Soldier's Home Essay

“Soldier’s Home,” by Ernest Hemingway, is about a young man named Harold Kreb and his life after returning home from fighting in a war. Kreb enlisted in the Marines in 1917, and was gone for two years. Upon his return Kreb learns that the townspeople have already welcomed the returning soldiers and he is too late. After his return, Kreb feels disconnected from the people who made him think that he’s a hero, and that he fought in a war that was glamorous. Feeling isolated and angry, Kreb ends up fighting with his mother. Realizing that he can’t have a normal life in this town, Kreb leaves to seek a simple and uncomplicated life in Kansas City. The central idea of this story is that survival should not be dependant on someone compromising their

values.

Kreb, the central character in “Soldier’s Home,” is dynamic.

In the beginning of the story we learn about Kreb’s life before returning home from the war. Having previously been active in a fraternity in college as well as being actively engaged in social settings while over seas, we learn that Kreb enjoyed being in relationships and conversing with people. While Kreb enjoyed the companionship of friends before, he still desired conversations with people after returning home. However, he found it difficult to talk to his hometown friends. Thus he “would not go through all the talking” (253). Kreb realized after returning home that talking to the people in town was on a level of interest that didn’t appeal to him anymore. The principles and ideas they would talk about had changed. Kreb is also dynamic because he changed his view regarding the war. In the beginning, Kreb shared the belief with the townspeople that what he did in the war was glamorous, and heroic. They were excited to talk about it. After Kreb had to lie about what he really did in order for people to listen to him talk, he “had a distaste against the war and against talking about it” (250). Kreb realized it wasn’t as alluring as the townspeople thought. We also see in “Soldier’s Home,” Kreb’s lying is a crucial moment that shows how he’s dynamic. We see it through his change of heart towards being honest. He ultimately supports the central idea, dishonesty shouldn’t be a demand for survival. In the story,

Kreb’s lying leads him to feel “nausea in regard to experience that is the result of untruth or exaggeration” (251). This feeling helps Kreb to understand that if the townspeople are only going to listen if he shares “unimportant lies and consisted in attributing to himself things men had seen, done, or heard of” (251) then he wasn’t going to talk with them at all. Kreb’s ill taste towards lying shows us that being honest is something that he values, and supports the central idea that people shouldn’t change their principles in order to be accepted.

Kreb’s sisters, mother, and father are all supporting characters in “Soldier’s Home.” However, Kreb’s mother is the supporting character of the most importance. As we learned about Kreb and his life after returning home, we are introduced to Kreb’s family and learn about their family dynamics. In this part of the story Kreb has a conversation with his mother regarding his plans for the future. The concern Kreb’s mother has for him shows us just how substantial the change in Kreb is. By her concern with him closing himself off, Kreb’s mother, helped us understand how the change affected Kreb’s life after returning from war.

The main conflict in the story is man versus character as seen through the conversation that Kreb has with his mother.

During this conversation Kreb’s mother attempts to lead Kreb towards the practical path of getting back into society, and having a purpose in life, by asking “have you decided what you are going to do yet” (255) When Kreb doesn’t respond his mother asks him the rhetorical questions of whether he loves his mother. Kreb, feeling embarrassed and resentful, responds by saying “I don’t love anybody” (256). Kreb’s response came from experiencing the destruction of war. Kreb’s harsh answer results in his mother crying. This external conflict, between mother and son, is resolved when Kreb says “I didn’t mean it, I was just angry at something” (256). The external conflict Kreb has with his mother reveals a side of Kreb that was formed from fighting in the

war.

Although the internal conflict Kreb has with himself is crucial in supporting the central conflict, the main supporting conflict is man versus society as seen through Kreb struggle with adjusting to normal life after returning home from the war. We see in the beginning of this story that the conflict begins by Kreb having to compromise on his values to be able to share his stories, and later progresses to Kreb not wanting to talk to anyone at all because “it was not worth the trouble” (252). This conflict is emphasized a great deal in the story and is important because it reveal the reason behind the central conflict, Kreb’s conversation with his mother.