Which sentences in this excerpt from Ernest Hemingway's "In Another Country" reflect the theme of the psychological alienation caused by war?
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 lieutenant of Arditi carefully selected volunteers specializing in dangerous campaigns 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.
I think the answer is:
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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.
I agree.
Yes, you are correct. The sentences you pointed out do reflect the theme of psychological alienation caused by war.
The sentence "He had lived a very long time with death and was a little detached" indicates that the characters have become emotionally detached due to their experiences with death in war. This detachment is further reinforced by the statement "We were all a little detached," suggesting that all the characters have been affected in a similar way.
The sentence "There was nothing that held us together except that we met every afternoon at the hospital" highlights a sense of isolation and lack of connection with the outside world. The characters find solace and connection in their regular meetings at the hospital, suggesting that they are alienated from the society that does not understand their experiences.
The final sentence "We felt held together by there being something that had happened that they, the people who disliked us, did not understand" further emphasizes the psychological alienation. It implies that the characters feel a divide between themselves and the people who dislike them, as those people cannot comprehend the profound impact of war on their lives.
By examining these sentences, we can understand how war has caused the characters to experience psychological detachment and alienation, as well as a sense of disconnect from those who have not experienced the same.