Upon Harold Krebs' homecoming from an extended time at war, he expects his small town to be the same as he remembers it being. For the most part, it is, except for one thing: himself. Due to his many war experiences, Krebs feels alienated from society, which causes him to be seen as an outsider. Krebs remains frozen between the past and the future in Hemingway's "Soldier's Home". Hemingway conveys Krebs' inability to embrace the past or the future through plot in exposition, conflict, and climax.
Hemingway conveys Harold's mental and physical separation from society by including several examples from Harold's past in the exposition of the story. In this case, the exposition begins with a description of Krebs' I be turmoil, "At first Krebs...did
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The only thing that holds Krebs back from moving on to a happier, more fulfilling life is the remembrance of war and how different his life is away from the war-stricken atmosphere. Hemingway goes on to say that Krebs "wanted to live without consequences," which tells the readers that Krebs is wounded by his past which hinders his capability to overcome adversity. Krebs' inability to speak the truth is the main struggle he faces within "Soldier's Home". The author then uses additional characters to emphasize to the readers that the drawbacks Krebs has experienced have a negative effect on his as he tries to adapt to what seems to be an entirely new world, "the world they …show more content…
Due to Krebs' returning home the years later than his fellow soldiers, Hemingway states that Krebs' "town had heard too many atrocity stories to be thrilled by actualities,"which foreshadows to the readers the reason behind Krebs' struggle to be truthful: every exciting event has been told, so he feels the need to elaborate on the scenes he experienced during the war. Krebs then realizes that "to be listened to all he had to do was lie, and after he had done this twice he, too, had a reaction against the war and against talking about it." He craves attention from not only his family members, but the people around town as well to talk about his past experiences in war and the effect it makes on his lie, whether it is the truth or not; he is forced to lie about his involvement in war just to be heard. The lies Krebs tells are not significant until the hidden meaning is reached and the readers discover that this is the way that Krebs copes with his pain as Hemingway mentions, "His lies were quite unimportant lies and consisted in attributing to himself things other men had seen, done, or heard of." Krebs wants to emerge into the sunlight and overcome the so-called "exciting past" he tells the town about, but by lying he stays in the dark, rather than regaining the honesty he knows from
In “Soldier’s Home,” the main character Krebs exhibits grief, loneliness. When he returns home with the second group of soldiers he is denied a hero's return. From here he spends time recounting false tales of his war times. Moving on, in the second page of the story he expresses want but what he reasons for not courting a female. A little while after he is given permission to use the car. About this time Krebs has an emotional exchange with both his little sister and his mother. Revealing that “he feels alienated from both the town and his parents , thinking that he had felt more ‘at home’ in Germany or France than he does now in his parent’s house”(Werlock). Next, the story ends with his mother praying for him and he still not being touched. Afterwards planning to move to Kansas city to find a job. Now, “The importance of understanding what Krebs had gone through in the two years before the story begins cannot be overstated. It is difficult to imagine what it must have been for the young man”(Oliver). Near the start of the story the author writes of the five major battles he “had been at”(Hemingway) in World War I- Bellaue Wood, Soissons, Champagne, St.Mihiel, and Argonne. The importance of these are shown sentences later that the
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Print.
A photo of Krebs during World War I shows him with a corporal and two German girls on the Rhine River. One's first thought of this picture may be of a lighthearted sightseeing trip on leave from the front. However, in the photograph, Krebs and the other corporal are described as "too big for their uniforms," the German girls as "not beautiful," and the Rhine does not even appear in the photograph (154). This is how Ernest Hemingway begins "Soldier's Home," the story of a young war veteran named Harold Krebs who has recently returned home. Everything that Krebs says and does is to make his life as smooth and have as few complications as possible, more than likely a stark contrast to his life in Europe.
