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Soldier's home by ernest hemingway analysis
Soldier's home by ernest hemingway analysis
Meaning of soldier's home
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“Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway is about a Methodist College student that goes to war from Kansas. When Krebs comes back from war, he starts a life of lying and deceit that he finds difficult to escape. Krebs continues lying about the past and his present in Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home.” Hemingway conveys Krebs’ inability to embrace the truth of the past and the present through plot in the exposition, conflict, and climax. The protagonist in “Soldier’s Home,” Harold Krebs, begins lying in the exposition about his experiences in war. The first sentence of the short story says, “Krebs went to the war from a methodist college in Kansas.” Ernest Hemingway depicts Krebs as a religious person because he specifically mentions Krebs going to a methodist college, but later on in the short story readers find that Krebs lies about his faith. When Krebs returns from the war he discovers, “That to be listened to at all he had to lie….” At this point in the exposition Krebs begins his treacherous journey into the world of lying and deceit. Krebs continues by saying, “ His …show more content…
[Krebs] lies were quite unimportant lies and consisted in attributing to himself things other men had seen, done, or heard of and stating as facts certain apocryphal incidents familiar to all soldiers.” Although Krebs believes his lies are unimportant, he realizes that it is much easier to lie to the people he encounters. The exposition is only the beginning of Krebs’ journey into the world of lying. Harold’s journey of deceit continues in the conflict of the story.
The conflict begins with Krebs’ sister asking, “‘Do you love me?’ ‘Uh, huh’ ‘Will you love me always?’ ‘Sure.’” In this quote Krebs’ sister assures that Harold still loves her, despite Harold not going to her softball game. However, Krebs later says, “I don’t love anybody.” Krebs then proves that he lied to his sister about loving her. Furthermore, Krebs lies, once again, to his mother, “‘God has work for everyone… No idle hands in his kingdom’...’I’m not in his kingdom.’” Earlier in the story Hemingway mentions that Krebs went to a methodist college. Because of this, readers believe that Harold is a religious person; however, when Harold says “I’m not in his kingdom,” readers believe the opposite. The conflict of “Soldier’s Home” supplies an abundant amount of evidence that Harold cannot embrace the truth of his past or
presence. In conclusion, Harold Krebs lies in order to avoid embracing the truth about his past and present. Harold lies about his past experiences in the war, and his feelings toward others. Ernest Hemingway depicts Harold’s deceptions through the plot in the exposition, conflict, and climax of his story, “Soldier’s Home.”
This Newberry award nominated book, written by Irene Hunt, tells the story of the “home life” of her grandfather, Jethro, during the Civil War. Not only does it give a sense of what it is like to be in the war but also it really tells you exactly what the men leave behind. Jethro is forced to make hard decisions, and face many hardships a boy his age shouldn't have to undergo. This is an admirable historical fiction book that leaves it up to the reader to decide if being at home was the superior choice or if being a soldier in the war was.
In “Soldier’s Home,” the main character Krebs exhibits grief, loneliness. When he returns home with the second group of soldiers he is denied a hero's return. From here he spends time recounting false tales of his war times. Moving on, in the second page of the story he expresses want but what he reasons for not courting a female. A little while after he is given permission to use the car. About this time Krebs has an emotional exchange with both his little sister and his mother. Revealing that “he feels alienated from both the town and his parents , thinking that he had felt more ‘at home’ in Germany or France than he does now in his parent’s house”(Werlock). Next, the story ends with his mother praying for him and he still not being touched. Afterwards planning to move to Kansas city to find a job. Now, “The importance of understanding what Krebs had gone through in the two years before the story begins cannot be overstated. It is difficult to imagine what it must have been for the young man”(Oliver). Near the start of the story the author writes of the five major battles he “had been at”(Hemingway) in World War I- Bellaue Wood, Soissons, Champagne, St.Mihiel, and Argonne. The importance of these are shown sentences later that the
Krebs is a detached being who just wants to keep his life as uncomplicated as possible. He doesn't receive the same hearty welcome as his fellow soldiers, thanks to his returning home so much later than the rest. At first he doesn't want to talk about the war, presumably because of the atrocities he experienced there, but when he later feels the need to talk about it, no one w...
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.
The first area of symbolism in “Soldier’s Home” is Krebs false war stories. Krebs false war stories represents his need to cope with the realities of war. Krebs
The main point of “Vagueness and ambiguity in Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” two puzzling passages” is to describe what made Ernest Hemingway’s character Krebs such a mysterious dynamic character and how was his influences impacted on who he is. Milton Cohen describes how Hemingway use the “iceberg technique” to enhance readers to figure out the missing idea on what’s being interpreted in Krebs mind. At the beginning of the article Cohen use the word “vagueness” which means to not have a clear sight or any other senses that is recognizable in an indefinite way (Cohen 159). Statements that Cohen have noted about Hemingway’s story being too vague included the two passages that exaggerating his war stories towards others and the idea for Krebs to
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.
