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Introduction
Hemingways The Soldiers Home is a story of a war veteran who faces the dilemma of choosing between being a welcomed member of his old social circle and staying true to his morals and ideals. When the books main character Krebs returns to his hometown, he is forced to deal with the fact that no one there accepts him for what he has become after the war. In his desperate attempt to get any sort of recognition, the protagonist gets himself deep in a web of sickening lies. As the plot unfolds, the moral burden grows more oppressive every day until Krebs cannot sustain the pressure anymore.
About the Author
The author, Ernest Hemingway, was born in Oak Park, a small town near Chicago on July 21, 1899. He was not only a prolific writer, but also a trendsetter and an influencer his style had a significant impact on the literature of the 20th century. In addition to producing many brilliant novels and short stories, and winning the Nobel Prize in 1954, Hemingway served his country in the First World War as an ambulance driver in the army. Similar to Krebs, his life after the war was far from smooth; it was ridden with danger and suffering and eventually ended when Ernest committed suicide in 1961.
Plot and Setting
The story begins when a young war veteran Krebs returns to his home town in Oklahoma in the summer of 1919. He does not get any recognition because people seemed to think it was rather ridiculous for Krebs to be getting back so late, years after the war was over (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 91). While at first, the lack of attention does not bother Krebs, who does not want to talk about the war anyway, when he changes his mind, it becomes a problem. To interest people in his stories, the protagonist has to lie, which gives him a distaste for everything that had happened to him in the war (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 92). Ultimately, the half-fictional stories do not excite anyone either, as there are already much more extreme ones.
As Krebs forfeits his attempts to gain attention, he begins to spend his days partaking in various forms of leisure activities. The protagonist notices that nothing about the town has changed from the time he left, except that the young girls had grown up (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 93). Despite liking the girls appearance, he does not want to become involved with them. He does not object to having a girl, but he hates the thought of what getting one would take, he does not want to lie anymore.
The final episode of this short story takes place in the kitchen, where Krebs sister Helen asks him to watch her play baseball that afternoon. After that, Krebs has a talk with their mother, at the end of which she asks, Dont you love your mother dear boy? to which he replies without thinking No (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 97). Realizing his mistake, he apologizes, and the mother prays for him before he leaves the house to see Helens game. The story ends with Krebs going to Kansas City to live a quiet life.
Characters
Krebs is the central character of this story; he is a young veteran tired of complications and seeking a simple life. Helen is Krebs favorite younger sister; she likes indoor baseball and thinks her brother is a hero. Krebs father never makes an appearance in the story; the author describes him as non-committal (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 92). Finally, Krebs religious mother tries to show interest in her sons war stories but is unable to give him her full attention.
Language, Tone, and Style
The story is written in Hemingways classic subtle, and understated style. It is so short that it feels like the author is talking to a friend, not writing a book. Following that, the tone of the narrative is also fairly relaxed and light, even though the characters life is far from trouble-free. The language is uncomplicated, and short sentences such as He sat on the front porch are common (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 94). However, the simple format does not impede the storytelling in any way, and the author manages to convey complex themes and emotions.
Themes and Symbols
The story contains four broad themes that overlap with each other. The most obvious is the theme of war and trauma, which is manifested through Krebs struggle to return to a normal life. Directly connected to this is the theme of suppression, which is seen in the way the story is written. The simple sentences like There was something else represent the Krebs difficulty expressing his feelings, by making the reader guess what the protagonist is feeling (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 93). The pictures described at the beginning of the story further symbolize the failure to create a lasting connection to the good memories of the heros past.
Perhaps the most profound theme of the story is lies that affected Krebs so much, despite being seemingly unimportant. The two lies told at the beginning of the story completely devalued Krebs memory of doing the one thing, the only thing for a man to do, easily and naturally. (Hemingway, 1925, pp. 92). By lying about the war, Krebs killed the only memory of a time when he acted like the man he aspired to be. He virtually destroyed the part of his personality that was keeping him strong.
Finally, the theme of gender is also portrayed in this work. The main character was supposed to be happy about the prospect of driving his fathers car, a symbol of ambition, and dating girls selected by his mother an example of gender expectations (Trout, 2000). The way Krebs sees girls also reveals his views on women, which are themselves a symbol of conformity, shown to have almost no defining traits. To him, they are a good looking decoration, but he is strongly opposed to talking to them and getting to know them. Instead, he would keep seating at his porch and watching them walk; this symbolizes the characters lack of action in life. Interestingly, the author does not seem to condemn this attitude in any way.
Conclusion
The Soldiers Home is a short story with a plethora of implications. It is written in a manner that is simple yet powerful. Proving its greatness, this piece of literature covers themes that are relevant to this day in ways that do not feel too forced or too hidden. Along with Hemingways other stories, this brilliant work of art is definitely worth reading.
References
Hemingway, E. (1925). The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway (pp. 91106). New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Trout, S. (2000). Where Do We Go From Here? Ernest Hemingways Soldiers Home and American Veterans of World War I. The Hemingway Review, 20(1), 5-21.
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