In Another Country and Healing War`s Wounds

Comparing
Texts
The Modern Short Story
Video link at
thinkcentral.com
In Another Country
Short Story by Ernest Hemingway
RL 1 Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the text
says explicitly as well as inferences
drawn from the text, including
determining where the text leaves
matters uncertain. RL 4 Analyze
the impact of specific word
choices on meaning and tone,
including words with multiple
meanings or language that is
particularly fresh, engaging,
or beautiful. RI 1 Cite textual
evidence to support analysis of
what the text says explicitly as
well as inferences drawn from
the text, including determining
where the text leaves matters
uncertain. RI 4 Determine
the meaning of words and
phrases as they are used in
a text, including figurative,
connotative, and technical
meanings. RI 7 Integrate and
evaluate multiple sources of
information presented in different
media or formats as well as
in words in order to address a
question.
Healing War’s Wounds
Moving a Nation to
Care
Magazine Article by Karen Breslau
Book Cover
Meet the Author
Ernest Hemingway
1899–1961
Whether trout fishing in Michigan, skiing
in Switzerland, cheering for bullfighters in
Spain, big-game hunting in Africa, marlin
fishing off the coast of Key West, or drinking
wine in a Paris café, Ernest Hemingway was
the embodiment of rugged individualism.
He experienced first hand the major events
of his time—the Italian front in World
War I, Paris in the 1920s, the Spanish Civil
War, and D-day and the Battle of the Bulge
during World War II. Behind the legendary
persona, however, Hemingway was first and
foremost a writer. His experiences provided
the raw material for a body of work that
captured the essence of modernity and left
his indelible stamp on the century.
Irrepressible Energy and Drive
Hemingway grew up in Oak Park, Illinois,
a suburb of Chicago. After high school
reporter for the Kansas
he got a job as a repo
where he developed
City Star, w
his deceptively simple
both hi
writing style and a devotion
to the truth. During World
War I he volunteered as an
ambulance driver for the
ambula
American Red Cross and was
Americ
severely wounded. After the
war he made his way to Paris
correspondent for the
as a co
Toronto Star. Paris in the
Toron
1920s was a magnet for young artists and
writers of the new modernist movement,
and the vibrant, sociable Hemingway
soon became a star. By the end of the
decade, he had made his own contribution
by publishing two collections of short
stories, In Our Time (1925) and Men
Without Women (1927), as well as two
highly acclaimed novels, The Sun Also Rises
(1926) and A Farewell to Arms (1929).
End of an Epic Life Hemingway was
living in Cuba when he wrote what many
consider his finest novel, For Whom the
Bell Tolls (1940), based on his reporting
of the Spanish Civil War. When World
War II broke out, he served as a journalist,
often putting himself in dangerous
combat situations. His last major work
published in his lifetime was the highly
popular The Old Man and the Sea (1952).
In his final years he suffered a variety of
ills—including diabetes, liver problems,
hypertension, and depression—that led to
his suicide at age 62. He left behind five
unpublished manuscripts and a towering
literary legacy.
For more on Hemingway’s days as a war
correspondent, see the biography on page 1094.
Author Online
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text analysis: tone
Hemingway began his literary career as a newspaper
reporter. The spare, direct prose of his short stories reflects
his journalistic roots. Reporters adopt a detached, objective
tone or attitude toward their subject. This kind of detachment
characterizes “In Another Country,” but examine the narrator’s
surface detachment for evidence of the loss he feels. You will
find clues to Hemingway’s view of the human condition.
When you read Karen Breslau’s magazine article, look for
clues to her attitude toward the wounded soldiers she chose
as her subject. Is her attitude detached and objective? Or
has she made another choice with this piece of journalism?
Finally, what does her tone tell you about her view of human
potential?
reading skill: make inferences
One aspect of Hemingway’s style is that he is not explicit about
the effect of important events on his characters. He relates
events and leaves it up to his readers to look for clues and
make inferences, or logical assumptions, about the impact of
events. As you read, look for revealing details, statements in the
dialogue, and other clues to help you infer how the characters
feel about their situation.
Likewise, when you read “Healing War’s Wounds,” examine the
language Karen Breslau uses to describe recovering soldiers.
