The Sun Also Rises (1926) Hemingway's 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises, details the pain, sorrow and hopelessness of his generation after then end of World War I. The tale is narrated by Jake Barnes, a fighter pilot who was shot down and wounded, leaving him impotent. Barnes and his friends are travelling and drinking their way across France and Spain. Barnes falls in love with Lady Ashley, but is unable to consummate the union due to his injury.
The weary and disillusioned group of friends in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises are emotionally scarred and confused by the war they have just experienced. Their young lives are seemingly devoid of meaning. The book explores these problems, as well as the notion of romance and love. It deals with the troubled narrator, Barnes and his deep love for Ashley. It also deals with Ashley's reactions and rather liberal sexual habits.
A Farewell to Arms (1929) Hemingway's 1929 novel, A Farewell to Arms, is partially based on his own experiences as an ambulance driver during World War I. The tale is narrated by Lieutenant Frederic Henry, a US soldier who volunteers as an ambulance driver in Italy during WWI. Henry is wounded and sent to a hospital in Milan. He falls deeply in love with Catherine Barkley, a nurse at the hospital.
Over the summer the narrator, Henry, slowly heals from his injury. By that time, the hospital nurse, Catherine, is pregnant with his child. Henry returns to his unit, but is captured by military police looking for scapegoats when Italy is defeated. Henry escapes and meets up with Catherine so that they can flee to Switzerland. Catherine goes into labor and delivers a stillborn son. She soon hemorrhages and dies, leaving Henry alone.
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) Hemingway's 1940 novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, details the story of Robert Jordan. Jordan is an American who travels to Spain in 1937 to help fight the fascist forces taking over the country. Jordan is assigned the suicidal task of sneaking behind enemy lines to blow up an important bridge. He is to be aided by a group of guerrilla fighters hiding in the mountains.
The hero, Jordan, finds the camp and soon comes in conflict with the fighter's puppet leader, Pablo. Jordan also meets a young girl, Maria, and they fall in love. The tale displays the brutality of the Spanish civil war. It also delves into how each character deals with the terror and faces their own mortality. In the end, Jordan makes the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the cause.
