preview

Ernest Hemmingway's Soldiers Home

Decent Essays

Ernest Hemmingway has a distinctive style of writing. More often than not Hemmingway's writing is accompanied by a great deal of comment and controversy. However, no matter the topic, Hemmingway's writing is simple, direct and unadorned. This controversial yet direct writing style is predominant in Hemmingway's story, "Soldiers Home". The main point of focus in a "Soldiers Home" is the way that Hemmingway uses the women of the story and Krebs interaction with them to show Krebs' internal struggle of attraction and his repulsion to conformity. Hemmingway's makes the pattern of Krebs reiterating the same points throughout the story. After the reader is given some background information on Krebs, Hemmingway introduces Krebs interactions with the women living in Krebs home town. For example, Krebs consistently repeats how "he wanted a girl, but he did not want to have to work to get her" (Hemmingway, 159). Hemmingway writes a great deal on Krebs perspective of these girls, but rarely makes a new point. This allows readers into Krebs …show more content…

For example, although war and combat is traumatizing, "he had liked Germany better. He did not want to leave Germany. He did not want to come home. Still, he had come home." (Hemmingway, 159) Krebs would have preferred to stay in Germany because there, he had a secure identity. There was no lying to fit in, no complicated girls, no conforming to societal expectations, there was only soldier amongst soldier all working towards one common goal. However, after a period of time back home, Krebs slowly begins to find himself and his place back home. Once Krebs realizes that his situation is getting better at home, it makes Krebs less likely to come to terms with his attraction to the women in the story. Krebs fears that the hometown girls will ruin his rediscovered self, thus he continues to stay

Get Access