An International Soldier's Tough Option

During Hemingway's long literary career, the three-act play The Fifth Column——the only play he wrote, against the background of Spanish Civil War, told the story of an American journalist who confidentially served the Republic Government and participated in the war against the fascist spies——"the fifth column". This play was Hemingway's new exploration and attempt in the field of literature. Although compared with his masterpieces, the play seems less remarkable, it is by no means inferior to others in terms of humanism and the ideological connotation in it. This play is heavily autobiographic and is a real reflection of the author's mental state.This thesis mainly probes into how and why the hero makes a choice when caught in the dilemma between the war and the home. In this play, the hero——a young man from America gives up his happiness and voluntarily plunges into the battlefield which is filled with hazards. Just like Hemingway's own experiences, what on earth drives him to make such a choice? Related with the author's life story, this thesis is to analyze the process and incentive of the hero's choice.This thesis is composed of five parts:Part One gives a brief introduction to the author and the play as well as the significance of the study on the play.Part Two focuses on the contradictory attitudes to war——being caught in an sentiment of both attachment to war and hatred for war.Part Three is on the contradictory attitudes to home——on one hand, the hero aspires for the warmth and tranquility of home; on the other hand, he forsakes his small home for the sake of the big home.Part Four describes two contrasting scenes of the play——the room of the hero is the epitome of a battlefield, while the room of his girlfriend is the symbol of a home in turbulence.Part Five is the conclusion. Patriarchal point of view and hero complex result in the final choice and inevitably lead to the drawbacks of this play.