Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway is a story about Krebs, a soldier who returned from war, and struggles to get back to normal life. What stood out to me was how Krebs’ experience of war is compared to the other soldiers we have read about. He grew up in Kansas, a very conservative place, and even attended a Methodist college, which shows that he was raised in a traditional, religious environment. However, after the war he no longer felt he fit into his community. He had trouble telling the truth and connecting with his community. This story made me reflect on the fact that some soldiers felt good or cool during the war, yet they still experienced different forms of trauma.
All of the times that had been able to make him feel cool and clear inside himself when he thought of them; the times so long back when he had done the one thing, the only thing for a man to so, easily and naturally, when he might have done something else, now lost their cool, valuable quality and then were lost themselves ( ll.19-22).
Unlike soldiers who suffered from the trauma of war, Krebs actually felt good and cool about how he fought.He is confident about the decisions he made and proud that he didn’t even run away. This is why he lies when people ask about his experience of the war. If he tells the truth, they might think he is strange or even frightening because his reaction to war is not what they thought.
“God has some work for every one to do,” his mother said. ‘There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom.” ‘I’m not in His Kingdom,” Krebs said. “We are all of us in His Kingdom.” Krebs felt embarrassed and resentful as always (ll.156-157).
He had felt sorry for his mother, and he had made him lie (l.205).
These moments show how disconnected he feels from his family and community. Taking to his parents forces him into conversations about God, family, work. Topics that make him lie again.
I really like how you mentioned that Krebs’s experience was very different from the others at war. I also like how you noticed that Krebs felt good about how he fought while most others had trauma. And how you mentioned his lying and conversations with his parents.
I like how you compared the story to similar ones we have read. You did a good job at using quotations that help back up your claims.
i liked you points on soilders home and his diffrent perspectives, as well as how others may seem him when he returned home
I liked how you explained the quotes and how you think about that every soldier has his own different thinking about war.