Read the excerpt from “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway. The doctor told me that the major’s wife, who was very young and whom he had not married until he was definitely invalided 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.

How does Hemingway’s decision to end the story of the major returning to the hospital after his wife’s death contribute to the story's impact?

Answers:
1. It hints that the major mourned for his lost wife only for a brief few days before returning to his routine at the hospital, ending the story on an uncaring note.

2. It emphasizes that the photographs are of no concern to the major because he doesn’t expect the machine to make much difference, ending the story on a doubtful note.

3. It suggests a sense of absurdity that the machine will revitalize the major’s hand to what is shown in the photographs, ending the story on a patronizing note.

4. It creates a sense of grief for the major not only for the loss of his wife but also the loss of his hand, ending the story on a tragic note.