In another country – Ernst Hemingway

A Con-war story

Summery:

‘‘In the fall the war was always there, but we did not go to it anymore.’’ So begins Ernest Hemingway’s short story, ‘‘In Another Country.’’ The war he refers to is World War I; the setting is Milan, away from the scene of the fighting. The narrator describes the city he passes on his way to the hospital to receive physical rehabilitation for the leg wounds he received while at the front. Though the narrator remains unnamed, scholars generally agree the young man is Hemingway’s alter ego, Nick Adams.

At the hospital, the narrator, a young man, sits at a machine designed to aid his damaged knee. Next to him is an Italian major, a champion fencer before the war, whose hand has been wounded. The doctor shows the major a photograph of a hand that has been restored by the machine the major is using. The photo, however, does not increase the major’s confidence in the machine.

Three Milanese soldiers, the same age as the narrator, are then introduced. The four boys hang out together at a place called Cafe Cova following their therapy. As they walk through the city’s Communist quarter, they are criticized for being officers with medals. A fifth boy, who lost his nose an hour after his first battle, sometimes joins them. He wears a black handkerchief strategically placed across his face and has no medals.

One of the boys who has three medals has

lived a very long time with death and was a little detached. We were all a little detached, and there was nothing that held us together except that we met every afternoon at the hospital. Although, we walked to the Cova through the… »

Ernest Hemingway ”In Another Country”

Time: 10-12 minutes (maybe 15)

 

Quotations: You must read aloud a few important passages from the text. One of these passages must be about 5-7 lines

 

I have picked a text called “soldiers home”

It is connected to the texts we read about

 

Briefly present the theme about Hemingway and WWI-poets

Ww1 novels

Briefly present this text and its main theme(s)

This text is very untypical according to Hemingway, but i’ll comment on this a little later. The theme is similar to In Another Country where the major tells the younger soldiers never to get emotionally attached to anyone.

The relationship is like In Another Country. The war has made him shy and detached to the girls next door. He does not want to commit to anyone, because he does not want to lose anyone. War has changed him.

 

Briefly tell the listener how you have structured your presentation (see below)

Give a very short summary

The story is about a young man called Krebs, who has returned from war. He now lives with his mother and sisters. When he returned he didn’t get any warm welcome.

Describe the narrative technique and the language :

There is an inner point of view from Krebs point of view

Characterize the protagonist

He is emotionally detached, and very mentally tormented by his experiences in the war. He feels like he is living in another world than anybody else.

 

When he got back from the war he had changed, but unfortunately the small town society had not.

He puts on a facade when he tells stories from the war so that people will listen to him.

Normally the protagonist is called Nick in the stories of Hemingway, but in this one he is called Krebs, which might because this does not need to be any special person.

Otherwise it might because this story does not symbolize any experience by Hemingway.

 

 

Use your papers about “analysis and interpretation” page 4

The protagonist’s relationship to the other characters is quite important

Remember to use abstract words!

Characterize the mother and sisters and talk about his role in the story

His mother is very religious, and she wants to pray for Krebs and Krebs to pray with her. He does so even though he is not emotionally involved.

They are very appreciative of his efforts in the war and his sisters see him as a hero.

 

Title
The title could be interpreted as quiet ironic since what Krebs returns to is not really his home anymore.

 

Talk about the symbols in the text

The medals

The machines

The window in the end of the text

Talk thoroughly about the main theme(s) of the text

Sum up your main points – what is the text trying to tell the reader about the main theme(s)

Put the text into perspective

To put things into perspective, i will relate this story to In Another Country by Hemingway himself. The relationship is like In Another Country. The war has made him shy and detached to the girls next door. He does not want to commit to anyone, because he does not want to lose anyone. War has changed him.

 

Briefly consider whether you like the text and whether it is still relevant