Structure

The short story “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway is structured around the experience of an American soldier in Milan, while he is undergoing a recuperating medical treatment for a war injury. The narrative respects the plot elements – exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. However, as with most Modernist short stories, “In Another Country” is more about the way the events – in this case, war inflicted traumas – affect the characters, and less about the plot.

Also, the story follows Hemingway’s iceberg technique, presenting only the surface of events and leaving for the readers to discover most of the meanings and symbols.

Title

The title of the short story indicates the narrated events take place in a country which is different from the protagonist’s, and it implicitly makes us think about the status of the foreigner and the feelings of isolation that may come with it.

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Beginning

The short story begins with a descriptive exposition in which the setting of Milan and the context of the war are presented:

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Middle

The middle of the short story gives readers’ details about the narrator’s life in Milan while recuperating. We find out that he has befriended some Italian soldiers who are also in therapy at the hospital, and they spend their time at a local coffee shop, Café Cova.

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Ending

The ending of the short story includes the falling action, in which the major apologizes for his outburst, and the American finds out that he reacted that way because his wife has just died:

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