Ernest Hemingway's “Soldier’s Home” tells the story of a young soldier, Harold Krebs, recently returns from World War I. Krebs returns to his parents home while he attempts to figure out what he wants to do with his life after the war. The reader first sees that the war has a profound impact on Krebs as he cannot readjust to the middle-class life he once knew. The situation is dramatic at best as his mother and father believe that he can re-integrate into the society as though he does not suffer the hardships of the war. Hemingway does not tell the readers why Krebs was the last of the soldiers to return from the war. Nonetheless, the reader can conclude that the war changed Krebs’ perception of the Christian principles of his former life. he grew up with the value of not lying, but eventually he learns that this is the only way to appease the citizens. Conversely, when Krebs return to his home, the novelty of returning from the war passed as all the other soldiers had returned home and shared their stories of the war. In the story "Soldier's Home," Ernest Hemingway employs the use of conflict to presents the idea of how the society demands that one conforms to conventionality, and the unreasonable treatment of those who do not conform.
Unlike the other soldiers, Krebs takes a longer time to re-integrate into the society. Arguably, Krebs is not attempting to re-adjust quickly. Instead, he simply allows the time to pass. Krebs knows that he has changed significantly, but the town has not changed. Krebs’ father has the same car and parks it in the same place. The girls look the same except for their hair and Krebs cannot help but compare the girls he met overseas. Krebs “did not want any consequences. He did not want any consequences ever again. He wanted to live along without consequences,” (Hemmingway, p. 171). He notes that the German and French women are not complicated and the relationships he had with these women had no consequences. Still, he loves his sister’s ability to shrug off the demands of the society. Jean Paul Comtois, in his literary analysis of the story, writes that unlike the other soldiers, Krebs does not attempt to relish in the stories of his war experience, (Comtois, par. 3). Clearly, Krebs faces the inner conflict of adjusting to life after the way. Nonetheless, when he wants to talk about his experience, no one wants to hear his story.
Pretrarca notes that the situational irony in the story creates a significant tension by contrasting the reality of war against the illusions of the “Soldier’s Home,” (Pretrarca, p. 664) as it sets the external conflicts in the story. Hemmingway writes “Krebs went to war” (Hemmingway, p.170) sets the tone for understanding Krebs present and past experiences and how they shape his life. Krebs is no longer the man he was before the war as his traumatic experiences in the war makes him unable to show genuine love for everyone, including his mother. He tells her truthfully: “NoI don’t love anybody” (174). As with most individuals, his mother does not understand the negative impact that war has on an individual. Putnam reiterates that Krebs “is unable to reconnect with those he left behind – especially his mother, who cannot understand how her son has been changed by the war,” (Putnam, n.p).
Ford’s clinical assessment of soldier’s with post traumatic stress disorder emphasizes that “exposure to war causes soldiers to exhibit emotional disturbance the way one normally sees the society, (Ford, par. 2). Hemmingway does not state that Krebs suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Nevertheless, Ford’s belief that “soldiers who experience traumatic events, such as the death of a comrade or innocent civilians,” helps the reader to understand that Krebs’ actions are a result of his experience. In fact, Krebs’ family expect him to return from the war as “a young man who is interested in life and girls, but war changes people, and it has changed Krebs,” (Wegner, p. 2). Although Krebs decides to come home, he feels alone and out of place. He is not moved by his father’s kind gesture to drive the car not his mother’s need to help him to re-adjust. Instead, Krebs shows that war is a traumatic experience for god-fearing individuals who went to the war. They kill thousands of individuals out of patriotism and return home to a society that cannot appreciate the horror of war. Krebs’s feels as though no one can understand his truthful experience because the other soldiers lie about the events of the war. as such, the reader sees that Krebs rejects his religious faith and his relationship with others.
In concluding, Hemmingway uses the character Krebs to show the difficulty of reintegrating into the society after an experience with war. Krebs is unable to relate to his family as the horrors of war have a negative impact on the way he now views the society. Dating and the simple social issues no longer seem important and Krebs prefers to avoid the complications of relationships with the girls who remain the same even after the war. His views of the world changes dramatically and Krebs cannot show love for anyone again. Similar to the bacon, the readers see that Krebs heart has become hardened by the events of the war. In the end, he knows that his inner conflicts can only be resolved if he gets far away from his old lifestyle.
Works Cited
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