... novel," and is remarkable in previewing the entire work" (Oldsey 181). Hemingway opens the novel with a setting of a river where "the water was clear and moving and blue in the channels" (3). The setting seems to be lovely and unchanging, but the descriptions of the picturesque setting are interrupted by mentions of war. As "troops went by the house the dust raised powdered the leaves ... plain glowed with artillery flashes" (Hemingway 3). The war takes over the setting, and changes the tone of the novel from tranquility to unhappiness. Hemingway's opening here is used to foreshadow that ...

• Word Count: 1144
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... in the story "A Farewell to Arms," begins with the setting which describes a nasty war that is occurring. The war takes place in the mountains that sit back beyond the plains. The land where the war is happening is described by the author as bountiful with different crops growing in the summertime. As the seasons change in the beginning of the story, so does ... as if he is recalling his memories. As the story continues on, Rinaldi tells Frederic that he loves this nurse and he wants to introduce her to him. Frederic is smitten with Catherine from the beginning. He likes the idea of fal...

• Word Count: 1000
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... - or herself the events in his novels. For one instance, in the opening chapter of A Farewell to Arms, he states that an epidemic sweeps through an army outpost, killing "only" about 15,000 men. No comment on the tragedy. No explanation about how 15,000 men are of such little value to the people running the war. Just a line or two that imply the tragedy and ... , rather than let the story make a more subtle point. The Joads exist to add specificity to the "short lyrical" informational chapters, which are the core of the book. The book begins with one of those chapters, not with the Joads....

• Word Count: 1715
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School