...13 March 2012 “Soldier’s Home” In a “Soldier’s Home” Ernest Hemingway helps many people to get a better understanding of what soldiers go through when they get home. Throughout the story, the reader can see how a soldier named Krebs tries to fit back into society after World War I. Krebs comes home with post-traumatic stress disorder and has troubles fitting back into society. Nobody understands what he is going through, not even his parents. He even has to lie about some of his stories from World War I to make them exciting, so people will want to listen to him. These and other issues are part of the plot of “Soldier’s Home.” Hemingway uses the literary elements of plot, characterization, tone, and irony to further develop the theme of a story involving the hardship he faces of finding a place. Many do not think Hemingway is a great American author, but one has to disagree because the plot of a “Soldier’s Home” shows what soldiers must endure when they get back home to America from World War I. The basic outline in the story is simple enough. It shows how a man named Krebs has come home from World War I to face an even greater challenge against not only himself but also against society. While fighting in the war, Krebs probably sees many of his friends die right beside him. This makes it extremely difficult for him to get close to anyone because he is in fear of him or her either leaving him or dying. Also, he is still a little shocked when he gets home. This gives him...
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...29 April 2012 Literary Analysis of Harold Krebs from “Soldier’s Home” In Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Soldier’s Home”, Harold Krebs is a young man who returns home to Oklahoma from World War I. Krebs arrives with the second division in the summer of 1919. The citizens were no longer interested in the returning soldiers. Things had gone back to normal and no one wanted to listen to his war stories. He had to start telling lies to get attention. Things had not changed much back at home, but he has changed due to his experiences. Since his return from the war, he has different thoughts on dating and his future. He wants a girl, but he does not want to spend the time to talk to one. His mother wants him to be normal like the other men his age. Because of Krebs bad war experiences and treatment upon his return, he becomes apathetic, unusual, and immature. Krebs is apathetic. His apathy begins when he returns home from the war. The narrator says, “Krebs, who had been at Belleau Wood, Soissons, the Champagne, St. Mihiel, and in the Argonne did not want to talk about the war at all” in order to emphasize his traumatic experiences in the war (187). These battles were the most horrifying places of the war. His apathetic attitude is developed because he had to lie in order to get his friends and families attention. John Mckenna and David Raabe say, “By adulterating his war experience with verbal misrepresentation, Krebs “Lost everything” (3). This means that he has...
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...April 2013 Research Essay The Lost One “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway is a story of a young man, Harold Krebs, who returns home in the summer of 1919 after fighting in Germany during World War I. After being away at war for two years, Krebs returns to his hometown in Oklahoma but does not get the welcome that he was expecting. As he attempts to readjust to society he embellishes his war stories in an attempt to make them more interesting, but grows tired and nauseated by them instead. At home things are not as they had been; his sisters see him as a hero and his parents see him as a man that needs to move on with his life yet they still treat him like a child. Although Krebs has been to war and has aged he does not share his family’s outlook regarding himself; instead he feels lost and cold, detached from the life he once knew. Hemingway illustrates how a soldier returning from war returns to a life and a family they no longer know and to a world they no longer recognize. Hemingway expresses the difficulties of adapting back into civilian life after being away at war and the effects on a soldier as well as a soldiers family. When a soldier returns home, the welcome they receive often helps them to reconnect to the civilian world. The townspeople had previously greeted soldiers upon returning from the war, but when Harold Krebs arrives he quickly realizes that the “greeting of heroes was over” (Hemingway 253). He returns home much later than the other soldiers and...
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...The destruction of war can affect an individual and society. One of many causes can be the isolation and alienation of the veterans. Individuals affected by war can be exhibit in the story, “The Destructors” by Graham Greene, “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway, and “Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien. In the “The Destructors”, Green shows how T. destroys everything Mr.Thomas has. He shows no remorse, leaving nothing behind for him. Also, “Soldier’s Home”, Hemingway reveals how Krebs, a veteran of war, is unable to make connections with people. He explains the undesirable love he has for his mother. Lastly,“Speaking of Courage”, O’Brien also presents how Norman, a veteran, lost his empathy because he chooses his own life over for another. As a result, loses the Silver...
