Through out the novel, we can assume that Hemingway expresses both his personal philosophy and typical modernist thinking through the main character Frederic Henry. In the last two books of A Farwell to Arms, there are many passages spoken by Henry, two passages the best illustrate what Hemingway believes to be true about man and the way the universe operates are on pages 249 and 327. .
On page 249, Henry states that "If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those it will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry." This quote applies to both. The first line says that if people have courage the world has to kill them to break them. These people that bring forth this great amount of courage can be referred to as modern hero's. Henry in the book brings forth this courage, however it is not present at first. Henry can be seen as a "stoical character." He develops his courage as the book progresses and at the same time is becoming closer to being "broken". In the passage, when Henry says that the world "breaks" everyone, he is referring to the bad things that happen throughout your life that have significant effects on your character. The best example of how the book breaks Henry is the last chapter in which Catherine dies after giving birth. When Henry is first seen, he is a young man lacking one thing in his life, love. Throughout the book, Henry develops his love for Catherine which gives him more reason to live and not die in the war. This causes Henry to develop courage. Therefore, the "world tries to break him, and finally does so by "killing" Catherine, the one person Henry has risked life and limb to be with, and on top of that, fallen in love with.