The Soldier's Home Hemingway Analysis

Some stories, talk about people who went through pain and fear (war), but this story shows what the outcome is. “The Soldier's Home” is a short story that was written by Ernest Hemingway that talk about a man who came back home after three years from the end of the war and want to live a simple life without any lies about war or consequences (responsibility). This story demonstrates the impact of war.

Though the theme of the story talk about civil life after a war, but the setting of the story was in a small town of Oklahoma. The main character of the story is Krebs, he is a soldier that came back to his town after three years of the end of the war. When he wanted to talk about the war people didn’t want to listen because they already heard too many etroctic stories. “ he, too, had a reaction against the war and against talking about it. Adistate for everything that had happened to him in the war set in because of the lies he had told”. The author shows that Krebs starts to tell lies to about his war experience to let people listen to him which doesn't work anyway. He decided not to lie or talk about war again, but he felt that he lost everything.

Krebs wanted to live a simple life because he saw that the world is too complex and he want only to relax and avoid to talk

and lie about his war experiences. “ He did not want to get into the intrigue and the politics. He did not want to have to do any courting. He did not want to tell any more lies.” The author describe Krebs feelings to live with no consequences and simple life which means that Krebs was trying to push people away from him because he doesn’t feel or want to talk (lie) or courting which is what normal people do to live.
The only thing that was able to relieve Krebs was the war book that he was reading. “He looked forward with a good feeling to reading all the really good histories when they would come out with good details maps. Now he was really learning about the war. He had been a good soldier. That made a difference.” The author here give a small hope for Krebs to heal himself. Krebs is not able to talk about war, so he use the book to understand his war experience and if he was a good soldier or not. He wish that the book had more maps to points his experiences and the things he did. He use the book as a means of expression his stories of war.
Things get complicated for Krebs when his mother want him to start his life again like all other soldiers who came back did.

Then she asks him if he loves her and Krebs answer by no, so she start to cry. Then Krebs tell her that he will try to be a good boy for her, then she asks him to come and pray with him and Krebs answer he can’t. So his mother Prayed for him. “Do you want me to pray for you?.” The author give a small picture or scene about another side of Krebs emotional and mental self. Krebs doesn't want to love or pray because he feels like he lost his soul in the war. To him love is just a lie that he don’t want to say and God is just a too complicated thing that he don’t want to

do.
In the end, I think that the story shows a different side of the impacts of war on soldier. Krebs had conflict with himself, life and mother. He wanted to find peace in his life but couldn’t find it in this complex world. He feels as he lost his life back in the war so he is not able to love anymore. I think that Krebs need to understand his war experience for him to be able to live again as a normal person.