Hemingway was preoccupied with death and war in much of his writing. They are prominent in his short stories and novels, in his reporting as a war correspondent, and in his nonfiction work, such as Death in the Afternoon, about bullfighting. He even edited a collection of works by other writers called Men at War.

“In Another Country” describes the experiences of wounded soldiers after their close encounters with death during war. The lieutenant who won the same medal three times was apparently very intentional on the battlefield. He led an Arditi unit of elite commando troops who attacked enemy soldiers in their trenches and engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. He believed that the best thing he could do as a warrior was to hit the enemy first and as hard as possible. So far, his courage and gladiatorial tactics have kept him alive and satisfied.

The other soldiers were victims of chance, which is ever-present in war. Both the narrator and youngest soldier were wounded by enemy fire on the battlefield; it was due to luck rather than skill that they were not killed. The major with the withered hand was a great fencer and hoped his skills would protect him during the fighting.