The events, details, and dialogue she includes provide clues
to her purpose in writing this article and to the message she
wants readers to take from her story.
vocabulary in context
Hemingway uses these words to write about soldiers in a
wartime hospital. Choose the word that you associate with
each type of patient.
word
list
citation
detached
What are
the costs
of war?
Some costs of war can be counted.
World War I, the setting of Hemingway’s
story, claimed the lives of about 9
million soldiers and 13 million civilians.
But what about the millions who
survived the trauma of the bloodiest
and most destructive war in history up
to that time? What price did they pay?
What’s the Connection?
In a famous short story about World War
I, Ernest Hemingway examines a group of
soldiers undergoing new and ineffective
physical therapy. In a magazine article,
Karen Breslau focuses on an innovative
approach to therapy for severely wounded
soldiers from the war in Iraq. Finally, a book
cover combines text with the image of a
soldier’s bowed head. Before you study
these texts, think about what you already
know about the psychological effects of
war on combat soldiers. What is posttraumatic stress disorder? In what ways
might it connect these texts?
lurch
resign
1. a patient who remains aloof and uninterested
2. a decorated soldier
3. one who stoically tries to make the best of his situation
4. a soldier who has trouble walking due to injury
Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.
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In Another
Ernest Hemingway
Country
background World War I was called the Great War and the War to End All Wars.
It was the first large-scale modern war with the killing power of new technological
weapons. Among the 21 million wounded was 18-year-old Ernest Hemingway, who
later wrote this story about soldiers recuperating in Milan, Italy. “In the first war I
was hurt very badly,” he explained, “in the body, mind, and spirit, and also morally.”
10
20
30
In the fall the war was always there, but we did not go to it any more. It was cold
in the fall in Milan1 and the dark came very early. Then the electric lights came
on, and it was pleasant along the streets looking in the windows. There was much
game hanging outside the shops, and the snow powdered in the fur of the foxes
and the wind blew their tails. The deer hung stiff and heavy and empty, and small
birds blew in the wind and the wind turned their feathers. It was a cold fall and
the wind came down from the mountains. a
We were all at the hospital every afternoon, and there were different ways of
walking across the town through the dusk to the hospital. Two of the ways were
alongside canals, but they were long. Always, though, you crossed a bridge across a
canal to enter the hospital. There was a choice of three bridges. On one of them a
woman sold roasted chestnuts. It was warm, standing in front of her charcoal fire,
and the chestnuts were warm afterward in your pocket. 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. There were usually funerals starting from the
courtyard. Beyond the old hospital were the new brick pavilions, and there we met
every afternoon and were all very polite and interested in what was the matter, and
sat in the machines that were to make so much difference.
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 practise a sport?”
I said: “Yes, football.”
“Good,” he said. “You will be able to play football again better than ever.”
My knee did not bend and the leg dropped straight from the knee to the ankle
without a calf, and the machine was to bend the knee and make it move as in
riding a tricycle. But it did not bend yet, and instead the machine lurched when it
came to the bending part. The doctor said: “That will all pass. You are a fortunate
young man. You will play football again like a champion.”
In the next machine was a major who had a little hand like a baby’s. He winked
at me when the doctor examined his hand, which was between two leather straps
that bounced up and down and flapped the stiff fingers, and said: “And will I too
a TONE
In the first paragraph of
this story, Hemingway
reveals his mastery at
establishing tone. What
kinds of details does he use
and what kind of feeling is
conveyed by these details?
What kind of rhythm does
the narrator achieve by
repeating the coordinating
conjunction and? How
does this rhythm
contribute to the tone of
the paragraph?
Analyze Visuals
The photo on the opposite
page shows a young
Ernest Hemingway at
a Red Cross hospital in
Milan in 1918. How does
this photo, depicting real
people in a real place,
affect the way you read
this work of fiction?
Explain.
lurch (lûrch) v. to lean or
roll suddenly to one side;
stagger
1. Milan: a city in northern Italy.
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Comparing Texts
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40
50
60
70
play football, captain-doctor?” He had been a very great fencer,2 and before the
war the greatest fencer in Italy.
The doctor went to his office in a back room and brought a photograph which
showed a hand that had been withered almost as small as the major’s, before it had
taken a machine course, and after was a little larger. The major held the photograph
with his good hand and looked at it very carefully. “A wound?” he asked.
