Inexorable Fate of Catherine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Inexorable Fate of Catherine - Essay Example The actions and attitude of Catherine towards life and death, religion and ateism reflected that a person with a wide range of feelings had a fuller life than a person with a more restricted rang. When I read this chapter, it makes me think that we are alive when we are feeling freshly, or profoundly, or delicately; and that lack of all feeling is death and unconsciousness. But certain distinctions we can make within the scope of these propositions are by no means widely recognized; for instance, that fresh, strong feeling in Catherine is a different thing from the mass strong feeling she had faced with during the wartime. The life experience of Catherine depicted that some types and manifestations of human feeling were gross self-indulgence and were not at all the thing they appeared to be, in other words "this was what people got for loving each other" (Hemingway, 329). I disagreed with indifference and protests of Catherine against a priest. In my opinion, Catherine should change her mind and asked God to help her, but she refused. Henry asked Catherine: "Do you want me to get a priest or any one to come and see you", but she answered "Just you" (Hemingway, 330). On the other hand, this remark shows great love between Catherine and Henry, their mutual trust and support. Reading this chapter, I came to conclusion that in childhood, people believe subconsciously in superficial power of some thing beyond our understanding, in adolescence period, we deny everything being unable to join scientific knowledge about the world and unscientific knowledge on which religion is based. At the end of the chapter I understood that love to Henry was the only true faith for Catherine. I was amazed by courage and personal strength of Catherine in this chapter. Her courage and bravery proved the idea that only in difficult situations people show their real nature and courage: "When the pains were bad she called them good ones" (Hemingway, 326). Toughness stems were not from insensitivity but from a strict personal code which functions as the character's sole defense against the overwhelming chaos of death. Catherine was a real hero trying to support and encourage Henry. She told that she was "'not going to die" (Hemingway 326). The following passage was the most impressive part of the chapter, because as a reader I could do nothing to change the course of events but remain a passive viewer of human sufferings. "It seems she had one hemorrhage after another. They couldn't stop it. I went into the room and stayed with Catherine until she died. She was unconscious all the time, and it did not take her very long to die" (Hemingway 331). It was really difficult for me to read the rest of the chapter realizing that Catherine "would die" (Hemingway 327). The great irony of Catherine's death was that she had helped people all her life saving dozens of soldiers, but was faced with ultimately death of her own. The crying injustice was that she gave birth to a child who was stillborn. Her downfall was a result of a fatal flaw of events, a trait which she could not help as it was a fate which caused the tragedy and death. Catherine suffered beyond what could be expected, and paid beyond measure for whatever love and happiness she had. A new life always symbolizes great expectations and hopes which can change the life of a person or a family for the good, but for Catherine it resulted in death. Catherine tells Henry: "I'm not brave any more, darling, I'm