Consider the theme of futility in A Farewell to Arms.

Clearly, the theme of futility, as in so much of
Hemmingway's fiction, dominates this excellent novel. It is important to realise how
futility and the presentation of war are inextricably intertwined, as the war forms the
backdrop against which the action in the novel occurs. War is depicted as showing the
futility of life in the very real way in which its violence, chaos and anarchy are
portrayed from the perspective of an ambulance driver. One of the most important scenes
in the entire novel is of course the Italian retreat in which the disintegration of the
tidy and ordered columns of men is paralleled by the loss of reason of the soldiers, as
they realise the true futility of their lives and action. The novel, in a sense, is
about characters struggling to find some sense of meaning in a universe that is shown
again and again to be characterised by nothing more than chaos and violence. War in this
novel is shown to be the inevitable by-product of a world that is without logic and just
plain cruel. A world in which true love is not recognised or protected is therefore
doomed to the kind of futility and violence displayed in this
novel.