“An industrial accident,” the doctor said.
“Very interesting, very interesting,” the major said, and handed it back to the
doctor.
“You have confidence?”
“No,” said the major. b
There were three boys who came each day who were about the same age I was.
They were all three from Milan, and one of them was to be a lawyer, and one was
to be a painter, and one had intended to be a soldier, and after we were finished
with the machines, sometimes we walked back together to the Café Cova, which
was next door to the Scala.3 We walked the short way through the communist
quarter because we were four together. The people hated us because we were
officers, and from a wine-shop some one would call out, “A basso gli ufficiali!”4
as we passed. Another boy who walked with us sometimes and made us five wore
a black silk handkerchief across his face because he had no nose then and his face
was to be rebuilt. He had gone out to the front from the military academy and
been wounded within an hour after he had gone into the front line for the first
time. They rebuilt his face, but he came from a very old family and they could
never get the nose exactly right. He went to South America and worked in a bank.
But this was a long time ago, and then we did not any of us know how it was
going to be afterward. We only knew then that there was always the war, but that
we were not going to it any more.
We all had the same medals, except the boy with the black silk bandage across
his face, and he had not been at the front long enough to get any medals. The tall
boy with a very pale face who was to be a lawyer had been a lieutenant of Arditi5
and had three medals of the sort we each had only one of. He had lived a very
long time with death and was a little detached. We were all a little detached, and
there was nothing that held us together except that we met every afternoon at the
hospital. Although, as we walked to the Cova through the tough part of town,
walking in the dark, with light and singing coming out of the wine-shops, and
sometimes having to walk into the street when the men and women would crowd
together on the sidewalk so that we would have had to jostle them to get by, we
felt held together by there being something that had happened that they, the
people who disliked us, did not understand.
We ourselves all understood the Cova, where it was rich and warm and not too
brightly lighted, and noisy and smoky at certain hours, and there were always girls
b MAKE INFERENCES
In lines 16–41, Hemingway
doesn’t directly state
how the soldiers feel
about the machines.
What can you infer about
their emotions from
their statements and
reactions? Explain,
citing evidence.
detached (dG-tBchtP) adj.
reserved; aloof detach v.
2. fencer: one who fences—that is, practices the art of attack and defense using blunted swords or sabers.
3. the Scala: La Scala, a famous opera house in Milan.
4. “A basso gli ufficiali!” (ä bäPsI lC LQfC-chäPlC) Italian: “Down with officers!”
5. Arditi: a carefully chosen group of volunteers who specialized in dangerous campaigns.
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Comparing Texts
80
90
100
110
at the tables and the illustrated papers on a rack on the wall. The girls at the Cova
were very patriotic, and I found that the most patriotic people in Italy were the
café girls—and I believe they are still patriotic.
The boys at first were very polite about my medals and asked me what I had
done to get them. I showed them the papers, which were written in very beautiful
language and full of fratellanza and abnegazione,6 but which really said, with the
adjectives removed, that I had been given the medals because I was an American.
After that their manner changed a little toward me, although I was their friend
against outsiders. I was a friend, but I was never really one of them after they had
read the citations, because it had been different with them and they had done very
different things to get their medals. I had been wounded, it was true; but we all
knew that being wounded, after all, was really an accident. I was never ashamed of
the ribbons, though, and sometimes, after the cocktail hour, I would imagine myself
having done all the things they had done to get their medals; but walking home at
night through the empty streets with the cold wind and all the shops closed, trying
to keep near the street lights, I knew that I would never have done such things, and
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 I went back to the front again. c
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; they, the three,
knew better and so we drifted apart. But I stayed good friends with the boy who
had been wounded his first day at the front, because he would never know now how
he would have turned out; so he could never be accepted either, and I liked him
because I thought perhaps he would not have turned out to be a hawk either. d
The major, who had been the great fencer, did not believe in bravery, and
spent much time while we sat in the machines correcting my grammar. He had
complimented me on how I spoke Italian, and we talked together very easily. One
day I had said that Italian seemed such an easy language to me that I could not
take a great interest in it; everything was so easy to say. “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 came very regularly to the hospital. I do not think he ever missed
a day, although I am sure he did not believe in the machines. There was a time
when none of us believed in the machines, and one day the major said it was all
nonsense. The machines were new then and it was we who were to prove them.
