In Another Country - Critical Reading

In the first sentence, Hemingway immediately creates a question or a confusion in the mind of the reader. He repeats this sentence in a similar manner a few paragraphs later. By the time we read this line a second time, we know that…

• These are all wounded soldiers recovering from injury away from the front while the war continues on elsewhere in Europe and in their minds and hearts and memories.

• These soldiers were no longer fighting on the front and were instead filling support roles in the military.

• These soldiers were doctors working in a military hospital.

• These were wounded veterans who could not forget the effects of war.

Hemingway wrote this story in his typical direct and unadorned style of writing. He once bragged that no editor could ever find a single word from any finished manuscript of his that was unnecessary. He purposely wrote in a simple and “bare” style. What effect does this style of writing have on the reader?

• It removes all uncertainty about what he is trying to say.

• It requires the reader to draw their own conclusions.

• It deemphasizes the importance of language.

• It oversimplifies the plot and characters to make comprehension more concrete and accessible.

There are multiple layers of irony in this story. Which of the below choices exemplifies ONE key point of irony in the story?

• They all spend time together every afternoon at the hospital.

• They all seem to be suffering from injuries that deny or remove a key part of their identity before the war.

• The narrator is currently in Italy and wants to return home to the U.S.

• The fall was cold in Milan, but the chestnuts were warm.

The major’s attitude toward the doctor is best described as…

• Amused

• Furious

• Indifferent

• Determined

Why does the major never miss a day with the machines?

• Self-discipline is important to him.

• It is his duty as an office to become fit for duty again.

• His injury is improving rapidly.

• He wants to talk with the narrator.

How does the narrator use “hawk” as a metaphor? What does this represent?

• The hawk, being a bird of prey, likens the soldiers to natural born hunters or predators.

• The hawk likely represents the confidence some of the soldiers had due to their exploits on the battlefield.

• The hawk likely stands for the sharp attention many soldiers used at the Front.

• None of the above

Why does the narrator feel he is not a “hawk,” like some of the others?

• He is not Italian.

• He doesn’t speak their language and feels isolated from everyone else.

• He earned his medal mostly based on the fact he was an American helping the Italians fight, while others actually earned medals for their valor.

• His injury is not as severe as everyone else’s.

When the narrator says the wounded soldiers “were all very polite and interested in what was the matter, and sat in the machines that were to make so much difference,” he is being…

• Ironic

• Sympathetic

• Objective

• Observant

Which theme is developed through and especially evident in the title and in the setting?

• The insensibility of war

• The acceptance of fate

• The distrust of the modern world

• Isolation and loneliness

When the narrator of “In Another Country” says that the major did not marry his wife until he was definitely invalided out of the war, he means that…

• The major did not want to marry if he were at risk of dying in the war.

• The major did not marry his wife until he was about to leave for war.

• The major was not allowed to marry while he was still fighting in the war.

• The major would have preferred going to war to marrying his wife.