s been a bad summer…It was very bad…It has been bad…You couldn’t believe how bad it has been…Next year it will be worse” (164-165).

· Symbolism- “The moon was supposed to rise but there was a mist over the town and it did not come up…” (125)

In the novel, A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway establishes a unique style through his vast and continuous usage of effective rhetorical strategies. This usage of rhetorical strategies is exemplified by his numerous accounts of repetition throughout the novel. Though his use of repetition, Hemingway is able to effectively create a style that persuades the reader to listen to as well as believe all the thoughts and inner monologues presented in the story. By using this technique, Lieutenant Henry, the main character, is portrayed as an honest and capable man. Along with repetition, Hemingway also establishes his unique style through his imagery and symbolism to describe the events unfolding in the novel. There are few symbols in the novel that hold significant importance, however, “the mist,” or “the fog,” is used by Hemingway to create a sense of peril and uncertainty. By alerting the reader before an attack or a suspenseful event in the story through his description of the ghostly mist, Hemingway is able to give the reader a sense of suspense and curiosity that hooks them into the novel.