It was an idiotic idea, he said, “a theory, like another.” I had not learned my
grammar, and he said I was a stupid impossible disgrace, and he was a fool to have
bothered with me. He was a small man and he sat straight up in his chair with his
right hand thrust into the machine and looked straight ahead at the wall while the
straps thumped up and down with his fingers in them.
“What will you do when the war is over if it is over?” he asked me. “Speak
grammatically!”
citation (sF-tAPshEn) n. a
formal statement praising
a soldier’s achievements
c
MAKE INFERENCES
Consider how the
narrator describes his
relationship with his
fellow soldiers. How
might such interactions
affect him?
d MAKE INFERENCES
Reread lines 90–95. How
does the metaphor about
hawks further describe
the difference between
the narrator and the
young Italian soldiers?
What sense do you get
of how the narrator feels
about this difference?
6. fratellanza and abnegazione (fräQtD-länPzä; äb-nD-gä-zC-oPnD) Italian: brotherhood and self-denial.
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120
130
140
150
“I will go to the States.”
“Are you married?”
“No, but I hope to be.”
“The more of a fool you are,” he said. He seemed very angry. “A man must not
marry.”
“Why, Signor Maggiore?”7
“Don’t call me ‘Signor Maggiore.’”
“Why must not a man marry?”
“He cannot marry. He cannot marry,” he said angrily. “If he is to lose
everything, he should not place himself in a position to lose that. He should not
place himself in a position to lose. He should find things he cannot lose.”
He spoke very angrily and bitterly, and looked straight ahead while he talked.
“But why should he necessarily lose it?”
“He’ll lose it,” the major said. He was looking at the wall. Then he looked
down at the machine and jerked his little hand out from between the straps and
slapped it hard against his thigh. “He’ll lose it,” he almost shouted. “Don’t argue
with me!” Then he called to the attendant who ran the machines. “Come and turn
this thing off.”
He went back into the other room for the light treatment and the massage.
Then I heard him ask the doctor if he might use his telephone and he shut the
door. When he came back into the room, I was sitting in another machine.
He was wearing his cape and had his cap on, and he came directly toward my
machine and put his arm on my shoulder.
“I am so sorry,” he said, and patted me on the shoulder with his good hand. “I
would not be rude. My wife has just died. You must forgive me.”
“Oh—” I said, feeling sick for him. “I am so sorry.”
He stood there biting his lower lip. “It is very difficult,” he said. “I cannot
resign myself.”
He looked straight past me and out through the window. Then he began to cry.
“I am utterly unable to resign myself,” he said and choked. And then crying, his
head up looking at nothing, carrying himself straight and soldierly, with tears on
both his cheeks and biting his lips, he walked past the machines and out the door. e
The doctor told me that the major’s wife, who was very young and whom he
had not married until he was definitely invalided8 out of the war, had died of
pneumonia. She had been sick only a few days. No one expected her to die. The
major did not come to the hospital for three days. Then he came at the usual
hour, wearing a black band on the sleeve of his uniform. When he came back,
there were large framed photographs around the wall, of all sorts of wounds before
and after they had been cured by the machines. In front of the machine the major
used were three photographs of hands like his that were completely restored. I do
not know where the doctor got them. I always understood we were the first to
use the machines. The photographs did not make much difference to the major
because he only looked out of the window. f
resign (rG-zFnP) v. to
submit or yield without
complaint
e
TONE
Reread lines 133–146.
What news does the
major receive here? How
does this news affect the
major and the narrator’s
tone? Then, as you read
the last paragraph, focus
on the narrator’s attitude.
Hemingway closes the
story with an image of
the major at the window.
What do you think is on
his mind as he looks out
the window? How does his
mental state contribute to
the story’s tone?
f
GRAMMAR AND STYLE
Reread lines 149–157.
Note that though
Hemingway describes
a highly emotional
situation, his short,
declarative sentences
and plain diction keep
his tone detached and
objective.
7. Signor Maggiore (sCn-yôrP mäd-jIPrD) Italian: Mr. Major—a respectful way of addressing an officer.
8. invalided: removed from active service because of sickness or injury.
