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Posted by Sue on October 27, 192000 at 10:08:39:
In Reply to: Re: Farewell to Arms- Mtns/Plains Symbolism posted by Pjk on October 27, 192000 at 03:14:40:
: : I am writing a paper and need more examples on how the Mountains and Plains are used symoblically in the book, A Farewell To Arms.
: : I know Mountains= Good, Home
: : Plains=War, Evil bUt I need to be able to write 500 words and I am stuck!!!
: Carly, I think you're problem is that I can't think how
: mountans = good, home. Not for me. I think of mountains
: and I think of cold, falling off, avalanches, Yeti. While
: not evil, but certainly bad. And plains = war, evil. For me
: plains are waving plains of grain. Plains Indians (the
: peaceful ones). The Great plains. Do you have examples
: of where mountains are symbolic of anything specific?
: Or plains?
: Now rivers...there's a symbol. What did Napoleon cross? A river -
: the Rubicon. What did Huck Finn sail down on a raft in Hemingway's
: favorite book? The Ole Mississip. What do you have to cross to get
: into Hades? The River Styx. Where does an army make a stand becasue
: it's easy to defend? A river bank.
: Crossing a river is symbolic of making a decision. You cross (decide)
: and generally don't go back. Rivers are symbolic of a barrier - to be
: defended or bridged. (Bridges are good too). But additionally, rivers
: are filled with water, and the emersion into water and coming out of the
: water are symbolic of a cleansing (think of baptism or Holy water). And
: even of birth or more importantly a re-birth. How does Frederic Henry
: flee the men who will shoot him? And what is his feelings towards the
: war before and afterwards? Towards Catherine? And how do he and Catherine
: escape to Switzerland. Right! And what is his feelings before and afterwards?
: We're almost to 500 words and we haven't even put in what the Austrians cross to
: route the italians. (Hint. The Piave, a r*v*r in Italy).
: Mountains? Plains? Nope. Rivers? Yup.
: hth
: Pjk
-- pjk, some of your remarks re rivers were interesting and some were simply mistaken. None of your remarks really answered Carly's question. Supposing her ignment has to deal with mountains and plains in AFTA, then you need to address those places and symbols.
Also, Napoleon never crossed the Rubicon; it was Julius Caesar. I don't know that Napoleon was ever famous for crossing a river, though he certainly did try to take Moscow in a futile effort that led to his downfall, as did Hitler many years later. (Just imagine what the world would be like now if Hitler and Stalin had remained allies.) Anyhow, here's some info on the Rubicon and J.C.
"The Rubicon is a river in northern Italy, 15 miles in length, flowing from the southern slopes of the Alps eastward to the Adriatic Sea. By crossing this boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy in 49 B.C. to march against Pompey, Julius Caesar committed himself to conquer or perish. Since then, use of the idiom ". . . crossing the Rubicon . . . ." has meant that a person is taking a decisive, irrevocable step." (source: Random House Dictionary)
Looking forward to your (or anyone's) thoughts on mountains and plains in AFTA,
Sue
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