Soldier's Home Sparknotes

In a “Soldier’s Home” we find the main character, Krebs, back in his home town trying to figure out how to relate appropriately with the opposite sex. Krebs enlisted in the Marines while a student at a Christian college in Kansas. He served two years from 1917-1919. This was at the end of WWI. The story does not say why Krebs left college to fight in the war but it does later mention that other boys from his home town were drafted for the war. It seems a bit odd that he voluntarily leaves college to go to a war where he may get killed. One can only guess the reasoning for this decision as the author does not tell why. There may have been social pressures or a feeling of patriotic duty. Maybe Krebs was not doing well in school or maybe

Krebs did not fit in at school and used the war as an excuse to drop out without disgrace?

When Krebs returned home he was not greeted with a hero’s welcome.

All the hoop-la had faded because the war had been over for some time. In fact Krebs had joined the Marines towards the end of the war and was deployed well after all the fighting had ceased. Though he had been to several sites of major conflict he himself had not been a part of them. The home town citizens did though want to hear stories of the war and Krebs felt pressure to tell them some. Since he had no stories of his own he lied and told common stories he had heard from other soldiers. He had seen enough of Europe to make the stories believable but he still felt bad telling lies. The lies weighed heavily on Krebs and eventually he avoided interactions with these people so he wouldn’t have to lie

anymore.

A vast majority of the story is about Krebs social interactions with the opposite sex. He is not comfortable with women and seems socially awkward or confused as to how to talk to girls. He really likes the looks of the American girls but would much rather have a German or French girl that he wouldn’t have to talk to since there is a language barrier. He admires the home town girls that walk across the street while he sits on the security of his porch but when in town and in close proximity to these same girls his desire for them fades. Krebs lacks confidence in himself. This may have something to do with how his own father interacts with his mother. His father is “non-committal” and it is quite possible that Krebs has never seen much affections displayed by his father towards his mother. The parents discuss family matters in private and it is left up to the mother to relay the outcome of the conversation to the children. Putting it plainly, Krebs’ father has not shown him how a man talks with a woman.

Krebs also has two younger sisters, one of which has a crush on him.

Krebs likes her as well and describes her as his “best sister!” Helen is her name and she looks to get Krebs to pay her attention, spend time with her and she also looks for his approval. Helen wants Krebs to be her boyfriend. She questions the morality of having these feelings for her brother. She asks her brother if it is okay for brothers and sisters to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Krebs assures her that her feeling are okay and then brushes the conversation off as though it is harmless. Her age is never revealed but she is old enough and coordinated enough to play pitched baseball with the boys. The relationship between Krebs and his sister Helen is evidently growing in an inappropriate way. Helen seems to be the one girl Krebs is comfortable

around.

The relationship Krebs has with his mother is a bit odd as well. Though it is clear Krebs is an adult she treats, speaks and interacts with him on a child’s level. Sometimes Krebs is the child and sometimes they flip roles and the mother takes the child’s place. Krebs seems a bit annoyed at how his mother speaks to him and knows how to push her buttons to get her to flip roles.

In this short story the back drop is a young man returning home from war but the real story is about Krebs lack of confidence with the opposite sex largely due to a father who does not communicate with his children and a mother who babies her first born child.