Reading Soldier’s Home made me think a lot about how trauma can change someone in ways that aren’t easy to see from the outside. What really hit me was how empty and disconnected Krebs seems. It made me imagine what it would feel like to come home and suddenly feel like you don’t fit in anymore. That idea honestly made me sad, because it reminded me that some people deal with things they can’t easily explain. The way Krebs doesn’t react to anything made me think about how being emotionally numb and empty can be so painful.
The way he talks about girls also stood out to me. It made me uncomfortable because he looks at them like they are just objects instead of real people. At the same time, I could tell that this way of thinking came from his experiences and the things he saw during the war. It made me think about how trauma can change someone’s views without them even realizing it. I was both feeling bad for him and being bothered by the way he sees girls.
What stayed with me the most was how lost he seems. It made me wonder what it must be like to feel nothing toward your own family or your own life. That idea is honestly scary. It made me think about how some people might look “fine” on the outside but are struggling on the inside. The story made me think more about how important emotional connection is and how hard it must be to live without it.
In the end, Soldier’s Home made me feel a mix of sadness, confusion, and frustration. It shows how someone can return from something like war and still feel like they don’t belong anywhere. The story made me think about how trauma doesn’t just disappear and how it can change a person in quiet but powerful ways.
totally agree. You described really well how lost and emotionally numb Krebs is, and I also felt that quiet sadness in the story. The way he sees girls and the people around him really shows how much the war changed him. The way you said it was the correct one , good job
I think your thoughts on trauma being quiet and not always dramatic are really interesting, especially what you said about emptiness also being painful. I also think that maybe Krebs isn’t as lost as he seems. Whenever the idea of him moving forward in his life with a career or a marriage, he seemed opposed to the idea. But he didn’t have any other ideas of what to do, so perhaps he just doesn’t want to do anything, but he isn’t lost?
like how his response clearly shows how trauma affected Krebs and his relationships, highlighting his numbness and struggle to belong.