The Man Without a Country E-Book

Edward Everett Hale

• Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

In "The Man Without a Country," Edward Everett Hale crafts a poignant novella that explores themes of patriotism, identity, and the consequences of one's actions. Written in the wake of the Civil War, Hale employs a powerful narrative style interwoven with rich character development and moral introspection. The story revolves around Philip Nolan, a disillusioned young officer who renounces his country only to be condemned to a life of exile on a ship. Through Nolan's tragic journey, Hale not only critiques the loss of national allegiance but also invokes a compelling plea for national unity and reconciliation in a time of societal division. Edward Everett Hale, an American author and chaplain, was profoundly influenced by the sociopolitical climate of the 19th century. His diverse career as a writer, historian, and advocate for progressive causes greatly informed his narrative perspective. Hale's deep-seated belief in the importance of civic duty and love for one's country resonates throughout the novella, making it not only a personal tale but also a reflection of his era's ideals. This timeless work is essential reading for anyone interested in the complexities of national identity and personal sacrifice. Hale's masterful storytelling serves as a reminder of the profound connection between an individual and their country, making it a poignant exploration of the human condition that remains relevant today. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.

Leseprobe

Edward Everett Hale

The Man Without a Country

Enriched edition. A Tale of Exile, Patriotism, and National Identity

In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience.

Introduction, Studies and Commentaries by Livia Norcrest

Edited and published by Good Press, 2022

[email protected]

EAN 4064066107512

Table of Contents

Introduction

Synopsis

Historical Context

The Man Without a Country

Analysis

Reflection

Memorable Quotes

Notes

Introduction

Table of Contents

The Man Without a Country turns the severing of civic belonging into a lifelong exile, asking how identity, loyalty, and love of home persist—or fail—when a person is cut off from the very name, news, and symbols of the nation that once seemed an unexamined given, and by following the consequences of a rash renunciation through years at sea under strict silence about the homeland, the tale presses readers to consider what actually binds individuals to a community and what emptiness, discipline, and discovery arise when that bond, usually felt only in its comforts, becomes an inexorable absence, framing patriotism as lived texture rather than rhetoric, revealed most sharply in deprivation.

Edward Everett Hale’s work is a short story situated at the intersection of patriotic fiction and nautical narrative, first published in 1863 in The Atlantic Monthly during the American Civil War. Its historical moment lends it an unmistakable urgency: questions about allegiance, union, and national identity were not abstractions but immediate concerns across the United States. The setting ranges over American naval vessels and ports, evoked through a framed account that presents itself as recollection by a military observer. Within this structure, Hale fuses the rhythms of life at sea with a meditation on the ties between a person and the country to which he belongs.

At the story’s outset, a young American officer named Philip Nolan becomes entangled in the treason proceedings surrounding Aaron Burr and, during a court-martial, repudiates his country in a moment of impetuous defiance. The resulting punishment defines the premise: he is consigned to serve on shipboard and barred from hearing news of the United States or even its name. This stark condition supplies the narrative with its enduring tension. The reader follows the implications of that sentence across changing commands and voyages, while the tale steadily explores how the absence of a homeland alters the shape of a life without disclosing outcomes in advance.

Hale’s narrative voice is measured, authoritative, and deliberately documentary, adopting the tone of an officer recounting notable episodes supported by letters and official memory. The style blends concise reporting with reflective commentary, moving from brief summaries of naval routine to moments of moral observation. The pacing favors clarity over spectacle: incidents unfold as instructive scenes rather than sensational set pieces. Atmospheric detail—schedules, transfers, and the social patterns of shipboard life—builds a credible world that anchors the moral inquiry. Throughout, the prose remains accessible and earnest, inviting readers to engage the argument as much as the action.

Thematically, the story probes the nature of patriotism as more than public ceremony—a daily allegiance that shapes speech, memory, and community. It suggests that belonging can be recognized most forcefully when it is withheld, and that the loss of a national framework rearranges one’s moral and emotional landscape. Questions of citizenship and responsibility run alongside the portrayal of solitude and silence. The work also raises issues of law and punishment, proposing a severe yet orderly sanction that tests the boundaries of justice and mercy. Underneath, it asks how private conscience and public duty meet when loyalty to country is at stake.

Read today, the story resonates with discussions of citizenship, statelessness, and the obligations individuals owe to the communities that define their rights and identities. In an era marked by mobility, migration, and political polarization, its central dilemma—what it means to live apart from the civic narratives that form us—retains its force. The tale invites readers to consider how nations communicate belonging and how individuals reciprocate that trust. It also prompts reflection on the ethics of information control and the psychological costs of exclusion, without prescribing a simple lesson. Its Civil War context heightens, but does not exhaust, its contemporary relevance.

This introduction prepares readers for a concise but layered experience: a moving sea story shaped by the steady cadence of official reminiscence and the intimacy of moral reflection. Hale’s work is compact enough to read in a single sitting, yet it opens questions that linger beyond the final page. Expect neither historical treatise nor sentimental pageant alone, but a disciplined narrative that balances feeling with argument. The reward lies in its capacity to make civic ideas palpable through a single life’s predicament. Entering the story with that expectation underscores how it continues to challenge, unsettle, and clarify what we call home.

Synopsis

Table of Contents

The Man Without a Country, first published in 1863 by Edward Everett Hale, is a short narrative told by a U.S. naval officer who recalls the strange, lifelong punishment of Philip Nolan, an Army lieutenant in the early Republic. Through a sequence of shipboard episodes stitched from memories and reports, the narrator presents Nolan’s life as it unfolded across decades at sea. The framing voice situates readers within wardrooms, quarterdecks, and foreign anchorages, where rules, routines, and conversations shape character. With a calm, documentary tone, the tale moves from a single impetuous moment to its enduring consequences, tracing how isolation reshapes a man’s understanding of identity and allegiance.

Young Philip Nolan, attached to the western command and drawn into the orbit of Aaron Burr, is arrested when Burr’s intrigues collapse. During interrogation, Nolan, weary of politics and stung by humiliation, blurts a curse on his country, renouncing it in reckless frustration. A startled court seizes on his words and, in a ruling as literal as it is severe, orders that he shall hear no word of the United States again. From that day forward he is placed aboard naval vessels, transferred from ship to ship, never allowed ashore at home, and kept scrupulously ignorant of any news that touches his native land.