In Another Country by Ernest Hemingway Book Analysis

In Another Country by Ernest Hemingway is a unique story that gives you insight into Hemingway’s everyday life. Due to a knee injury caused at war, he is in recovery at a hospital. Hemingway meets three men that are in a similar situation as himself.  He then goes on to describe each man and tells their story. The mood of this story is somewhat somber due to the fact of the depressing nature of the people and their situations.  Hemingway’s use of setting details, imagery, and diction establish a gloomy mood.

In addition, Hemingway was in a recovery center in Italy in the year of 1919. He stated, “The hospital was very old and very beautiful, and you entered through a gate and walked across a courtyard and out a gate on the other side.” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 250) He portrayed the old hospital as “very beautiful” and goes on to explain how he goes to physical therapy every afternoon. It felt as if he was describing an odd sense of calmness walking throughout the hospital. The way Hemingway describes his surroundings is cesarean matter, he recognizes the beauty of his surroundings even though he might not be in the ideal situation.  He uses imagery strongly in his story to convey not only moods and feelings, but also physical attributes of things or places.

As an example, Hemmingway uses imagery in his story by going into depths about his experience such as him and his peers getting heckled by the locals because they were officers. I can imagine the feeling of getting demeaned and how he felt. Hemingway quoted, “The people hated us because we were officers, and from a wine shop someone would call out, “A basso gli ufficiali!” as we passed.” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 251) This quote contributes to the mood by showing the reader how much of an outsider Hemingway was due to his position. Another one of Hemingway’s quotes is “The three with the medals were like hunting-hawks and I was not a hawk, although I might seem a hawk to those who had never hunted; the three knew better and so we drifted apart.” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 252) This quote contributes to the mood by describing how Hemingway felt in relation to his peers. The tone Hemingway uses a tone that is almost demeaning himself.

Furthermore, Hemingway uses a hopeful tone when speaking with the doctor. 

“Did you practice a sport?” Asked the doctor.

Hemingway replied, “Yes, football.”

“Good,” the doctor said. “You will be able to play football again better than ever.” (Hemingway, 1927, p. 250)

The doctor gives Hemingway hope for the future, He motivates him to help him recover from his injuries. Although you would expect someone in Hemingways situation to be miserable, He finds joy in the little things. 

As the war goes on, Hemingway is in recovery to heal from his knee injury. He describes the machines that were used for his physical therapy, he explained the machine was supposed to bend his knee to help him make a full recovery. Hemingway goes far and wide in his use of words to describe his life at the time and the people he comes across. This story is still relevant today for many reasons, it gives people an insight into how Hemingway lived during the war and the history surrounding it. Although you may expect Hemingway to be depressed or have low morale he still makes light of his situation.