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...Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway In Soldier’s Home, Ernest Hemingway depicts Harold Krebs return home from World War I and the problems he faces when dealing with his homecoming and transition back towards a normal life. After the fighting overseas commenced, it took Krebs a year to finally leave Europe and return to his family in Oklahoma. Once home, he found it hard to talk about all he had seen in his tour of duty overseas, which should be attributed to the fact that he saw action in some of the bloodiest, most crucial battles towards the culmination of the war. Therefore, Krebs difficulty in acknowledging his past is because he was indeed a “good soldier” (139), whose efforts in order to survive “The Great War,” were not recognized by his country, town and even worse, his own Family. After his late return from the war, Krebs moved back to the home of his family in Oklahoma. Although this seems common to what most soldiers would do after war, Krebs stay away from his family had been an elongated one. This is not just because of his leisure time at the Rhine with German prostitutes after the war had ended, but also because he went to the war direct from a “Methodist College in Kansas” (136). With that information, we can deduce that Krebs had not lived with his family for more than two years, but most likely between four and six. This must have put a serious strain on his relationship with his family members, who in his own mind, obviously lived in a different...
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...Setting Analysis – A Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway The short story Soldier's Home by Ernest Hemingway is a thought-provoking look into a man life that becomes a soldier, goes off to war and returns an entirely different man. There is much that is identifiable in this story, especially those who have served in the military. This story however leaves much to interpretation but it is written in such a way that the author allows you to really experience his emotions well throughout. My own interpretation; being a person who served in the military is that his experiences coming home are not all that uncommon, especially in the Vietnam era. The military changes many things about a person. Primarily it served to allow me to grow up and be accountable, amongst other things. The young man who entered the military was nothing like the man who returned home. I felt truly sorry for Krebs many times through this story. The young man enlisted in the Marines to help his country; in this process he became a man as he was subjected to the horrors of World War I. His life was changed so drastically that upon his return to this small town, his life no longer fits as it once did. Although there is no narration to suggest his life before or during the war, the symbols in the beginning chapters give some idea as to perhaps what life was like for Krebs. He goes from a Methodist college student, which suggests conformity to " [having] been at Belleau Wood, Soissons, the Champagne...
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...of. Conflict drives the plot, and no story will be interesting without it. “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway is a story about Harold Krebs, a young man, who faces inability to adjust to post-war life. As he struggles to find a balance between the expected and the reality, the conflict intensifies, and it gives a reader a sense of being part of the story. The conflict in “Soldier’s Home” is caused by various circumstances of the protagonist’s life. However, there are three factors that played a central role in the story’s conflict: the “small-town” society that fails to welcome its hero; the Krebs’ parents who do not understand their son's struggles and sufferings; and Krebs himself who struggles to fit back into the society. The community plays a very important role in the story’s conflict. The people of the town find it strange that Harold returns from the war so much later than the other men. Harold doesn’t receive welcome from his town since he arrives too late for heroes welcome. Therefore, he feels betrayed by the society that sent him to what could have been his death. People don’t want to hear true stories about the war so Harold distances himself from others. Harold is not accepted by the community as he refuses to conform to town's norms that dictate he should find a job, get married and settle down. Harold’s family is another factor that plays a significant role in “Soldier’s Home” conflict . Harold returns to his family but he feels he no longer belongs...
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...Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” and Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” have a lot of similarities and differences between the two characters; Krebs, and Bartleby. Throughout the short stories each relate to each other in some way. Krebs just has returned from Europe while fighting in WWI and Bartleby a hired Wall Street scrivener, each struggle in fitting in with present day society but each struggle comes with a different background. According to Merriam – Webster’s definition for ‘post – traumatic stress disorder’ is, “medical: a mental condition that can affect a person who has had a very shocking or difficult experience (such as fighting in a war) and that is usually characterized by depression, anxiety, etc.”. In World War I times it was known as “shell shock”. All throughout Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” we get the idea that Krebs is diagnosed with that disorder but back then they had no idea what this was. In the quote “He did not want any consequences. He did not want any consequences ever again. He wanted to live along without consequences. Besides he did not really need a girl. The army taught him that.” (Hemingway, 188). My perspective on this quote is that Krebs seems sexist. Basically, he is saying that he does not need a woman because they carry on too much baggage. A very disturbing scene comes up in the story as Krebs is awfully rude to his mother; “yes don’t you love your mother dear boy?” “No” Krebs said. His mother looked at him across the table. Her eyes...