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After Reading
Comparing Texts
Comprehension
1. Recall Why is the narrator in Milan?
2. Recall What did the major do before the war?
3. Summarize How is the narrator different from the other young soldiers?
Text Analysis
4. Make Inferences Review the inferences you made as you read. The narrator
of this story is literally “in another country”—he is far from home, in a
foreign, war-torn nation. What other aspects of his situation serve to further
isolate or alienate him? Describe the text clues and prior knowledge that
allowed you to infer how the narrator’s situation affects him. Be sure to
address each of the following:
RL 1 Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the
text, including determining
where the text leaves matters
uncertain. RL 4 Analyze the
impact of specific word choices
on meaning and tone, including
words with multiple meanings or
language that is particularly fresh,
engaging, or beautiful.
• how the narrator differs from the young Italian officers
• the Italian civilians’ response to the soldiers
• how the narrator’s circumstances differ from the major’s at the story’s end
5. Analyze Tone Reread the dialogue between the narrator and the major
(lines 113–146). What kind of loss has the major experienced here, and how
does he respond to his loss? What is the narrator’s attitude toward the
major? Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
6. Analyze Style Reexamine the text, looking for examples of the following
elements of Hemingway’s prose style: short sentences; few adverbs or
adjectives; and sharp, concrete images. Explain how Hemingway’s style
causes this story to be so emotionally charged despite the lack of direct
commentary on the characters’ emotions.
Text Criticism
7. Historical Context Influential author and patron Gertrude Stein formed a
community with Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and other modernist writers living
as expatriates in Paris in the 1920s. Their particular disillusionment prompted
her to characterize them as a “lost generation.” In what way do the
characters in both “Winter Dreams” on page 978 and “In Another Country”
remain “lost” at the end of each story? What might this say about the era in
which these stories were written? Explain, citing evidence from both stories.
What are the
costs of war ?
Wounds suffered by soldiers on the battlefield are among the costs of war
on display in this story. What other costs of war are endured by the soldiers
here? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
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Vocabulary in Context
vocabulary practice
word list
Choose the word from the word list that best completes each sentence.
citation
1. Though only a few soldiers had received a(n) _____ for bravery, many of the
others had also performed commendably.
detached
2. Some of the soldiers sought companionship, while others remained aloof
and _____.
resign
lurch
3. It was painful to see young men _____ around on unsteady legs.
4. Was it better to struggle or to _____ oneself to one’s fate?
academic vocabulary in writing
• conclude
• criteria
• despite
• justify
• maintain
The protagonist and other soldiers of “In Another Country” maintain a particular
attitude toward life in the aftermath of combat. What kind of attitude do you
recommend during times of stress? In a paragraph, identify this attitude and
justify it to your readers. Use at least three of the Academic Vocabulary words in
your writing.
vocabulary strategy: the origin of academic words
As the narrator of this story would have noticed in his study of Italian, many
English words are derived from that language, especially in the content areas of
music and the arts. Academic vocabulary words, which include the words that
apply to a specific content area, are important to your success in school. Many
of those words are derived from other languages. You can use your knowledge of
the word origins to improve your knowledge of academic vocabulary.
L 6 Acquire and use accurately
general academic and domainspecific words and phrases,
sufficient for reading, writing,
speaking, and listening at the
college and career readiness level.
PRACTICE Match each boldfaced academic term with its meaning. Then identify
the language of origin.
1. rotunda
a. the art of painting on fresh moist plaster
2. fjord
b. a colorless and transparent mineral
3. economy
c. the efficient use of material resources
4. parliament
d. a narrow section of sea set between rocky cliffs
5. fresco
e. a slow movement in a piece of music
6. adagio
f. a circular part of a building, usually with a dome
7. archaeology
g. the science that studies the remains of past human life
Go to thinkcentral.com.
8. quartz
h. a major legislative body
KEYWORD: HML11-1016
1016
Interactive
Vocabulary
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Triplet Study: Literary
Comparing
Selection
Texts
Language
grammar and style: Establish Tone
Review the Grammar and Style note on page 1014. Tone is the expression of a writer’s
attitude toward a subject. Hemingway’s early training as a newspaper reporter
heavily influenced the tone of his fiction, giving it the emotional detachment and
objectivity of a news report. Such a tone is achieved partly through his use of short,
declarative sentences and plain diction, a style he also picked up from newspapers.
