Ch. 10: "You will be decorated. They want to get you the medaglia d'argento but perhpas they can get only the bronze."
"What for?"
"Because you were gravely wounded. They say if you can prove you did any heroic act you can get the silver. Otherwise it will be the bronze. Tell me exactly what happened. Did you do any heroic act?"
"No," I said. "I was blown up while we were eating cheese."
16 comments:
I think this quote says a lot about the kind of person Fredrick is. He was gravely injured, not even on duty, just relaxing with friends. He knows this, and accepts this. Some soldiers might milk this injury up, and use it to their advantage to attain some kind of glory, in this case a better medal. But Fredrick does not, even when Rinhaldi pushes him too. Henry has integrity and I like his character for that. I also find this quote a bit ironic in that they were in a trench, enjoying themselves, not attempting to complete their objective then all of a sudden they are bombed, Fredrick is wounded, and after all that they still get medals just for being hurt. They weren’t even getting anything done. Here, I think Hemingway shows the irony that war can bring.
Frederic feels as though he doesn't deserve an award. Other men die or are wounded on the front lines of the battle field, but Frederic was wounded while eating cheese. And the thing is he knows that. I say this because he could have easily lied about how he was wounded and earned a silver medal, but he has respect for other battle mates. This passage shows Frederic's inner character and brings in a bit of humor. The paragraph starts out with horrid descriptions of the hospital and then goes to Rinaldi's lighter tone on things. As much as Rinaldi tries to get Frederic to accept a false identity he will always refuse unselfishly.
This conversation reveals how much integrity and pride Henry has. Rinaldi keeps pushing him to say something, make something up, about how courageous he was and the unbelievable things he did prior to and following his injury. Henry does not want to take attention away from the soldiers who lost their friends or even their own lives. He does not feel the need to mention the one courageous thing he tried to do. After the blast he used his shirt to try and wrap Passini’s legs, which had been blown off. Henry has respect for the real soldiers on the front unlike himself and the other medics eating cheese and drinking wine away from battle. The passage also shows how even in war, people like Rinaldi bring a lighter touch to the story. He is a true friend to Henry by wanting him to get a high honor and making sure he is comfortable in the hospital.
This passage is very humorous due to Henry's response to the accident. I respect Henry a lot for not taking advantage of the situation. Fredric's roommate Rinaldi is trying to get him to use the accident in their favor so that Fredric can be rewarded. In Fredric's mind nothing heroic happened at all and he should not be rewarded with a medal because of an injury. Medals become worthless if anyone can acquire one by just getting injured. I agree with Robey on the fact that Fredric knows he doesn't deserve an award for merely getting injured while eating cheese while other soldiers in the Italian army are putting their lives on the front lines of the battlefield.
This is a statement that people are trying to do anything to give soldiers something to fight for. But it is quite weird that if you get injured in the war you get a medal. This is a strategy to get soldiers to do more risky things in the war, because if they get injured then they get a medal. I think it shows what kind of person Fredrick is telling the truth about how he got injured. He doesn't want a medal he just wants the war to be over.
This passage shows us Frederic’s true character. Many other soldiers would have jumped at the opportunity to get the medal. They would have made anything up just so they could be treated like they did something amazing. Frederic has too much respect for the men who have died to make up a lie and take the medal. He tells the truth which was that he was eating cheese and they were attacked. This passage also shows Hemingway’s humorous writing style and how he can make something funny no matter how serious the situation. We are also shown the reality of war and how you aren’t just attacked on the battlefield; you could be doing anything like eating cheese.
This quote shows us Henry's integrity. Rinaldi wants Henry to make up a story so he can get a higher medal. Henry could have easily taken advantage of this opportunity to put himself on a pedestal and seem like a hero. However, he knows that the men at the front line giving their life for their country are the heroic ones. He knows that he does not deserve a medal for being injured while eating cheese.The fact that Henry did what was right makes him placed on a pedestal and heroic to me. There are few people that would tell the truth when put in that situation. This passage also shows how easily a story can be changed. It demonstrates that what we, as civilians, hear about the war, is not always the truth. Details are often added, subtracted, or elaborated.