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...A Soldiers Home and How to the War Story Told I decided to choose the “A Soldiers Home” by Ernest Hemingway and “How to tell a War story” by Tim Obrien. I will explain each story and how the story are very similar in theme. “How to Tell a True War Story” examines the complex relationship between the war experience and storytelling. It is told half from O’Brien’s role as a soldier, as a reprise of several old Vietnam stories, and half from his role as a storyteller, as a discourse on the art of storytelling. In Tim O'Brien's short story, "How to Tell a True War Story", Rat Kiley's friend is killed. He writes to his friend's sister and when no response is given, he becomes frustrated. Due to this frustration he calls her a "dumb cooze." Following this O'Brien argues that this is a true war story because it is not moral, never to believe a war story if it seems moral. Next the story jumps to a forest where men need to be quiet for weeks. After a period of time goes by they are no longer sane. They begin to hear noises that scare them, and when they cannot take the silence and the creepiness of the forest they return to camp. When question about their return, the men do not respond, their story is in their eyes and that is enough for anyone who knows that a true war story "never seems to end," it is continuous even after it is done being told. A true war story is also never moral and does not generalize. The truth is so hard to reach. A person can go looking for the moral...
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...that does undergo an important change in the course of the story. More specifically, the changes that we are referring to as being "undergone" here are not changes in circumstances, but changes in some sense within the character in question -- changes in insight or understanding or changes in commitment, in values. The change at stake in this distinction is a change "in" the character of the character. In the stories a soilders home by Ernest Hemmingway and A Good Man is Hard to find by Flannery O connor we see this occur. Many people worry about what happens during war but no one realizes what happens to the young people coming back from war. The young people that go to war will change them dramatically when they come back. In the short story “Soldier’s Home”, by E. Heimingway, he writes about a young man’s after war experience, returning home and into society. In another short story called “Speaking of Courage”, by Tim O’Brien, he too, explores the after effects of war and how it can impact a young person’s life. The short stories, “Soldier’s Home”, by E. Heimingway and “Speaking of Courage”, by Tim O’Brien are more differences than similarities. There are a lot of similarities between the two stories. First of all, both of the stories share the some theme. The theme of both stories is, war makes people engaged at...
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...War Stories Earnest Hemingway and Tim O'Brien both draw from personal experiences in war to write “A Soldiers Home” and “How to Tell a True War Story”. The character Krebs in “Soldiers Home” and the narrator in “How to Tell a True War Story” both display the psychological and emotional tolls that war takes on those who have experienced it. Both of these stories give the reader a view of the experience of war from a soldier’s perspective. While Hemingway focuses the emotional apathy of Krebs, O'Brien's perspective is much more graphic and detailed, with strong descriptions of the scenery, the sights and sounds. The methods used by O'Brien and Hemingway vary, but the end results are similar. Both authors draw from personal experience from war to tell their stories and create the characters there in. In “Soldiers Home” Krebs has a hard time rejoining society. He feels out of touch and unappreciated. This is pointed out when Hemingway states “By the time Krebs returned to his home town in Oklahoma the greeting of heroes was over” (Hemingway 187). Krebs was unable to relate to the people in his home town, as most had already heard the war stories and “His town had heard too many atrocity stories to be thrilled by actualities. Krebs found that to be listened to at all he had to lie, and after he had done this twice he, too, had a reaction against the war and against talking about it” (Hemingway 187). The fact was that the truth was either too boring or too strange. The narrator...
