Throughout history, there has always been one method of diplomacy that has lasted from God and Satin before creation to modern times. This method is known as warfare. Bloody and powerful, it scars and changes people forever. Ernest Hemingway, who served in Italy in World War I as an ambulance driver, shows readers through is book A Farewell to Arms

How war changed a particular man named Lt. Henry.

The book begins as Henry prepares to go on leave, and soon picks up with his return. Quickly, Hemingway lets readers know how Henry feels about the war after he asks a wound soldier, “How do you like this goddam war?” After the reply, he returns, “I say it’s rotten. Jesus Christ I say it’s rotten” (35.) Even though he believes the war is so rotten, he still feels safe and secure. On page 37, he states, “I knew I would not be killed. Not in this war.” As confident as he was, he gets stuck in an attack and says, ”I tried to breath, but my breath would not come… I knew I was dead… I breathed and I was back” (54.)

After Henry is wounded, his view of the war changes drastically. Instead of just calling it rotten, he begins to hate it (70.) In addition, after he is moved to a hospital and is cared for my Miss Barkley, he comes to the realization that, “I loved her very much and she loved me” (108.) Now that he loves her and is wounded, why go back to the war? It is extremely challenging to leave a loved one to fight for ones home country, but absolutely pointless to leave to help some other country. Henry is certainly affected by his relationship with Miss Barkley. While they are talking before he departs for the front, he tells her, “We always feel good when we’re together” (150.) As true as this is, and as much as he would like to stay with her, he still his to leave to go back to the front. So now it is time to travel on to the third step of Henry’s change.

After he arrives back on the front, everything has changed. Even the major talks about how bad the war has been (164-165.) Rinaldi also complains, “This war is killing me… I am very depressed by it” (176.) The war also affects Henry’s temper and anger. During the retreat, he kills a soldier who ignores his command (204.) This is just one sign of when war has made a major, unchangeable change in a person, when one forgets values and cold bloodily murders someone. After “Anger was washed away in the river alone with any obligation,” Henry begins the long journey to escape the war and its effects (232.)

Even though war can be successful in diplomacy, it is still like an arcade change machine. When someone puts money it, they hope to get proper change. Even if the proper change does not emerge there is still change. The desired effect does not come about, but thoughts toward it are changed for the worse. Like war, there is always an effect and some change, but not always to one that hoped for. If a war or a change machine does not give the proper results, it is hated, but when it pays out correctly, everyone loves it.