Finding and Belonging: Edward Everett Hale’s Short Story ‘The Man Without a Country’

Phillip Nolan was sentenced to live the rest of his life away from his country on a U.S. Navy ship, similar to the clipper ship seen here. Ryan Fletcher/Shutterstock

Belonging to a country instills in us a sense of identity, and it is a terrible thing to lose, as Phillip Nolan found out.

In his short story “The Man Without a Country,” Edward Everett Hale follows Nolan, a lieutenant in the United States Army, who loses his homeland through his pride, arrogance, and inordinate ambition. Nolan becomes blinded by his overwhelming desire for “fame and separate-sovereignty [a doctrine to prosecute under both federal and state law].”

How to Lose One’s Country

Nolan’s actions declare “that he is sick of the service, is willing to be false to it.” With plenty of evidence against him, he is court-martialed and proven guilty.

Yet when the panel offers to pardon him and asks him to prove his continued loyalty to the United States, he exclaims with passion: “Damn the United States! I wish I may never hear of the United States again!”

This exclamation forebodes ill for Nolan. The court panel, consisting mostly of soldiers who fought in the War for Independence, decides to grant his wish. They banish Nolan to the sea for the rest of his life, never to hear, see, or talk of his country ever again.

At first, Nolan thinks his punishment is a farce and seems to enjoy it. Yet the moment he transfers over to another ship, he realizes that he will never go home.

Through different trials, Nolan gradually sees who he truly is. When he accompanies an officer onboard a slave ship to free the slaves, he encounters a group of extremely homesick slaves. In this crucial moment, Nolan sees what he has lost.

He himself is a slave to his passions, pride, and ambition, but unlike the now-freed slaves, he cannot go home. He realizes too late that he must “forget he has a self, while he does everything for [country and family].”

Redemptive Acceptance

Poor Nolan “repents of his folly, and then, like a man, submits to the fate he had asked for.” He forgets about himself and shares the truth with others around him.

Things change for Nolan because he changes. Unlike the wretch Walter Scott portrays in “The Lay of the Last Minstrel,” Nolan does not die “with soul so dead”:

“Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, ‘This is my own, my native land!’ … If such there breathe, go mark him well; For him no minstrel raptures swell; … The wretch, concentred all in self.”

Through his true repentance, Nolan merits the fame and worth that he so dangerously desired before. Only when he accepts his punishment and embraces the truth does he merit proper recognition and praise.

Through Nolan, Hale proves that when we accept our fate and let go of selfishness, we free ourselves from the isolating slavery and obsession of personal gain. We begin to live for others and become part of the surrounding community and country. We then merit the identity and worth that comes with belonging to a country.

Let us forget ourselves and live for our country, family, and friends. With selflessness and humility, it is very possible to find the immense happiness and complete belonging that we all seek.