“In Another Country”

The three words of the title imply a profound transition. The author signals that this story will be about people and events from one country that have moved to another. The reader should expect to hear about exactly what has changed, and what the characters think about it. The title is both literal (the narrator is an American in Italy) and figurative (the soldiers have emigrated from the front line to a comfortable hospital).

“In the fall the war was always there, but we did not go to it any more.”

The reader does not have to wait long before the author reveals the two “countries” in his title. The first line of the story explains that the war was there but “we” didn’t go there. We have moved somewhere else, to another country, and he is going to talk about that country now.

“The doctor came up to the machine where I was sitting and said: ‘What did you like best to do before the war? Did you practice a sport?’

I said: ‘Yes, football.’

‘Good,’ he said. ‘You will be able to play football again better than ever.’”

The doctor engages with the American narrator to try to make sure he has a positive attitude toward the machines. The doctor wants the patient to believe it will work, and this exchange seems to have gone pretty well. It is probably true because the narrator’s leg has not been totally destroyed.