After a brief introduction to the experiences that Hemingway drew on in writing A Farewell to Arms, this account approaches the novel through a summary of its structure and a consideration of the following themes and ideas:

1. War and heroism;
2. Love and sex (sex as defiance–of convention and oppressive morality);
3. Relative importance given to men and women (the treatment of gender);
4. Definitions of masculinity, including relationships among men and masculine sensitivities.

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