『무기여 잘 있거라』에 나타난 허무주의와 비극성 연구

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to discuss both the "nihilism and tragedy" presented in Farewell to Arms of E. M. Hemingway in which he has described the dualistic Nihilism with World War I, the meanings of natural objects, and the end of Frederic Henry and Catherine Barkley's life and love in tragedy. This novel which was written based on his experience participating in World War I has the elements of an autobiography. In this work, Frederic Henry, the hero, refused duty as a soldier in the battle field and ran away from the army. He had a feeling of disillusionment and repulsion when faced with the death of his girl friend. Through this work, Hemingway held a firm position as author. Most of his literary works are tragic. The Risk of death he experienced himself in several wars, including World War I and II, were represented in his work. Most it dealing with tragic visions of violence and death. He described the suffering caused by the violence of wars and the destiny of humans who collapse in vain before nature and God based on his experience. His experience permeated into all his literary works including 『A Farewell To Arms』. Though no hope is found in the work, Hemingway was able to represent the desperate efforts of humans to face despair instead of being depressed or defeated in a life full of despair. Ernest Miller Hemingway’s『A Farewell To Arms』described a person named Frederic Henry, a hero, who was immersed in nihilism refusing the meaning of the war and the existing value when he realized its absurdity although he would like to seek for a stimulating adventure of a war on the sidelines without any purpose or motive. This study examined the nihilistic duality of war represented in『A Farewell To Arms』for logical development to effectively deliver the central meaning of the novel. Based on the results, it aims to analyze what effect the war had on the hero who criticized the war through nihilism, and what the nature of our life is. Next, this study focused on dual symbolism of rain and snow represented in the novel. The rain implies tragic images used through the author’s imagination. Therefore, the study compared rain as a tragic image to snow as an ideal image and analyzed in what way they are represented and what interaction they have. Hemingway represented absurdity and violence of the war through his distinctive hard-boiled wring style in this novel. Therefore, focusing on the wars and tragic love, this study analyzed how thoughts of the hero progressed during the absurd war and what the author wanted to represent through true love between the hero and Catherine Barkley.