Notice the simple language and understated quality of the following sentences:
L 3a Vary syntax for effect.
W 2e Establish and maintain an
objective tone while attending
to discipline-specific norms and
conventions.
It was cold in the fall in Milan and the dark came very early. Then the electric
lights came on, and it was pleasant along the streets looking in the windows.
There was much game hanging outside the shops, and the snow powdered in
the fur of the foxes and the wind blew their tails. The deer hung stiff and heavy
and empty, and small birds blew in the wind and the wind turned their feathers.
It was a cold fall and the wind came down from the mountains. (lines 1–7)
PRACTICE Rewrite the following paragraph, adapting the language and sentence
types to mimic Hemingway’s objectivity.
The horrible, fiery inferno had completely annihilated everything, like
an angry, vengeful God. Only the charred foundation of the Harlington
Hotel remained, with its lone chimney of chipped and blackened stone
standing forlornly amid the devastation like a victim of survivor guilt. Never
again would we see the thick forest in its green majestic splendor! Ugly
black stumps studded the land like tombstones. It was the landscape of
damnation! Gone were the songs of birds, the chirps of chipmunks, and the
laughter of children! A deafening silence enveloped the area for miles around.
Only black grasshoppers flitted about the soot, sending up tiny clouds of ash.
reading-writing connection
YOUR
Expand your understanding of “In Another Country” by responding to
this prompt. Then, use the revising tips to improve your profile.
TURN
writing prompt
revising tips
WRITE A CHARACTER PROFILE Most
of Hemingway’s male protagonists
share such strikingly similar traits
that critics have named this type of
character the “Hemingway hero.”
Using the examples of the narrator
and the major in this story, create a
three-to-five-paragraph profile of the
Hemingway hero.
• Check your thesis statement to
be sure you have defined the
Hemingway hero.
• Since tone is an essential feature of
the Hemingway narrator, be sure that
your essay focuses on a particular
kind of attitude.
• Examine the story’s conclusion and
be sure that you use it as supporting
evidence.
Interactive
Revision
Go to thinkcentral.com.
KEYWORD: HML11-1017
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Reading for Information
Magazine Article
In Hemingway’s short story, you read about soldiers undergoing physical
therapy for wounds suffered on the Italian front in World War I. In Karen
Breslau’s article, you’ll discover how soldiers injured in the Iraq war use
extreme sports to regain their physical and mental health.
HEALING WAR’S WOUNDS
Karen Breslau
background The conflict in Iraq started in March 2003, when a coalition
led by the United States entered the country and toppled the government of
Saddam Hussein. U.S. troops in Iraq have been threatened by violent opposition
to the American presence there. Because of medical advances, severely wounded
soldiers often survive to face difficult and lengthy recoveries. Karen Breslau,
who writes about these soldiers in “Healing War’s Wounds,” is Newsweek’s San
Francisco bureau chief.
10
“Hey, have any of y’all seen the crocodile that got my arm?” U.S. Army Maj.
Anthony Smith hoists his prosthetic1 hook, tied to a paddle, as he floats down
Idaho’s Salmon River in a large blue raft, manned by a cackling crew of fellow
amputees. Momentarily rattled, a group of rafters resting onshore stare as Smith’s
boat glides by, before someone on the beach points down the rapids and yells,
“He went that-a-way.” Smith, digging his paddle back into the water, growls with
mock pirate glee. “You should see what happens when I’m in a restaurant and I
say to the waitress ‘Can you give me a hand?’” a
He can laugh now. It’s the surest sign yet of the progress he’s made since April
24, 2004, when Smith, then a captain with an Arkansas National Guard unit
stationed near Baghdad2, was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. . . . As Smith
staggered to his feet, insurgents3 opened fire, shooting him four times. By the time
medics4 reached him minutes later, Smith had “flat-lined.” Finding no pulse or
respiration, they loaded him into a body bag and put his name on the list of those
KIA, killed in action. Only as a soldier was preparing to zip shut the bag did she
notice an air bubble in the blood oozing from Smith’s neck wound. “They said,
‘Hey, this guy’s still alive,’” Smith says.
a MAKING INFERENCES
Examine the dialogue in
the opening paragraph.
