Hemingway's The Unfortunate Tale of Harlod Krebs

1791 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Emotional and psychological effects of war on soldiers

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.
No one cared anymore. That was the first reality that Harold faced when he finally returned home:
By the time Krebs returned to his hometown in Oklahoma the greeting of heroes was over. He came back much too late. The men from the town who had been drafted had all been welcomed elaborately on their return. There had been a great deal of hysteria. Now the reaction had set in. People seemed to think it was rather ridiculous for Krebs to be getting back so late, years after the war was over. (1)
To make matters worse, Harold wasn’t a common soldier. He had fought in some of the bloodiest and most horrifying battles of the war. Literary critic Charles Oliver even claims, “Krebs had fought at Belleau Wood, Soissons, Champagne, Saint-Mihiel, and in the Argonne Forest, all important battles in the war, involving serious American losses. Fighting in any one of those battles would be enough to traumatize a young U.S. Marine, but he had fought in all five.” If anyone deserved a hero’s welcome, it w...

... middle of paper ...

...at developed in early childhood. All in all, Hemingway was a literary genius who’s unique experiences gave way for some of the greatest non-fiction stories of the 20th century.
Works Cited

Becnel, Kim. "Soldier's Home." Bloom's How to Write about Ernest Hemingway. Bloom's Literature.
Bernardo, Karen. "An Analysis of Ernest Hemingway's 'Soldier's Home.'"
Storybites.
"Ernest Hemingway FAQ: Themes." Timeless Hemingway.
Hemingway, Ernest. The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway. New York: Scribner's, 1987. Print.
Oliver, Charles. "'Soldier's Home.'" Critical Companion to Ernest Hemingway: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion.
Tyler, Lisa. Student Companion to Ernest Hemingway. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001. Print.
Werlock, Abby. "Soldier's Home." Facts on File Companion to the American Short Story 2 (1925): Bloom's Literature.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of David Snead's An American Soldier In World War I

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    In An American Soldier in World War I, David Snead examines account of George Browne, a civil engineer who fought as part of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) during World War I. Snead shares Browne’s account of the war through the letters he wrote to his fiancé Martha Ingersoll Johnson. Through Browne’s letters and research conducted of the AEF, Snead gives a concise, informative, and harrowing narrative of life as a soldier serving in the camps and front lines of the Great War. Snead attempts to give the reader an understanding of Browne’s service by focusing on his division, the 42nd Division, their training and preparation, combat on the front lines, and the effects of war on George and Martha’s relationship. As Snead describes, “Brownie’s letters offer a view of the experiences of an American soldier. He described the difficulties of training, transit to and from France, the dangers and excitement of combat, and the war’s impact on relationships.” (Browne 2006, 2) Furthermore, he describes that despite the war’s effect on their relationship, “their

    Read More

  • The Things They Carried 'By Tim O' Brien: An Analysis

    1640 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tina Chen’s critical essay provides information on how returning soldiers aren’t able to connect to society and the theme of alienation and displacement that O’Brien discussed in his stories. To explain, soldiers returning from war feel alienated because they cannot come to terms with what they saw and what they did in battle. Next, Chen discusses how O’Brien talks about soldiers reminiscing about home instead of focusing in the field and how, when something bad happens, it is because they weren’t focused on the field. Finally, when soldiers returned home they felt alienated from the country and

    Read More

  • Comparing Soldier's Home 'And' In Another Country

    1853 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Mother and Son in The Wars by Timothy Findley

    2021 Words  | 5 Pages

    World War One or “The War To End All Wars” was one of the most devastating events in the history of humankind. When looking back at such a gruesome war it is understandable that we might dwell on the key battles and tactics, which are often summarized by statistics on death tolls. However, we often forget that statistics create an illusion that warps our perception of death. As Stalin put it “One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is just a statistic”. In the novel “The Wars” by Timothy Findley, the author draws away from traditional war stories by showing a true appreciation for life that truly touches the reader on a human and emotional level. Timothy Findley narrows in something anyone can relate to: a loving mother worried about her son risking his life in a war. This mother in the “The Wars” is Mrs. Ross, who represents the home front while her son, Robert Ross, fights for the British in World War One. As the book progresses and Robert gets further into the death trap known as the “Great War”, Mrs. Ross becomes increasingly obsessive and connected to her son as his fate becomes more clear.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Soldiers Home By Hemingway

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Hemingway’s short story “Soldier’s Home”, Hemingway introduces us to a young American soldier, that had just arrived home from World War I. Harold Krebs, our main character, did not receive a warm welcome after his arrival, due to coming home a few years later than most soldiers. After arriving home, it becomes clear that World War I has deeply impacted the young man, Krebs is not the same man that headed off to the war. The war had stripped the young man of his coping mechanism, female companionship, and the ability to achieve the typical American life.