The main point of “Vagueness and ambiguity in Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” two puzzling passages” is to describe what made Ernest Hemingway’s character Krebs such a mysterious dynamic character and how was his influences impacted on who he is. Milton Cohen describes how Hemingway use the “iceberg technique” to enhance readers to figure out the missing idea on what’s being interpreted in Krebs mind. At the beginning of the article Cohen use the word “vagueness” which means to not have a clear sight or any other senses that is recognizable in an indefinite way (Cohen 159). Statements that Cohen have noted about Hemingway’s story being too vague included the two passages that exaggerating his war stories towards others and the idea for Krebs to
He arrives back at his town, unused to the total absence of shells. He wonders how the populations can live such civil lives when there are such horrors occurring at the front. Sitting in his room, he attempts to recapture his innocence of youth preceding the war. But he is now of a lost generation, he has been estranged from his previous life and war is now the only thing he can believe in. It has ruined him in an irreversible way and has displayed a side of life which causes a childhood to vanish alongside any ambitions subsequent to the war in a civil life. They entered the war as mere children, yet they rapidly become adults. The only ideas as an adult they know are those of war. They have not experienced adulthood before so they cannot imagine what it will be lie when they return. His incompatibility is shown immediately after he arrives at the station of his home town. ”On the platform I look round; I know no one among all the people hurrying to and fro. A red-cross sister offers me something to drink. I turn away, she smiles at me too foolishly, so obsessed with her own importance: "Just look, I am giving a soldier coffee!"—She calls me "Comrade," but I will have none of it.” He is now aware of what she is
In Hemingway’s short story “Soldier’s Home”, Hemingway introduces us to a young American soldier, that had just arrived home from World War I. Harold Krebs, our main character, did not receive a warm welcome after his arrival, due to coming home a few years later than most soldiers. After arriving home, it becomes clear that World War I has deeply impacted the young man, Krebs is not the same man that headed off to the war. The war had stripped the young man of his coping mechanism, female companionship, and the ability to achieve the typical American life.
...egular job or move out" (Waldhorn 9). Both Hemingway and Krebs moved out and got jobs. Beyond a doubt, Hemingway wrote from his past experiences. In "Indian Camp," Hemingway used his own relationship with his father to breathe life into the fictional characters of Nick and his father. By leaving his childhood and entering the war, Hemingway recalled his own accounts of injuries and love that made up the character Henry and Barkley in A Farewell to Arms. And finally, with his return home after the war, Hemingway uses Krebs in "Soldier's Home" to express his distaste for the home life.
The similarities between the people of Hemingway’s life and his fictitious characters can also be found between Lieutenant Henry, the main character of “A Farewell to Arms”, and Hemingway himself. Once again, the similarities between these characters is astonishing; so much that Lieutenant Henry seems to be Hemingway’s idea of his younger self rather that a fictitious character.
middle of paper ... ... This story supplies the reader with insight into Hemingway's personality and controversial themes. Works Cited Baker, Carlos. Heard.
Hemingway uses different scenes and events to show Henry’s different personalities, such as on the front line in one chapter then in a behind the lines town setting in the next. This shows the readers the difference in Frederick's attitude between the war and when Henry goes back to town on his breaks. Hemingway also uses Henry’s conflicts to show how he reacts to situations. For example, Henry gets hurt and moved to a hospital but still tries to make the best of his situation.
The initial reaction I received from reading Soldier's Home, and my feelings about Soldier's Home now are not the same. Initially, I thought Harold Krebs is this soldier who fought for two years, returns home, and is disconnected from society because he is in a childlike state of mind, while everyone else has grown up. I felt that Krebs lost his immature years, late teens to early 20's, because he went from college to the military. I still see him as disconnected from society, because there isn't anyone or anything that can connect him to the simple life that his once before close friends and family are living. He has been through a traumatic experience for the past two years, and he does not have anyone genuinely interested in him enough to take the time to find out what's going on in his mind and heart. Krebs is in a battle after the battle.
Earnest Hemingway’s work gives a glimpse of how people deal with their problems in society. He conveys his own characteristics through his simple and “iceberg” writing style, his male characters’ constant urge to prove their masculinity.
The story has different elements that make it a story, that make it whole. Setting is one of those elements. The book defines setting as “the context in which the action of the story occurs” (131). After reading “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemmingway, setting played a very important part to this story. A different setting could possibly change the outcome or the mood of the story and here are some reasons why.
As a famous author Ernest Hemingway has been credited for the creation of multiple critically acclaimed books. One in particular, A Farewell to Arms, while having received its fair share of approval, has also received multiple threats throughout the years to be banned by certain organizations and school systems. As respectful as I am on these groups’ opinions, I myself cannot help but disagree with their statements and viewpoints. In my point of view the book should not be banned because while it may contain some undesirable components, it is overall a moderate work of literature that has a deep foresight into heartfelt issues such as war, life, and love.
The short story “In Another Country” by Earnest Hemingway is a story about the negative effects of war. The story follows an unnamed American officer and his dealings with three other officers, all of whom are wounded in World War I and are recuperating in Milan, Italy. In war, much can be gained such as freedom and peace, however war also causes a plethora of negative consequences. Cultural alienation, loss of physical and emotional identity, and the irony of war technology and uncertainty of life are all serious consequences of war that are clearly shown by Hemingway.