1. Stream of consciousness
Stream of consciousness is undoubtedly one of the most used techniques by Hemingway in A
Farewell to Arms. The reason why the author has used this technique it’s because it gives him a
lot of freedom to cope with the character’s inner world. He does so first, by interlacing the
character’s feelings and emotions with their mental and spiritual state in a specific moment, and
second, by using the interior monologue (Characteristic of The Stream of Consciousness), both
used to reveal to the reader the most deepest and complex thoughts of the characters.
Focusing in the main character of the novel, Frederic Henry, his thoughts are considered as
choppy which can be best seen in Chapter 3. In the passage below we see a drunken Henry with
some very contrastive thoughts.
I had wanted to go to Abruzzi. I had gone to no such place where the roads were frozen and hard
as iron, where it was clear cold and dry and the snow was dry and powdery and hare-tracks in
the snow and the peasants took off their hats and called you Lord and there was good hunting. I
had gone to no such place but to the smoke of cafes and nights when the room whirled and you
needed to look at the wall to make it stop, nights in bed, drunk, when you knew that that was all
there was, and the strange excitement of waking and not knowing who it was with you, and the
world all unreal in the dark and so exciting that you must resume again unknowing and not
caring in the night, sure that this was all and all and all and not caring.
Po kisha qejf të veja në Abrucet. Nuk kisha qënë në asnjë nga ato vise ku udhët janë të ngrira
dhe të forta si hekuri, ku të ftohtit është i thatë, ku moti është acar dhe bora e imët si pluhur, ku
duken gjurmët e lepurit dhe ku fshatarët nxjerrin shapkat e të quajnë zotëri dhe ku ka gjah sa të
duash. Në vënd që të veja në këto vise kisha qënë në mes të tymit të kafeneve, kisha kaluar net
t’atilla kur dhoma të duket sikur vjen rrotull dhe kur duhet të shikosh me ngulm një pikë në murë
që të most të duket se ajo vjen vërdallë; kisha kaluar net në shtrat ashtu xurxull, me vetëdijen se
nuk kishte asgjë tjetër dhe me përshtypjen e çuditshme se zgjohesh pa ditur se kush ishte me ty
dhe në errësirë bota nuk të duket aspak si diçka e vërtetë rreth e rrotull; të gjitha këto t’i nxisin
ndjenjat kaq shumë, sa ti fillon prapë nga e para, pa ditur asgjë, sikur s’përfill asgjë në mes të
natës, duke qënë i sigurt se nuk ka asgjë tjetër, asgjë, asgjë dhe se nuk do t’ia dish më për asgjë.
From the beginning to the end of the paragraph the description of Abruzzi compared to that of
the cafes is totally different. Throughout the passage we notice that the main character is
confused and his actual state (drunkenness) has affected his way of thinking. This is perfectly
expressed through the words chosen by the author but not only. Although Hemingway’s style is
know by his short declarative sentences, whenever we see The Stream of Consciousness being
used, we notice that the sentences are too long and the syntactical structure is disordered (the
conjunction and has been used too often). This of course is an adjustment that the author has
made to the language with the character’s actual state.
The same effect has been conveyed to the reader of the translated text as well. In the target text
we see how the translator has preserved the length of the sentence but also has made some
necessary changes. In the source text we notice the lack of verbs. The whole sentence start with
the verb I had and whenever we notice a missing verb it is that verb which should be used:

2. ex: I had gone to no such place but to the smoke of cafes and nights when the room whirled and
you needed to look at the wall to make it stop…
That has been translated as:
ex: Në vënd që të veja në këto vise kisha qënë në mes të tymit të kafeneve, kisha kaluar net
t’atilla kur dhoma të duket sikur vjen rrotull…
Instead of saying I had had nights… Hemingway uses the conjunction and just so the reader
doesn’t lose the thread of what is being said, so the verb is taken for granted. But in order for the
translator to not allow his reader to lose the thread, he has added the verb kisha kaluar because
the conjunction dhe in Albanian wouldn’t have been enough for the reader to understand that
there should be a verb (it wouldn’t make sense translated as Në vënd që të veja në këto vise kisha
qënë në mes të tymit të kafeneve, dhe net t’atilla). Still this change has been made for the sake of
meaning. Even though the translator might have not preserved the characteristics of the
technique, through the changes that have been made the meaning and the effect have been
perfectly conveyed to the reader of the translated text.
With regard to the method of translation that has been used, the most notable is adjustment.
Frederic Henry’s thoughts ‘translated’ in Albanian sound as choppy and paradoxical as they
sound in English.
Ex: to the smoke of cafes = në mes të tymit të kafeneve
drunk = xurxull
and not caring = dhe se nuk do t’ia dish më për asgjë.
Through the translation we are transmitted the same effect as we might get from the original
text. Even though he is reflecting on how he has wasted time drunk in the cafes instead of going
to Abruzzi, he is again in the café and drunk, but still we notice that he is repentant and through
the translated version në mes të tymit të kafeneve the feeling of remorse has been conveyed
successfully.
The adjective drunk has been translated xurxull instead of i dehur first, because it expresses
better Frederic’s mental state and it allows to the reader a clearer picture of the situation, second
because the book is considered as having a colloquial style.
The last part of the sentence in English and not caring has been translated as dhe se nuk do t’ia
dish më për asgjë. Notice how the translator has expanded the phrase in order to make it clearer
and also to make a distinction in meaning due to the fact that in English the word phrase not
caring has been used twice.