in another country
In Another Country
ANALYSIS
Though its narrator is never named, “In Another Country” is widely accepted as one of Hemingway’s series of stories featuring Nick Adams, an autobiographical character, as the protagonist. It was based on Hemingway’s own experiences recuperating in a Milanese hospital after being wounded in World War I.
Though the story begins with Nick’s announcement that he and his fellow wounded soldiers are out of the war and recuperating at a military hospital, it becomes clear that they are in need of more than physical treatment in order to erase the war’s effects. There are strong underlying feelings of dislocation, conflict, and emptiness which indicate that Nick’s recovery cannot be affected by physical therapy.
Nick is alone in a foreign country and feels isolated. He states that people on the street hate officers and yell at him as he walks. The effect of this harassment is partially offset by Nick’s association with three other officers and the boy with the handkerchief over his face. Nick feels inferior to the three other officers with medals as they proved their bravery in battle and he received his medal merely for being an American. The Italians subtly shun him for this reason. He feels that he was injured before he could prove his courage.
Yet another source of discontent for Nick is the fact that the hospital, with its new physical therapy machines, doesn’t seem to be doing any of the soldiers much good. Nick explains that the surgeons at the hospital were not able to rebuild satisfactorily the face of the boy with the handkerchief.
In addition, Nick strongly suggests the physical therapy machines are ineffective, both for him and for the Italian major with the withered hand. The major repeatedly voices the opinion that the machines are useless. At the end of the story, he hardly pays attention to his treatment, choosing instead to stare out the window of the hospital. The whole reason that Nick remains in Italy and associates
ANALYSIS
Though its narrator is never named, “In Another Country” is widely accepted as one of Hemingway’s series of stories featuring Nick Adams, an autobiographical character, as the protagonist. It was based on Hemingway’s own experiences recuperating in a Milanese hospital after being wounded in World War I.
Though the story begins with Nick’s announcement that he and his fellow wounded soldiers are out of the war and recuperating at a military hospital, it becomes clear that they are in need of more than physical treatment in order to erase the war’s effects. There are strong underlying feelings of dislocation, conflict, and emptiness which indicate that Nick’s recovery cannot be affected by physical therapy.
Nick is alone in a foreign country and feels isolated. He states that people on the street hate officers and yell at him as he walks. The effect of this harassment is partially offset by Nick’s association with three other officers and the boy with the handkerchief over his face. Nick feels inferior to the three other officers with medals as they proved their bravery in battle and he received his medal merely for being an American. The Italians subtly shun him for this reason. He feels that he was injured before he could prove his courage.
Yet another source of discontent for Nick is the fact that the hospital, with its new physical therapy machines, doesn’t seem to be doing any of the soldiers much good. Nick explains that the surgeons at the hospital were not able to rebuild satisfactorily the face of the boy with the handkerchief.
In addition, Nick strongly suggests the physical therapy machines are ineffective, both for him and for the Italian major with the withered hand. The major repeatedly voices the opinion that the machines are useless. At the end of the story, he hardly pays attention to his treatment, choosing instead to stare out the window of the hospital. The whole reason that Nick remains in Italy and associates