“Was the major brave? Why do you think so?”

Several decades ago, our ancestors had to go through the horrors of war. Hemingway, who had been to the war, knew what it was like to see blood, pain and tears, and after a very long time come to his senses in another, calm place. In his work, he shows real life in fictional characters. He describes the consequences of the war as he saw them himself.

The main plot of the story is tied to several characters. One of the main characters is the Major. He, along with everyone, is in the hospital, where the injured soldiers have to overcome themselves, their emotions and weakness in order to accept the changing world.

A difficult atmosphere of a military situation prevails in history. It contains a description of the inner world of soldiers, their experience, psychological state. The hospital is a kind of symbol of pain, death and hope. In this place there is a slow evolution of the victims - from the fear of the experienced to the reassurance.

Major is a person who perceives the "machine" not exactly that way. He subconsciously believes that in this way it is possible to get rid of the mental horrors of war that torment him, like other fellow citizens. He regularly goes to the hospital, proving his faith in the best. Hemingway writes that the Major himself doesn`t know whether he believes in the capabilities of the "machine." To some extent, the "machine" is a way to escape from the reality of dark days. On the other hand, it shows how you can live after the war.

The Major is a kind of image of Hemingway himself. Since the writer fought and was a war correspondent in World War II, he knew what it was like to suffer from the horrors, he saw and try to live on, abstracting himself from the new world. The Major is quite brave, but weary of pain and death. His attitude towards war shows that society usually turns a blind eye to lies, perceiving it as the truth. Society doesn't care of it, it doesn't want to know the details of the war.

The Major, like other soldiers, has medals for courage and bravery. In society, medals are an indicator of spiritual and physical strength, readiness to defend their homeland. Society believes that only medals show the merits of a person who has gone through hell. The Major disagrees with this. He believes that every person who took part in the war, even the smallest, has the right to be called a patriot.
At the hospital, Hemingway shows the difference in thinking between soldiers and civilians. The soldiers are described as more mature and responsible. However, the soldiers are also more callous. Their feelings in the war were dulled, since death, which you can see with your own eyes, can change the view of the world.

The story is very difficult, but interesting. I liked the heavy atmosphere of pain and suffering, mixed with the thoughts and memories of the soldiers, their interaction with civilians. This is a kind of combination of the past world and the future. After all, the world will never be the same after the end of the war. It needs to get better.