In the story “Soldier’s Home”, the protagonist, Harold Krebs, returned home from World War II much later than the other men from his town had. The townsfolk had already welcomed home the other soldiers, sailors, and marines, giving them an outlet to relate the stories they had from the war and begin the process of healing through finding relative ground with those around them. Once Harold had returned to his hometown, the townsfolk had grown sick of hearing of the atrocities of the war and wanted to put that behind them. This left no avenue for Harold to find closure from all of the horrors he experienced and causing him to withdraw from those with whom he once felt a connection; such as his mother, father, sisters, and women in general.
American soldiers have battled in conflicts they were involuntarily forced into by the draft, only to recognize the war formed within their minds would never truly cease and become a destructive syndrome hampering their ability to cope with society. In 1919, by Toni Morrison and The Red Convertible, by Louise Erdrich, Shadrack and Henry Lamartine are both attempted to reintroduce themselves into society, but suffered extreme psychological damage implanted by their experiences in military conflict. Although Shadrack and Henry attempted the same feat, they were still subject to differences caused by the era of their existence and the situation they were reintroduced into. Both Shadrack and Henry endured extensive amounts of Post-Traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short, causing virtually intolerable difficulties and consequently, exposing the idea of either Shadrack or Henry mentally returning to their pre-war psychological state as a fabricated hope.
Promises that men make have been connected with man since the beginning of time, and are the rocks for many human bonds. Breaking these covenants, disregarding the promise made to one’s family or going against ones’ word can be seen as a potential character flaw. One emotional and physical trauma of wartime is the choice to disregard a prior family commitment. Evidence of broken bonds can be seen through news articles on the Texas Revolutionary War, books on the Civil War, letters about World War I, textbooks including information on World War II, and journals from Vietnam. Discovering the existence of broken promises for self-preservation exhibits the importance of understanding the depth of wartime and the emotional trials placed on soldiers and victims of war rather than their family.
Some stories, talk about people who went through pain and fear (war), but this story shows what the outcome is. “The Soldier's Home” is a short story that was written by Ernest Hemingway that talk about a man who came back home after three years from the end of the war and want to live a simple life without any lies about war or consequences (responsibility). This story demonstrates the impact of war.
Hemingway's "Soldier's Home" depicts a young man in his early twenties after his return from World War I. The young man, Krebs, has arrived home too late. Thus, he doesn't receive the adulation of the town as the others did. This first loss was the beginning of a long inward journey for Krebs. His unwillingness, then inability, to discuss his part in the war with others immediately had an effect on Krebs. He was unable to get some form of closure, something which he direly needed. Due to the extravagant stories foretold by others, Krebs was forced to lie in order to fit in.
An emotional burden that the men must carry is the longing for their loved ones. The Vietnam War forced many young men to leave their loved ones and move halfway across the world to fight a ...
...n amnesiac nation into “working through” its troubled past.” (Bly ,189) Story telling was the soldier’s salvation, their survival method. Being able to tell their stories let them express everything they were feeling and ultimately cope with the horrors of war and the guilt the carried.
Many people question if Guy Sajer, author of The Forgotten Soldier, is an actual person or only a fictitious character. In fact, Guy Sajer in not a nom de plume. He was born as Guy Monminoux in Paris on 13 January 1927. At the ripe young age of 16, while living in Alsace, he joined the German army. Hoping to conceal his French descent, Guy enlisted under his mother's maiden name-Sajer. After the war Guy returned to France where he became a well known cartoonist, publishing comic books on World War II under the pen name Dimitri.
In a family there is a special bond, but when war becomes part of the family’s life, it slowly deteriorat what was once a loving relationship of the soldier and his/her family to an isolation between the individual and their family. Based on the short story, Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy , TIm O’Brien used imagery to help readers envisioned a soldier desired of returning home. O’ Brien constantly used the word pretend to displayed the relationship between a family and the soldier during war. “He was pretending he was a boy again, camping with his father in the midnight summer along the Des Moines River… He pretended his father would be there by the campfire and they would talk softly about whatever came to mind and then rolled into their sleeping bags, and that they’d wake up and it would be morning, and there would not be a war…” (O’Brien 622) According to O’Brien, soldiers seek for his/her family during stressful circumstances of the war.
In the story “A Soldier’s Home,” by Ernest Hemingway, talks about how a soldier life were effected by war. “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 1). Hemingway is writing about this solider name Krebs, who been through war and how he’s life has change because of war. Hemingway goes on writing about how this soldier lost his belief on something that used to be ok and then suddenly it’s not ok anymore, “A distaste for everything that
Returning home from war is something that can be devastating for a soldier. Everything and everyone around you has changed. People no longer look the same. Places no longer look the same or are now nonexistent. Life as you know it is not the life you knew at all. In “Soldier’s Home,” Ernest Hemingway describes the way life was and life is now for soldier Harold Krebs.
In the story “Home Soil” by Irene Zabytko, the reader is enlightened about a boy who was mentally and emotionally drained from the horrifying experiences of war. The father in the story knows exactly what the boy is going through, but he cannot help him, because everyone encounters his or her own recollection of war. “When their faces are contorted from sucking the cigarette, there is an unmistakable shadow of vulnerability and fear of living. That gesture and stance are more eloquent than the blood and guts war stories men spew over their beers” (Zabytko 492). The father, as a young man, was forced to reenact some of the same obligations, yet the father has learne...
The transformation from teenage years into adulthood can cause a person to realize that it is time to discover one’s position in the world. Several make this transition easily while others struggle to receive acceptance amongst their surroundings. In the short story “Soldiers Home” Harold Krebs image is in photographs that are the key to how his own life transforming from a young fraternity boy then into mature soldier in World War I. Not to mention, a third portrait happens in images printed on pages of the short story, showing the young soldier’s character unable to “accept the old norms” once returning from the war (DeFalco 90). This triggers Kreb towards isolation in dealing with his family and society, all things considering he begins exhibiting traits of being lonely, a liar to survive in the town he calls home, and uncertainty in regards to his future cause him towards be lazy.
Not many people in society can empathize with those who have been in a war and have experienced war firsthand. Society is unaware that many individuals are taken away from their families to risk their lives serving in the war. Because of this, families are left to wonder if they will ever get to see their sons and daughters again. In a war, young men are taken away from their loved ones without a promise that they will get to see them again. The survivors come back with frightening memories of their traumatic experiences. Although some would argue that war affects families the most, Tim O’Brien and Kenneth W. Bagby are able to convey the idea that war can negatively impact one’s self by causing this person long lasting emotional damage.
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 have anyone genuinely interested in him enough to take the time to find out what's going on in his mind and heart. Krebs is in a battle after the battle.
In Soldier’s Home, Ernest Hemingway is a story about a young soldier returning to his home town, bring home some drama to his life that he collected in war. Trying to find himself within his family members, despising the lies he is hearing. Having some sort of trouble to fit back into the society, living the life he once lived before he was sent to war. Harold Krebs suddenly felt trapped in his own world. The main theme of the story was the change Krebs made during his permanence in war, his emotional roller coaster that he saw at war that would affect him permanently. The writer described Krebs as a person who lost it all when he came back home, he has to choose isolation by detaching himself from social relations, love, religion. The writer wrote this story out of his experience and emotion in Krebs personality, which illustrates the insights into his arrival home and his understanding of the dilemmas of the returned war veteran.