What can you infer about
the soldiers from the way
they speak? Explain, citing
evidence.
1. prosthetic: artificial, as of a replacement for a missing body part.
2. Baghdad: capital city of Iraq.
3. insurgents: loosely organized fighters who oppose the presence of the U.S. military in Iraq.
4. medics: trained military personnel who rescue wounded soldiers and administer life-saving first aid.
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Comparing Texts
Analyze Visuals
What mood does the
photographer capture with
this image? How does
the photograph support
the tone of the article it
accompanies? Cite details
from the photograph and
the selection to support
your response.
20
30
40
Two and a half years later, Smith recounts his own resurrection in vivid
detail—not because he remembers (he was in a coma for six weeks), but because
he has pieced the story together from conversations with his wife, Jackie, and the
dozens of doctors who labored to save him. Smith has endured more than 30
surgical procedures to reconstruct his abdomen, the remains of his right arm, his
burned face and the gaping wound in his hip, now painfully infected. He must be
constantly monitored for signs of traumatic brain injury that may have resulted
from the force of his skull’s slamming against the inside of his helmet. b
Though Smith’s tale of survival is extreme, it is no longer unheard of. . . . But it
also presents a huge challenge for the military as this sizable population of wounded
veterans returns to society, bearing complex disabilities that will require lifelong care.
To address the problem, the military has adopted a holistic5 mind-body approach,
deploying a fleet of experts ranging from orthopedic6 surgeons to therapists to work on
the wounded. Doctors insist on group therapy to help cope with the guilt that often
dogs survivors who have lost—or left—comrades on the battlefield. Of special concern
are the service members, like Smith, classified by the Pentagon as “severely injured”—
having lost limbs or eyesight, or suffering burns, paralysis or debilitating brain injuries
that will not emerge fully in some cases for years. “Technology has advanced to the
point where we can salvage patients who would not have survived before,” says Lt.
Col. John McManus of the Army’s Institute for Surgical Research in San Antonio,
Texas. “The bigger test is psychological. Can we restore a life worth living?”
The Pentagon has recently begun testing more experimental methods,
rehabilitating wounded service members with extreme sports designed to build
muscle—and self-confidence. . . . Patients who work out regularly, lifting weights and
yanking pulleys from their wheelchairs, often with burned and mangled limbs, are
rewarded with all-expenses-paid outdoor expeditions. It was just such an invitation
that brought Smith, two other wounded service members and their wives to the
b TONE
Reread lines 18–25, with
special attention to the
information the writer
provides about Major
Smith. What do you learn
from this passage about
Major Smith and the
writer’s attitude toward
him? Support your
answer with details from
the paragraph.
5. holistic: relating to the whole of something instead of its parts.
6. orthopedic: medically related to the bones, joints, or muscles.
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Analyze Visuals
What emotions do you think
the veteran in the paragliding
harness was feeling at the
moment the photograph was
taken? What details of the scene
help you identify his emotions?
50
60
70
Salmon River last month. They were the guests of Sun Valley Adaptive Sports—one
of several private nonprofits consulting with the Pentagon. On the week’s agenda:
white-water rafting, paragliding, rock climbing and horseback riding. With the
group is Erik Schultz, a backcountry sports enthusiast who was paralyzed in a skiing
accident eight years ago. During his darkest depression, says Schultz, friends “literally
dragged me” on a camping trip. After a week in the wilderness, “I was bursting with
self-confidence. Things didn’t seem that hard anymore.” He hopes that his presence
in a wheelchair, fly-fishing from a rocky beach and whooping his way down the river,
will help “demystify” disabled life for the wounded service members. c
Free from their hospital routines, and the weight of their wounds, Smith and the
others spend their days splashing like kids. U.S. Marine S/Sgt. Damion Jacobs, who
lost his right leg below the knee to an IED7 near Fallujah six months ago, removes
his prosthetic and props it in the sand like a coffee table; he leans against it while
watching the show. Jacobs plans to take his Marine Corps physical and return to
active duty. Army Spc. Andrew Soule, an intense, dignified 25-year-old who has
emerged as the star of BAMC’s rehab program, says that before his injury, he wasn’t
“much of an athlete.” A year ago Soule lost both legs and suffered a severe arm
injury in a bomb blast in Afghanistan. Now he kayaks, hand-cycles and surfs. On
the first day of the river trip, one of Soule’s carbon-fiber prosthetics is fractured. He
tosses the limb aside and, for the next five days, kayaks legless, dragging his body
over rocky beaches, even climbing stairs, with his arms. “People have this tendency
to overreact,” says Soule, who left Texas A&M after 9/11 to join the Army. “They
don’t know how much you can do for yourself.” d
Even Soule is amazed by how far he has come. As he lay tourniqueted8 on the
ground last year next to the wreckage of his Humvee near the Pakistani border,
waiting for a helicopter to rescue him, Soule’s squad leader leaned over him and
instructed the young soldier to repeat over and over, “I’m going to live. I’m going
to live.” It’s a lesson he carried with him, down the Salmon River and beyond. c
TONE
The author clearly
admires the soldiers for
participating in extreme
adventure sports. What
details in this paragraph
convey her admiring
tone?
