Soldier's Home by Ernest Hemingway Essay

Krebs also withdraws into his room because of the consequence that returning from war has left him and Berlin feeling lost, insecure, and out of place. Krebs “would have liked to have a girl but he did not want to have to spend a long time getting her.” In the army, Krebs got German and French girls without many complications because you couldn’t talk much with them, nor did you need to talk. It was much simpler, and now that Krebs is back, he is scared to jump into his society for a girl. It is evident that the war has taken away the transitional period from dependency to independency from his parents. He joined while he was still a boy and now that he has returned he is expected to move on and get a job and girl, “Charley Simmons, who is just your age, has a good job and is going to be married.” Like

Ernest Hemingway “Soldier’s Home" is an outstanding short story that shows the tragic impact of war on the life of a young soldier who returns home. The story paints a vibrant picture of a soldier’s life after coming back from a shocking experience. Hemingway shows impacts of war on a soldier with the main character being Harold Krebs, who faces hostility in his hometown after his return from fighting in the war. The main character in the story is Kreb with the author making usage of repetition, characterization, and symbolism to bring out the message in the story.

Kat at the start of this film is socially repellent. In her English class, she portrays her intelligence within the class which Joey replies with ‘As opposed to a bitter, self-righteous hag who has no friends?’ which all of his friends laugh and high five him. As you can tell, much like Hortensio and Gremio, this is another dehumanising statement and his friend’s reaction emphasises the male disgust towards Kat. Additionally, her own sister Bianca tells Cameron how she feels about Kat, describing her as a ‘hideous breed of loser… unsolved mystery…a bitch.’ All descriptions of her sister highlight she is hated by all of her peers and HER OWN SISTER, even though in this context female individuality is acceptable. However, at the end, Kat has evolved from who she was once. Kat has a speech which is a clear parallel to Katharina’s monologue. Kat states ‘I hate the way you talk… I hate it when you stare… I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry… I hate it that you’re not around… I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.’ The anaphoric repetition creates a cumulative listing effect emphasising each statement intensively in which it is reversed due to the double meaning in the last few lines, making the audience question whether she ‘hates’ that list. As well as that, when she says ‘cry’, there is a medium shot

Barb Cratzville is the very passive and insecure wife of Tom Cratzville who struggles with balancing her roles as a mother and a wife. As a person, Barb is lost in her life and seems to have a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. She tolerates her husband's behavior even though she knows that he could potentially harm their entire family. She knows that her husband’s addiction is getting out of hand but she does not leave the relationship and disregards what her sister has to say about it. Often time’s people who are experiencing domestic abuse are afraid to speak out because they are afraid of what their partner might do to them. In the film, Soft is the Heart of a Child, Tom pushes Barb in the midst of his anger and rage but she does not seem too phased by his actions. This action indicated that Barb is used to being abused by her husband however, she continues to stay with him. Barb continues her relationship with Tom because she does not want to feel like her family is broken. She thinks that if they are able to present themselves as the perfect family to the outside world then all of the trauma that is occurring within the family won’t seem as severe.

In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “A Soldier’s Home”, Krebs, a soldier, returns to his hometown from fighting in World War I. As indicated throughout the story, “home” for Krebs is not unlike the war front: confusing, complicated, and restless. Hemingway uses the setting in Kansas, during World War I, to convey Krebs post-war life in comparison to his pre-war.

A “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemmingway is an intriguing story about a man by the name of Krebs who enlists in the Marine Corps during his attendance at a Methodist college in Kansas. After serving for two years at the Rhine, he returned with the second division in 1919 but Krebs wasn’t in the same state of mind as before he left. The reason why Krebs was so distraught when he returned home was not because of the fact that no one wanted to listen to his war stories but because him and other soldiers were without any real benefits such as medical, education, extra remuneration, or anything to help him get back into the real world. This reason stated is the reason that Krebs and soldiers alike came home from war with nothing to show for

As a young man coming back from the war, Krebs expected things to be the same when he got home and they were, except one. Sure the town looked older and all the girls had matured into beautiful women, Krebs had never expected that he would be the one to change. The horrific experiences of the first World War had alienated and removed those he had cared about, including his family, who stood naïve to the realities and consequences only those who live it first hand would comprehend.

