Symbolism In Soldier's Home By Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” is about a young U.S. Marine who goes by the name of Krebs. He returns home from WWI to find that nothing in his hometown has changed. Krebs parents never acknowledge him for his sacrificed and dedication to serve in the war. He suffers from post-war trauma and depression. While trying to tell his family and friends about his war stories he realizes that no one wants to listen to anymore war stories. Krebs must make up lies so that people will listen, only to dig himself into a deeper hole of more lies. Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism, irony, and setting to present a them about the challenges veterans face when reentering civilian life.

Hemingway uses symbolism to describe how soldiers have the inability to lead a normal life and the struggles that are faced after

coming home from war. Krebs struggles with adjusting back to a normal lifestyle. When Krebs got back home from the war things were not much different in his hometown like he expected it to be. Krebs spent some of his time during the day reading books about war, “It was history and he was reading about all the engagements he had been in.” (Hemingway 3). Krebs tried comparing himself to other soldiers and felt that he was never a true hero of the war. He continued reading books and looking at different maps of the war. He started feeling better about his war life realizing that “He had been a good soldier. That made a difference.” (Hemingway 3). The book Krebs is reading seems to be the only thing he finds interesting after coming home from the war. This shows symbolism because Krebs finds it difficult to face the experiences he has been through. He is not able to forget about the war and has a hard time living a normal life. Ernest Hemingway uses the book on war as a symbol of the difficulties soldiers have trying to live a normal life after experiencing a very tragic and deadly event.
Hemingway incorporates irony in this short story to show the theme of the challenges Krebs faced when reentering civilian life. When Krebs returns home he expects his hometown to be different and unfortunately things are still the exact same as they were when he left. Krebs returns from the war in 1919, a year after the other soldiers had returned home. When he first arrived home he “did not want to talk about the war at all.” (Hemingway 1). After while Krebs decided he wanted to talk about his experience only to find out “no one wanted to hear about it.” (Hemingway 1). Everyone in his hometown had already heard too many stories and were not ready to hear about his time in the war. Krebs knew that to be heard all he had to do was lie to make his war stories sound interesting. Krebs finds his lies make him feel nauseated because of his untruthfulness. “Krebs finds himself telling these lies because dishonesty is the path of least resistance, even though it causes a “‘nausea in regard to experience that is the result of untruth and exaggeration.’” (Smelstor 3793). Hemingway uses this as irony to show that as a veteran returning home from war many people would be ready to hear all about the stories and thank them for their service. No one wanted to listen, and Krebs had to make up lies just to be heard. Another ironic part of the story is when Krebs’ mother talks to him about finding a job and about religion. “Mrs. Krebs asks Krebs what he intends to do with his life. She confronts him about the other young men in their community are already doing.” (“Overview: ‘Soldier’s Home’”). Instead of Krebs’ mother and father appreciating him for his service in the war, and his sacrifice they almost make it seem like he has done nothing with his life. His family expects him to return to a productive life after coming home from the war. No one understands him or the stories he tells. He is disconnected from the world he used to live in before the war. The photo mentioned of Krebs and his fraternity brothers fail to show the real involvement he had during the war. “The inadvertently comic photo of Krebs in uniform exemplifies his awkward struggle to be regarded at home as a good soldier, a Marine who has endured the slaughter of the Western front.” (Kennedy and Curnutt 11p). He struggles with showing people that he was a true soldier and he cannot even make his parents see that he was a hero. This is another reason why Krebs isolates himself from his family and his surroundings. Hemingway shows that Krebs has a difficult time proving to his family and community that he was a real hero and did something that not many people would do, fight in the war.
Lastly, the setting gives insight into Krebs’ life during war and when he returned home from war.

The story opens with a photo of Krebs “attending Methodist college in Kansas before enlisting in the Marines to fight in World War I.” (“Overview: ‘Soldier’s Home’”). Krebs was in the Europe nation where he engaged in WWI. Many American veterans returned from fighting in areas such as Europe and Germany. After the war, Krebs returns to his small-town home in Oklahoma. The war ended in 1918 however, Krebs did not return home until 1919. When Krebs returns, “He is home, but it is no soldier’s home to which he has returned.” (Smelstor 3793). Krebs fills his day with sleep, reading, playing pool, and watching all the pretty girls from his porch. Throughout the story, the only way Krebs can draw in attention is by making up lies about his involvement in the war. His mother begs him to get a job and they pray together. “After this emotional lie, Harold Krebs decides to leave the Oklahoma town, go to Kansas City for a job, and live his life simply and smoothly.” (Smelstor 3794). In the end, Soldier’s Home represents only a place that is no longer what Krebs once called

“home.”
Soldier’s Home has a strong relation to the experience soldiers have after war and the effects war has them. Hemingway uses symbolism to show readers what Krebs was dealing with after fighting in a horrific war. The use of irony and setting are evident in the short story to prove that not every soldier is able to adjust back to a normal life. Not everyone appreciates a soldier that has sacrificed or served in the war. Through this story, Hemingway proves that it is not easy to for soldiers to adjust back to a normal life as a war veteran especially when they expect things to be different when they return home as a civilian. Civilians must live openly for their wounds to heal or there will never be peace at home.