    Read More

  • The First World War: A Brief History with Documents

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...though people believe that, those on the home front have it just as a bad as the soldiers, because they have to deal with the responsibilities of their husbands, there is nothing that can compare to what these men have gone through. The war itself consumed them of their ideology of a happy life, and while some might have entered the war with the hope that they would soon return home, most men came to grips with the fact that they might never make it out alive. The biggest tragedy that follows the war is not the number of deaths and the damages done, it is the broken mindset derives from being at war. These men are all prime examples of the hardships of being out at war and the consequences, ideologies, and lifestyles that develop from it.

    Read More

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    World War I had a great effect on the lives of Paul Baumer and the young men of his generation. These boys’ lives were dramatically changed by the war, and “even though they may have escaped its shells, [they] were destroyed by the war” (preface). In Erich Maria Remarque’s novel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Paul Baumer and the rest of his generation feel separated from the other men, lose their innocence, and experience comradeship as a result of the war.

    Read More

  • All Quiet On The Western Front Critical Analysis

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    While soldiers are often perceived as glorious heroes in romantic literature, this is not always true as the trauma of fighting in war has many detrimental side effects. In Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet On The Western Front, the story of a young German soldier is told as he adapts to the harsh life of a World War I soldier. Fighting along the Western Front, nineteen year old Paul Baumer and his comrades begin to experience some of the hardest things that war has to offer. Paul’s old self gradually begins to deteriorate as he is awakened to the harsh reality of World War 1, depriving him from his childhood, numbing all normal human emotions and distancing the future, reducing the quality of his life. At the age of nineteen, Paul naively enlists in World War 1, blind to the fact he has now taken away his own childhood.

    Read More

  • Why I Want To Attend College

    196 Words  | 1 Pages

    My purpose and goals in attending college is to make something of my life. It is a good thing. No one wants to be a nobody. But sometimes it takes time in order for one to realize this. & nbsp;    Upon graduation from high school, I, like the majority of others high school graduates, had no clue what direction my life was heading or even what I wanted to become.

    Read More

  • In Another Country of Hemingway

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    What has been existed in life after the war? Nobody knows "how it was going to be afterward." Man's life will be totally changed. They will be unable to come back with their natural and normal life. They seem lost everything; their families, their hobbies, their lives, and they'll has nothing from the war's ravages. The image of soldiers of Hemingway' story has sustained injuries due to fighting on the battlefield inflects that they will never be the same again. One of the men' knees "cannot bend" and his leg "dropped straight from the knee to the ankle without a calf" and another with his hand like a little baby's. The devastating injuries due to the war changed these soldiers' lives forever. Before the war, they had a normal life; the boy with the injured leg loved playing football, other was the greatest fencer in Italy. From now on, their hobbies are really gone forever although all efforts to help them rejuvenate to do. And the boy who lost his nose will never be looked as a normal person again. The war is so horrible with its devastation not only on the physical but also the motional.

    Read More

  • College Essay: Why I Want To Go To College

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    The life I have had so far has taught me a lot about academic and life skills; from when I was about six to the age I am now. I am always learning and happy to learn new things. I might not know what I want right now, but I do know that I want something for my life; I want to go to college, so I could make the future I see happen. As you 're reading this you 're probably asking yourself why? Why does going and graduating college mean so much to her? What makes her different from all the others? Well, to answer all those questions you would have to continue reading as I explain some of the moments in my life, in which they brought me to the conclusion that I have to go to college.

    Read More

  • Why I Go To College Essay

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    When I hear the word college, I automatically think of books, education, and learning. When I reflect on the reasons why I go to college, the first thing that comes to mind is my mother. The more I think about it, the more I realize the reason why I attend college is to not only learn, but create a path to where I want to head in life. I attend college to seek the best path ahead and work hard in order to give back to the most ambitious woman I know, my mother.

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact Of War In The Wars By Timothy Findley

    1408 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many individuals look at soldiers for hope and therefore, add load to them. Those that cannot rationally overcome these difficulties may create Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tragically, some resort to suicide to get away from their insecurities. Troops, notwithstanding, are not by any means the only ones influenced by wars; relatives likewise encounter mental hardships when their friends and family are sent to war. Timothy Findley precisely depicts the critical impact wars have on people in his novel by showing how after-war characters are not what they were at the beginning.

    Read More

  • Effects of War in "In Another Country" by Earnest Hemingway

    592 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Why Should Everyone Go To College Essay

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    Most people cannot go wrong with pursuing a higher education. How is college beneficial? College is beneficial for academic, financial, and social reasons. This is a highly debated topic. Some think that to benefit academically, financially, and socially, people do not have to go to college. On the other hand, some people think that going to college is the only way to do so.

    Read More

More about Hemingway's The Unfortunate Tale of Harlod Krebs

Open Document