Prior to the war, his dad did not trust him enough to be able to take the car out as he pleased. Even after Krebs returned home, his father seemed to hold a rather absent presence in his life, in fact, he is not even present at any point throughout the story. The only time his father is brought up in discussion, is when Krebs mother informs him that she and Krebs father had discussed finally letting him use the family car. Even when his mother reveals that it had been his father’s idea, Krebs replied “I’ll bet you made him” (136). This line is an unmistakable clue which shows the true feelings Krebs has towards his father, whom he clearly has no type of faith in. Although Krebs mother has an active role in his life, his relationship with her does not seem to be that much better than his relationship with his father. When she asked if he loved her, he quickly responded “No”(137), which sent her straight into tears. This was probably not always the truth

Soldier’s Home is a story about the experiences of a soldier returning from war. The narrative starts with a description of an image or photograph of Harold Krebs. Krebs is the main character of this story. He was a young man who was attending the Methodist College in Kansas before he had to enlist in the Marines to find in the war (Hemingway 111-116). The opening picture is an increasingly significant source of contrast between the young man who went to war and the one who comes back who has become silent and alienated after coming home. Krebs comes back in 1919 even though the war ended in 1918. His return is not marked by celebrations and parades that were often given to the young soldiers who had managed to come home early. Rather, Krebs finds out that the people are not overly excited about his news of the war unless he lies and exaggerates about his role during the war (Hemingway 111-116).

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

Ernest Hemingway’s “Soldiers Home” is about a young man named Krebs who is learning to adjust to society after his experience in Europe during World War I. Hemingway’s purpose for writing this story can be confusing and also very telling. I believe Krebs was not a soldier at all and in fact, deceives his family, his friends, and his community into believing he was an experienced soldier in World War I. At first glance, Krebs may be seen as a war hero. However, by observing the characteristics such as Kreb’s background, actions, motivation, and the author’s Implied Evaluation, we see that he is not a war hero at all.

The new desire for an uncomplicated life also stops him from developing a relationship with the opposite sex. Instead of pursuing females, he admires the “pattern” of their clothing from their “round Dutch collars” to their “silk stocking”. Krebs’ view of females is that they live “in such a complicated world” full of relationship issues. These issues keep him away because he does not want “any consequences” from the complications of a female. Krebs sees the girls as a “nice pattern. He liked the pattern”, but he cannot break into their pattern because it would deal with emotions. He believes that breaking the emotional pattern would not be worth the results.

When people think of the military, they often think about the time they spend over in another country, hoping they make it back alive. No one has ever considered the possibility that they may have died inside. Soldiers are reborn through war, often seeing through the eyes of someone else. In “Soldier’s home” by Ernest Hemingway, the author illustrates how a person who has been through war can change dramatically if enough time has passed. This story tells of a man named Harold (nick name: Krebs) who joined the marines and has finally come back after two years. Krebs is a lost man who feels it’s too complicated to adjust to the normal way of living and is pressured by his parents.

When Krebs interacts with others, he tends to be insensitive towards the other person; even Kreb’s own mother was not an exception to this trend. Although Krebs does not show obvious signs of sentiment or love towards his sister, there is an underlying sense of affection when he interacts with her. This apparently abnormal behavior indicates that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Krebs. Perhaps the reader is missing necessary information that would allow him/her to understand Krebs’ contradictory nature, and this information is to be fabricated by the reader himself/herself. Regardless, Krebs is not a flat character because there is an element about his persona that contradicts itself, thus making him a more complex and therefore round

Although it provides an important perspective into the lives of post war veterans, Hemingway’s novel is merely a fictional story and the events that occur in the book are not representative of any real life occurrences. Hemingway is able to accurately able to depict the shift of morale views that occurred after the war.  People went from emotional and restrained and god fearing, to liberated, materialistic, and pessimistic. Following the First World War, Veterans lost a belief in objective morality and correspondingly lost the belief in love and capacity to make deep connections with people. The characters within this novel face social and personal problems, whether it be physical ailments or mental disabilities, both of which impede their lives completely. Hemingway’s ability to capture and and present the overwhelming emotions that encompassed the Lost Generation is what makes his novel effective and historically