FREDERIC HENRY, THE TRAGIC HERO OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY’S A FAREWELL TO ARMS

Abstract

A Farewell to Arms is one of the great works of Ernest Hemingway. He is one of the greatest authors in the twentieth century. In this novel, Hemingway stresses on the character of Frederic Henry. He is the main character in the novel. Frederic is a young American who enlists himself in the Italian army as the ambulance driver during the First World War. Moreover, the First World War is time full of confusion, desperation, and loneliness. It gives bad influences to people’s life, mentally and psychologically. Frederic must face the traumatic effects of the war. From the explanation above, this thesis primarily focuses on two major problems. First, how the roles of Id and Ego toward Frederic Henry’s character are. Second, what the effects of Id and Ego leading Frederic Henry to the tragic hero are. The method of the thesis is inductive analysis. It means the discussion of this thesis goes from the specific problem and goes to general conclusions, with a purpose to make this thesis clear to understand. The application of the method in this thesis begins by analyzing the roles of id and ego toward Frederic’s character. The result shows that the roles of Id and Ego give influences toward main character, Frederic Henry. He becomes an atheist, a drinker and the sex offender. Furthermore, Frederic’s strong Id and Ego is also gives the effects in his life. They are Frederic’s terrifying experiences in the Italian army, Frederic’s sexual desire toward Catherine and Frederic’s loss of love toward Catherine and the baby. The effects lead Frederic to the tragic hero.