Question

Fan & Medal!!! Please help with a thesis statement.

I've got to write a Literary Analysis about the short story "In Another Country" written by Ernest Hemingway. I've read the story twice, and still can't think of a good thesis statement... Please help.

Answer 1

A thesis statement one or two sentences that is made of the main topic of what you are talking about...

Answer 2

Yes I know what a thesis statement is, but I can't think of anything. The story is confusing. :/

Answer 3

Tell me about the story cause i have never read it b4 so tell me the story please...

Answer 4

Here is a link to the story. http://www.olypen.com/pnkdurr/as/country_text.htm
Its about a guy who got a leg injury in the war, and has to go to the hospital every day.

Answer 5

OKay... Hold a sec... What grade and school if you dont mind me asking...?

Answer 6

Connections academy and I'm in the 11th grade.

Answer 7

11!!!??

Answer 8

Yea

Answer 9

Okay..?? I will try my best... I am not in the 11th grade btw...

Answer 10

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 11

Okay... :)

Answer 12

need anymore help?

Answer 13

Yes please, I still have no idea. ;-;

Answer 14

Was the story about 3 ppl?

Answer 15

It was focused on the narrator, but it also had a few other main characters like the major, and I'm not sure if you'd consider the doctor a main character or not.

Answer 16

Well from what i read... There was a guy named nick who got hurt in war and met 2 other ppl whoo were to... They all had medals like he did but they got them for a different purpose than he did... He got it for just being an american... The others were for somehting in battle... Am i correct so far?

Answer 17

This is what I got from the story...
The story is about a young American man who received a leg injury during the war, which made it so he couldn't bend his leg. Him and a major, whom was there for a hand injury, was testing out some new machines that was meant to heal injures.

Answer 18

Okay... I think the purpose of the story was that even tho the machines could help them physically that they really needed it mentally... What ya think?

Answer 19

Well there wasn't much hinting that the war mentally scared them.

Answer 20

But*

Answer 21

Thnxs for trying to help.

Answer 22

What i meant was emotionally... They were all mess up emotionally from the battle... I dont know if that help...

Answer 23

Idk, I just wrote about there relation ships and how they blossomed. Also about how the war affected wounded soldiers, and how they where viewed.

Answer 24

This is what I submitted, please no one copy it. :/

Literary Analysis on "In Another Country" By Dereck Perkins

"In Another Country," written by Ernest Hemingway, shows how the relationships blossom between an American and five Italian soldiers in Milan, they've been wounded during the war. The soldiers are given physical therapy through the use of some new machines, which they've been told they are the first to test. The story's told from the American soldiers point of view. The people of Milan seem to hate the soldiers for the simple fact that they are officers; with an exception of some of the girls who often visits the local cafe.

The American is different than the others in the group, not only because of his heritage, but because his medals where only given to him because, and I quote "I had been given the medals because I was an American". They other boys, with the exclusion of one received their medals because of bravery during the battle. The other boy had no medals because he was wounded within one hour of being in the war. Because of this, the narrator felt closer to this boy, and felt detached from the other boys "We were all a little detached-and there was nothing that held us together-except that we met every afternoon at the hospital."

The narrator likes to believe that he would've earned medals for bravery like the three other boys, but he feels like he "would never have done such things". The narrator puts off the tone that he is glad to have been wounded because he's "very much afraid to die." and now that he got wounded he doesn't have to return to the war. The wounded soldiers go to the hospital each afternoon to receive the physical therapy from the machines. Before the narrators injury he played football, but because of his leg, he is no longer able to. The doctor assured him that he will be able to play football again. A major who was known as the best fencer in Italy before he revived his hand injury, befriends the narrator. The major helps the narrator with his Italian grammar, the narrator felt that speaking Italian came naturally to him, but after learning the grammar felt that it was a complicated language.

One day I had said that Italian seemed such an easy language to me that I could not take a great interest in it... "Ah, yes," the major said. "Why, then, do you not take up the use of grammar?" So we took up the use of grammar, and soon Italian was such a difficult language that I was afraid to talk to him until I had the grammar straight in my mind.


The major seems to be older, though age isn't specified for any of the characters. He seems to be more mature, he seems to be in his forties or fifties. The other boys seem to be in there mid to early twenties. Close to the end of the short story, the majors wife, falls ill with pneumonia. After only three short days of being sick she passes away. The major was extremely distraught because of this, as he didn't expect her to die. With the sadness and anger of his wife passing he lashes out at the American condoning him for wanting to get married some day. He leaves the room and returns to apologize to the American, explaining his wife just passed away. The major didn't return to the hospital for three days after that. When he returns there is a black band on one of his shirts sleeves.

The war has given all of these soldiers a new meaning to death, they now know how inevitable death really is. There is one wounded soldier with three medals, he is the only one with three medals. The narrator described him as “lived a very long time with death.” and more “detached,” than the others. This is probably because he was in the war longer than the others, and because of this he had more experiences in the war. The narrator said "I was very much afraid to die, and often lay in bed at night by myself, afraid to die and wondering how I would be when back to the front again."

The short story shows how Milan viewed their soldiers, and how the American soldiers as well. "In Another Country" has showed the readers how the war has changed the life of wounded soldiers. There may not be any major wars going on right now in the USA or in Milan, but there are conflicts going on, which can end up turning into a war at any moment. Soldiers are still risking their life as we speak, to defend us and let us keep our freedom. "In Another Country" lets you see through the eyes of the soldiers, how they live, and how they feel.