This passage shows some of the more elemental features of war. Rinaldi wants Henry to win an award for some heroic act, but there was no such act that took place. He is trying to convince Henry that he could've done something that could win him a silver medal, but Henry, holding a firm grip on reality and righteousness, denies having done any such heroic act. The picture of the soldier eating relates to Henry, for he was eating when he was shot. The picture of the medals represents the medal Rinaldi was trying to obtain for Henry. For me, this passage is sad in some ways. Rinaldi is so desperate for Henry to get a medal (not even for himself), that he tries to persuade Henry into thinking of some heroic act he might have done that never even took place. In the setting of the novel, these were desperate times, and to see that one would go so far to obtain some medal for an injury upsets me.
In this passage, Hemingway brings in some irony when Frederic gets injured when eating, not when fighting in some heroic battle. In war, you don't think of men dying while eating, so it kind of contradicts everything that war is. Why would someone get killed if they weren't fighting? It also shows that Frederic isn't a man who takes advantage of situations. He doesn't lie about his experience- he tells it how it is. He did nothing heroic. This passage is also a lighthearted break, which is ironic because nothing about war is funny.
The picture of the soldier eating relates to this passage because Henry was eating and having a good time when he was shot. The medals relate because Rinaldi was pushing Henry to make something up so he could get a medal.
This quote shows what type of man Frederik is during the war and also what type of war it is. Frederic could care less about getting medals and trying to get a silver medal. He even said it. He was eating some cheese with his friends and got blown up. while he could've easily lied to get a better medal. He is receiving a medal for solely getting injured and doesn't want to get anything else because he didn't do anything else. It also shows how serious his friends are taking the war or lack of seriousness. I think its a little funny as well, They are more worried about whether or not he got a silver medal for getting injured while thousands of people are dieing throughout the world every day.
I agree with everyone else—this passage shows Frederic’s integrity and humility. While many others are worrying about what kind of medal they are receiving, Frederic could care less. He didn’t do anything heroic; he was eating cheese! He knows he didn’t do anything heroic and he doesn’t understand why he is receiving a medal besides for being wounded. While others would take advantage of this and lie to receive a medal, Frederic remains true. Also, I find it ironic that people keep pressuring him and asking what heroic actions he did when there are numerous soldiers who lose their lives and do selfless acts that never get recognized. Even if they were to be recognized, the majority of them would not want to be.
Like most previous comments have pointed out, Henry possesses a considerable amount of integrity. He demonstrates the virtue in this passage, in which he lets an opportunity to benefit from a lie pass by. Though he could provide stories of his attempts to save Passini as possible evidence of heroic acts, he realizes that he did little more than to take off his shirt and use it in a vein attempt to preserve the already foregone life. He resists Rinaldi's prying and tells him the truth, one that proved to be quite humorous. It isn't often that an army member is attacked while dining on cheese. This goes back to the picture posted at the beginning of the passage, in which a soldier is shown dining. It is ironic that Henry and his companions were wounded or killed while dining, as most soldiers are wounded and killed while in the midst of a battle.
This passage, to me, shows Frederic’s attitude towards the war. Everyone around him is glorifying war, and trying to reward him with shiny medals for getting wounded. Frederic is probably feeling survivors guilt, and doesn’t think he should be rewarded for being the one who happened not to die. I think that the explosion made it clear to Frederic how unpredictable and unfair deaths can be, and that a life can be taken even in a calm and peaceful cheese-eating moment. I do think that he was good to be modest and not brag about how he tried to save one of his fellow soldiers, but mostly I think that Frederic didn’t share Rinaldi’s excitement about him being injured, and didn’t think that it should be something celebrated with a medal. Frederic also probably thought that the medals should be going to the soldiers who were actually in combat, doing something more useful than eating cheese.
Pride Snow
This passage shows the true character of Henry. He is hit by part of a mortar while hanging out with his friends, eating food, and not giving the war a thought. Obviously he was in no way performing a heroic act of any sort. His friend Rinaldi continuously prods him to make something up in order to get a silver medal instead of bronze. He refuses time after time because he feels like he would be cheating his fellow soldiers if he lied about something like that, even though they probably wouldn’t treat him differently if he did.
This shows that Frederic is trustworthy and the character he has. He doesn't want a medal he deserve. He realizes that would be wrong when their are many heroic men on the front line that deserves it more than him. In reality he was eating cheese and got hurt. That could've happen to him anywhere. Rinaldi is just trying to help his friend out and help him get a medal. Frederic if anything should get a medal of integrity for not accepting the medal because many men in his position would.
*doesn't
Post a Comment