d MAKING INFERENCES
Reread lines 54–67. What
kind of message about
the soldiers and about
life can you infer from the
details the writer includes
here? Cite evidence to
support your answer.
7. IED: improvised explosive device; the military term for a homemade bomb.
8. tourniqueted: fitted with a device to prevent blood loss from a major wound.
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Reading for Information
Comparing Texts
Book Cover
This book cover features the bowed head of a combat soldier. The subtitle
identifies the book’s subject: “returning troops.” Breslau’s magazine article
focuses also on returning troops, while Hemingway’s short story features
wounded soldiers in treatment near the front. As you study the book cover, think
about how the words come together with the image to engage potential readers.
Respond to the questions below, citing evidence from the book cover to support
your answers.
RI 7 Integrate and evaluate
multiple sources of information
presented in different media or
formats as well as in words in
order to address a question.
1. INTERPRET
Examine the image of
the soldier. Notice the
camouflaged helmet,
which indicates that he
is on active duty. Notice
also that his head is
bowed and that his eyes
are in shadow. What kind
of mood does the image
convey? Why do you think
the publisher chose this
image for a book about
post-traumatic stress
disorder in returning
soldiers?
2. MAKE INFERENCES
What persuasive message
does the book title convey?
What purpose does the
publisher achieve by
running the title in large
block letters across the top
of the cover? Explain your
responses.
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After Reading
Comprehension
1. Recall Describe the military’s “holistic mind-body approach” to treating
injured soldiers.
2. Clarify How did spending a week in the wilderness boost Erik Schultz’s selfconfidence?
3. Summarize How does participating in extreme sports benefit injured soldiers
mentally and physically?
RI 1 Cite textual evidence to
support analysis of what the
text says explicitly as well as
inferences drawn from the
text, including determining
where the text leaves matters
uncertain. RI 4 Determine the
meaning of words and phrases as
they are used in a text, including
figurative, connotative, and
technical meanings.
Text Analysis
4. Make Inferences Breslau begins her article with a humorous anecdote,
followed by a horrific description of Major Smith’s near-fatal injuries. Why do
you think she chose to begin the article this way? Explain your answer.
5. Evaluate Tone How successful is the writer in conveying her attitude toward
the soldiers she writes about here? Cite evidence from the article to support
your answer.
6. Evaluate Diction Breslau refers to Major Smith’s recovery as a “resurrection.”
Considering the facts surrounding his injury, is this word appropriate here?
Explain your answer.
7. Make Inferences Reread the article’s closing sentence. What lesson do
you think Soule carried with him? What lesson do you think Breslau wants
readers to carry with them after reading her article? Explain your answer.
Comparing Themes Across Genres
8. Analyze Theme Both Hemingway’s short story and Breslau’s magazine article
focus on wounded soldiers in therapy, but the two writers convey strikingly
different attitudes toward the possibility of recovery. Describe the contrast in
attitude between the two selections, citing evidence from both to support your
answer.
What are the
costs of war ?
After reading “Healing War’s Wounds,” what responsibility do you think
a society has to soldiers who have suffered the costs of war? Explain your
answer.
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