Stream of Consciousness in A Farewell to Arms Many important American writers became famous during the Jazz Age, but their commonalities often stopped there. From the lyrical to the spare, many different styles can be seen among these authors, such as those of Henry James, Edith Wharton, F. Scott Fitzgerald, James Joyce, and Ernest Hemingway. One stylistic technique, stream of consciousness, was most associated with Joyce. However, Hemingway also used this technique regularly and it is an important element in his war novel, A Farewell to Arms. This technique uses a character's internal monologue to convey information, and thus the reader is allowed a more fluid picture of the true thoughts of the character, in this case, Lieutenant Frederick Henry. Furthermore, the information contained in these stream-of-consciousness passages would not have been expressed as effectively in traditional prose style. There are six specific passages in A Farewell to Arms that exemplify the stream of consciousness technique. Each of these is linked to one of the themes of drunkenness and confusion, escape and fantasy and disillusionment. These themes are presented in progression, as Henry becomes more and more demoralized about his life and the war. The first step comes soon, as he relives the experiences of his weeks off. The Lieutenant has been drinking and his memories flow like the speech of a drunk; moving from one topic to another without regard for the listener. Of course, the reader is the only "listener" here, but there is a sense that Henry is truly lost in thought. His disconcerting thoughts attempt to summarize the previous weeks in the following passage: I was gone. . . to the coffee smoke and the nights when the room was spinning and you needed to look at the wall, to the nights in bed, drunk, when you knew there was nothing else there, and to the strange excitement of waking up and not knowing who was there with you, and the world all unreal in the dark and so exciting that you have to start again without knowing and without worrying in the night, sure that this was all and everything and without worrying (13). This description is in direct contrast to an earlier description of the cold, clear and scenic Abruzzo, Henry's alternative vacation spot, underlining his confusion as well as the Cova's sensory overload.