In the beginning of "A Farewell To Arms" a scene of a nice, peaceful summer is presented. Questions such as what year?, what village?, what river?, and what mountain? are drawn from the first few sentences. Imagery is further displayed with words such as "blue", "clear", and "swiftly" to provide a peaceful, flowing scene of nature. Simple words and sentences contribute to this mood. "The's" and "and's" are repeated often, except "the" was omitted from in front of leaves in the fourth sentence to provide a sense of change. Leaves fall as the soldiers walk by and all else seems to change with these events. Switching from a bright summer to a darkening season serves as a foreshadowing of the upcoming problems of war.
Diction changes as the chapter progresses to words such as "dark", "brown", "muddy", and "gray". The river started clear and blue, but has now become dark and muddy. This symbolizes the emotions of the people as the troops march and fight. Progressing seasons of nature symbolize the progressing sadness of the people also. As summer leaves and autumn comes mud is splashed over everything and covers the bright beauty of it all. Even the muddy capes of soldiers show how weary and bogged down they are.
"Six months gone with child" is an example of metonymy used to show how weary and vulnerable the troops are. Terms such as "motor car" suggest that the time period is around the 1940's. Mentioning of a King rules out the place being the United States. Still many questions go unanswered making the reader want to read farther (which battle?, which King?).
"Winter and permanent rain" bring dreary times and cholera makes these times worse. There is a small chance of hope since only seven thousand troops died. This is ironic because seven thousand is usually thought of as a lot; however, Hemingway wants readers to understand this is small compared to the large number killed in battle.
Hemingway presents his view of life during a time of turmoil.