Trauma In Soldier's Home By Ernest Hemingway

It is no secret that many veterans return home from war with not only physical injuries, but psychological ones as well. Several authors such as Hemingway, O’Brien, Steinbeck and Hayes discuss the emotional impact war can have on a soldier, and how it affects their life after being discharged. A central idea throughout various texts is that soldiers who have mental trauma as a result of war require support from others in order to reintegrate into a normal life. In war, soldiers are taught to depend on themselves in order to survive, causing them to have a fear of seeking help from others for the trauma they have been through after they have been discharged. In “Soldier’s Home” Ernest Hemingway’s character Krebs is described as being “badly,

In the article “Legislation would halt bad military discharges due to PTSD, TBI” by Leo Shane III, he states that “a less than honorable discharge severely limits the care and support options for those veterans, leaving them with decreased medical support and increased risk of suicide” (Shane). These dishonorable discharges are often caused by symptoms of PTSD in the first place, and limiting their access to support prevents them from overcoming the symptoms they are experiencing. In addition, since many people do not recognize the symptoms of this trauma, it is nearly impossible for soldiers to get assistance on their own, due to their reluctance to ask for it. Having these soldiers deal with the trauma by themselves can lead to some extreme cases such as suicide and aggression, which can be prevented by helping them sort out their emotions of guilt and shame. Another example of a lack of help can be seen in Tim O’Brien’s short story “Ambush”, where he states, “In the ordinary hours of life I try not to dwell on it, but now and then… I’ll look up and see the young man coming out of the morning fog” (O’Brien). Though it had been some time since he had been in war, he still felt guilty for what he had done to the enemy soldier. If O’Brien had access to support for his emotional trauma, he may not have

In Shane’s article, he states that “military discharge review boards must consider troops’ mental health issues” (Shane). However, this is still a work in progress and isn’t officially a requirement for the government at the moment. This illustrates that currently soldiers are only discharged due to physical injuries that can be visibly seen as having a negative impact on the rest of their life. However, a PTSD or TBI diagnosis does not allow a soldier to have an honorable discharge, and thus they do not have access to mental health support. In the short story “In Another Country” by Ernest Hemingway, he states, “We were all a little detached, and there was nothing that held us together except that we met every afternoon at the hospital” (Hemingway). Here he is describing the fact that him and all of the other soldiers had become emotionally numb after the war, yet they were all being treated for their physical injuries on a regular basis. The soldiers are given false hope through the previous “successful” results of the machines they are using, instead of being given emotional support to be able to cope with the reality of their situations. By not receiving help, there is no guarantee that these soldiers may be able to effectively communicate and relate with other non-veterans, as they have a tendency to close themselves