Journal 18 : Visiting Italy

1. What is the significance of the story’s title?

The significance of the story’s title “In Another Country” is that it shows isolation from humanity.  Hemingway is going out of his comfort zone and visiting Italy.  He is there with his fellow injured soldiers to see the patients in the rehabilitation center.  Because he was unable to speak the language, he decided to try to take time and learn how to speak fluent Italian.  However, it was a lot harder to comprehend then he thought, and becomes impossible for him to learn.  This experience for Hemingway is life changing because he learning to adapt to a different environment.  Not only can he not speak the language, he also is a healthy young man that is watching others suffer. 

2. Which character do you think best represents the “Hemingway hero”?  Why?

In the novel the soldiers are looked upon as heroes in the war, but I believe the major best represents the “Hemingway Hero”.  Despite his hardships and failures in life, he is still able to keep fighting for a better future.  His wife died, he has one hand, and he is no longer a world class fencer.  He used to be on top of the world with all of his accomplishments in life, but recently he has been unable to recover from all of his losses.  However, instead of dwelling on the past, the major shows the most courageousness by being able to put the past in the past and move on.  He is not sure if treatments are going to work, but he is determined to give it a chance.

3. What can you infer about the photographs the doctor hangs up?  What is the significance of the major’s reaction?

The doctor hangs photographs of the before and after wounds to promote a positive future for the patients.  Theses photographs also help patients continue with their treatments because it gives them a feeling of satisfaction to see pictures of wounds healing.  The doctor is trying to heal both the emotional and physical wounds of the soldiers.  The significance of the major’s reaction is that he would rather look out the windows than at the pictures.  He knows that his hand will never be able to fully recover, so he has accepted his fate and moved forward.