hemingway's "in another country"
DESCRIPTION
A textbook's look at Ernest Hemingway and his short story, "In Another Country"TRANSCRIPT
Hemingway’s “In Another Country”
English 11
About World War I
• World War I was a nineteenth-century war fought with twentieth-century weapons; the military tactics lagged behind the capabilities of the weaponry.
• As a result, casualties were staggering and the wounds extraordinary and appalling.
• Although some soldiers came home with psychological wounds and others with illnesses, some were simply ripped apart.
About World War I
• It has been estimated that more than 12 percent of all injured soldiers suffered from facial wounds. Perhaps a third of these unfortunate men were permanently disfigured.
• Polite society sometimes shunned them. Much of the support the hundreds of decorated veterans received was from their fellow victims.
About World War I
• Attempting to dignify their experience, they bonded together to form mutual-aid societies.
Hemingway’s experience
• Parts of this story describe experiences much like Hemingway’s own as a Red Cross volunteer during World War I. He didn’t take part in the fighting; he was an ambulance driver.
• During one run he was hit by several fragments from a mortar shell and wounded. For this he received medals and glowing citations.
About the story
• True to Hemingway’s style, this story of a soldier in a World War I military hospital describes a time, but does not create and then resolve a single conflict.
• The narrator, an American serving as an officer in the Italian army during World War I, recuperates after a serious injury to his leg.
About the story
• He befriends other wounded soldiers, but once they decide his medals were awarded because he is an American while theirs were won for acts of valor and self-sacrifice, he feels isolated from them.
• The narrator is “in another country” both physically and emotionally. It is a place where he feels no connection to anyone else.
As You Read
• Read the story (pp. 809-814)
• Write a double-entry diary, asking 5 questions of the text
• Tie the questions to specific points – no generalizing the whole story.
• Be prepared to share your questions with others – so make them legitimate.
Citation
• Information from: – Prentice Hall Literature:
Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes, the American Experience (Teacher’s Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 806.