...She does not act like the other girls, most of the time yet, she does want Krebs to fit into to a role -- her beau -- and fulfil obligations -- going to her indoor baseball game. Those two attributes together cause Krebs to be fonder of his sister than anyone else and at the same time push her away. Krebs even pushes away his mother because she tries to diligently to convince him to conform. Thus causing Krebs’s to say he does not love her, the ultimate form of rejection a child can do to a parent. Due to guilt Krebs does agree to conform but struggles with his decision. Ernest Hemingway’s character Harold Krebs tries to reject conforming to society but in the end he realizes that he can not escape it and grapple with reality.
There are two words most often heard when discussing the aftermath of World War I: shell-shock and isolation. Devastating injuries, high body counts, and lack of communication with loved ones left US soldiers feeling as if they were all alone. Ernest Hemingway draws on this and many of his personal experiences in his short story to convey the hardships that soldiers returning from war endure in “Soldier’s Home”. In the unfortunate tale of Harold Krebs, a young man returns home from WWI only to be thrown into an environment almost as oppressing as the one he was just in. For Harold alienation is a sad reality he can’t seem to escape. His involvement in the war drastically changes how Harold interacts with his family and society as a whole.
“His lies were quite unimportant lies and consisted in attributing to himself things other men had seen, done, or heard of…” (187) “Soldiers Home” is a fantastic story which relays the problems that many soldiers have when they return home. The story takes place in a small town in Oklahoma, where nothing ever seems to change, almost like living under a dome. Krebs, our main character, is one of the last to return home, and is jarred that nothing has changed except him. Krebs then spends his days sleeping, reading the paper, and playing pool. The story of Krebs is interestingly told due to the character himself, the author’s oddly setting driven style, and the story’s overall theme.
Harold Krebs was a soldier in World War 1 who got back afew months later than the rest of the men from his town. He was forced to tell lies about his war experiences in order to get along and fit in with the people in his town. “His lies were quite unimportant lies and consisted in attributing to himself things other men had seen, done or heard of, and stating as facts certain apocryphal incidents familiar to all soldiers” (Hemingway 654). Even though the lies did not really matter in the overall scheme of things, the lies impacted Krebs. The lies Krebs made changed him and devalued his actual war experiences. Krebs was aware that if he continues to lie he would no longer be true to himself. “In ‘Soldier’s Home,’ Hemingway uses conflict to show how society demands conformity and the unfair struggl...
The novel "Soldier's Home" manifests that in order for life to go smoothly with no complications there are solutions with taking the easy path. One way this work proves this point is through a theme. Theme is a central message through the literary work. In the story, Hemingway mentioned, "Vaguely he wanted a girl, but he did not want to work to get her" stating how Krebs wanted to get a girlfriend (Hemingway 2). Also as Krebs discussed with his mother about what he was going to do with his life, Krebs actions were to get a job to please her. He comprehended that getting the job k...
The story, A Soldiers Home, is about a man in conflict with the past and present events in his life. The young man’s name is Harold Krebs. He recently returned from World War 1 to find everything almost exactly the same as when he left. He moved back into his parents house, where he found the same car sitting in the same drive way. He also found the girls looking the same, except now they all had short hair. When he returned to his home town in Oklahoma the hysteria of the soldiers coming home was all over. The other soldiers had come home years before Krebs had so everyone was over the excitement. When he first returned home he didn’t want to talk about the war at all. Then, when he suddenly felt the urge and need to talk about it no one wanted to hear about it. When he returned all of the other soldiers had found their place in the community, but Harold needed more time to find his place. In the mean time he plays pool, “practiced on his clarinet, strolled down town, read, and went to bed.”(Hemingway, 186) When his mother pressures him to get out and get a girlfriend and job, he te...
Hemingway’s characters exemplify the effects of combat because World War I had a negative impact on them; the veterans lead meaningless lives filled with masculine uncertainty. Jake and his friends (all veterans) wander aimlessly throughout the entire novel. Their only goal seems to be finding an exciting restaurant or club where they will spend their time. Every night consists of drinking and dancing, which serves as a distraction from their very empty lives. The alcohol helps the characters escape from their memories from the war, but in the end, it just causes more commotion and even evokes anger in the characters. Their years at war not only made their lives unfulfilling but also caused the men to have anxiety about their masculinity, especially the narrator Jake, who “gave more than his life” in the war (Hemingway). Jake feels that the war took away his manhood because he is unable to sleep with Brett as a result of an injury. Although he wants to have a relationship with Brett, and spends most of his time trying to pursue her, she rejects him because he cannot have a physical relationship with her. At several points in the novel, Brett and Jake imagine what their lives could have been like together, had he not been injured during the war. Thus, his physical injury gives him emotional distress because he cannot have a relationship with the woman he always wanted. The traditional American perception of...
The short story “In Another Country” by Earnest Hemingway is a story about the negative effects of war. The story follows an unnamed American officer and his dealings with three other officers, all of whom are wounded in World War I and are recuperating in Milan, Italy. In war, much can be gained such as freedom and peace, however war also causes a plethora of negative consequences. Cultural alienation, loss of physical and emotional identity, and the irony of war technology and uncertainty of life are all serious consequences of war that are clearly shown by Hemingway.