Soldier s Home
“Soldier’s Home”
The story “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway brought to life the trauma of return into one’s old life. The story was told from a third-point of view and its main character was Harold Krebs, a young man who had recently returned from the war. The story took place in Krebs hometown in Oklahoma. The central theme of the story was the change Harold made during his permanence in war. Through out the story, readers could assume that Harold Krebs left his hometown being one man and came back being another one. The author introduced Krebs as a man changed socially and emotionally. At the beginning of the story the writer described a picture in which he was in college with his fraternity brothers, which made me assume that previous to the war Harold had friends and a social life. However, Hemingway did not reveal so much information about Krebs’ life before going to war and that let me with the intrigue of knowing more about Krebs.
In this story, Hemingway summarized Krebs’ day so that reader could understand better his detachment and isolation from the world. After he returned from the war, he did not talked to anyone and most of time he was by his own. In addition, the war did not only wounded Harold Krebs emotionally but also religiously. In fact, the author made known that Krebs attended a Methodist College, which let its readers assume that he had some interest in religion. Yet, when he came back home, I found several statements in the story that suggested that he had lost his interest in religion. “God has some work for everyone to do,” his mother said. “There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom.” “I’m not in His Kingdom,” Krebs said. Undoubtedly, the inhumanities he saw in war affected him so much that he lost his faith in God. He became a rejected and lonely person. One thing that caught my attention was how Krebs admitted to his mother that he did not love anyone. After seeing his mother crying he felt guilty and called her “mummy” while
The story “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway brought to life the trauma of return into one’s old life. The story was told from a third-point of view and its main character was Harold Krebs, a young man who had recently returned from the war. The story took place in Krebs hometown in Oklahoma. The central theme of the story was the change Harold made during his permanence in war. Through out the story, readers could assume that Harold Krebs left his hometown being one man and came back being another one. The author introduced Krebs as a man changed socially and emotionally. At the beginning of the story the writer described a picture in which he was in college with his fraternity brothers, which made me assume that previous to the war Harold had friends and a social life. However, Hemingway did not reveal so much information about Krebs’ life before going to war and that let me with the intrigue of knowing more about Krebs.
In this story, Hemingway summarized Krebs’ day so that reader could understand better his detachment and isolation from the world. After he returned from the war, he did not talked to anyone and most of time he was by his own. In addition, the war did not only wounded Harold Krebs emotionally but also religiously. In fact, the author made known that Krebs attended a Methodist College, which let its readers assume that he had some interest in religion. Yet, when he came back home, I found several statements in the story that suggested that he had lost his interest in religion. “God has some work for everyone to do,” his mother said. “There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom.” “I’m not in His Kingdom,” Krebs said. Undoubtedly, the inhumanities he saw in war affected him so much that he lost his faith in God. He became a rejected and lonely person. One thing that caught my attention was how Krebs admitted to his mother that he did not love anyone. After seeing his mother crying he felt guilty and called her “mummy” while