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...Soldier’s Home The short story “Soldier’s Home” is written by the American Nobel Prize winning author, Ernest Hemingway in 1925. Hemingway is acknowledged for his simple, straightforward style of writing, which also comes to expression in this story. This is especially seen in terms of the many short and direct sentences. This short story deals with the main character Harold Krebs, who just has returned from World War One, in where he mainly served in Germany and France. His return however is kind of overwhelming, since it seems like everything has changed in his hometown. In this assignment, my central focus will be on the main character, Krebs, who is an individual of “the lost generation”; a generation who are disoriented and directionless. Krebs does not fit into the post-war society as he returns, he feels like an outsider right from the moment he returns to the town: “People seemed to think it was rather ridiculous for Krebs to be getting back so late, years after the war was over” (p. 344, l. 3-5). For many people it seems odd that Krebs returns so much later, which starts off the main conflict between himself and the local community; Krebs does not feel a need to talk about his war experiences at first unlike the rest of the soldiers, but when he feels a sudden need to talk about his subjective experience with the war, he has to lie about the events in order to make people listen. A dark picture of the society is drawn by Hemingway already from the beginning of the...
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...after being at war and Harold Krebs is no different. Many soldiers who come back from the war are never the same as when they left. They cannot get past the physiological toll it took on them. In the story it says, “He did not want to leave Germany. He did not want to come home” (1). This shows how much of an impact the war had on him. It affected him so much that he would rather stay over in the war zone then come home and try to start a normal, new life. As civilians I don’t think we truly understand what some of the men and women in the armed forces go through when they are overseas. The fact that some of them, like Krebs for example don’t even want to come home shows us how difficult it must be over there. You would think that after being away from your family and friends for so long you would want to come home to them. Especially with all of the horrific stuff they see in battle. Post-traumatic stress disorder affects way more veterans than I think we realize. It is a very serious subject and I think a lot of people over look it. And cannot even begin to imagine some of the stuff those guys see over there and some of the situations they are put in. Taking someone’s life, or witnessing someone’s life being taken, friendly or enemy has to be very difficult. The thought of that moment when you pull the trigger and that person stops breathing has to be stuck in your head for a long time if you never get used to it. Getting home and all you can think about is...
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...Comparison "Soldier's Home" And "Speaking Of Courage" To be engaged in war is to be engaged in an armed conflict. Death is an all too ordinary product of war. It is an unsolicited reward for many soldiers that are fighting for their country’s own fictitious freedom. For some of these men, the battlefield is a glimpse into hell, and for others, it is a means to heaven. Many people worry about what happens during war and what will become of their loved ones while they’re fighting, but few realize what happens to those soldiers once they come home. The short stories "Soldier's Home” by Ernest Hemingway and "Speaking of Courage” by Tim O'Brien explore the thematic after effects of war and how it impacts a young person's life. Young people who go to war come back dramatically changed, and as a result, it is challenging for them to return to their homes. Hemingway’s character, Krebs, and O'Brien’s character, Berlin, similarly demonstrate the consequences of war on the lives of these young returning soldiers. Although they came from historically different wars, Krebs, from World War I, and Berlin, from Vietnam, both experience disillusionment. With regards to the stories’ tones, one can infer that both Berlin and Krebs are men who’ve seen their ideas of valor disappointed. Many join the war in the hopes of becoming somehow closer to their country or their ideals of masculinity, only to see these ideals crushed by war’s harsh reality. These boys both hold stories from their respective...
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...Significance of literature in Hemingway’s writings as a “soldier” Literature as a soldier can be of importance in that it is reflected by one of Hemingway’s writing “Soldier’s home” which depicts the life of a young soldier at war who faces challenges and in the end he returns home. It gives clear information on the experience a soldier faces in the war and the shock the soldier gets when he returns back at home. The main character in the book, Harold Krebs is challenged back in his own hometown by the villagers when he and other soldiers return from the war. He is majorly faced with hostility from his opposition members in the society. He as the soldier in the book, literature is important in that Krebs shows the meaning of repetition, characterization including the symbolism in the field of literature. It is true that literature is given power to display the symbolism giving the literal meaning of the events in the book. With symbolism in the book, “Soldier’s home”; gives a soldier profession to have a meaning that is concrete. It gives war to be the main theme while when Krebs returns home, being a soldier becomes a fascinating idea to him. All this is revealed when he returns back home remembering all the challenges he faced during the war. This gives a learning experience to the reader by understanding the real essence of becoming a soldier. It gives the reader the knowledge to understand the profession of becoming a soldier and prepares the reader to be ready for the task...
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