Student Essays on Soldier's Home: Summary and Key ThemesPost-War Life

Ernest Hemingway’s Soldier’s Home portrays war's profound psychological impact on a young soldier. This short story delves into the complexities of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Hemingway uses Harold Krebs, a soldier who struggles to reintegrate into civilian life after serving in World War I, as the protagonist. Beyond its narrative, our Soldier's Home summary explores its themes, literary devices, and historical context to illuminate the enduring consequences of conflict.

Soldier’s Home Overview

Hemingway’s short story, Soldier's Home, follows Harold Krebs, a soldier who finds it difficult to return to everyday life after World War I. Reading about the writer's history will help you understand how Hemingway writes.

Ernest's involvement in World Wars (I and II) and the Civil War in Spain inspires this story (and most of his other writings). He was also one of the Lost Generation expatriate writers in Paris. That means he shared writing ideas with renowned writers such as Ezra Pound, an inaugural poet, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby novel writer.

If you read The Great Gatsby summary and this one, you will notice similarities in their writing styles and approaches. Being in this group of writers meant that Hemingway also believed in the modernist tradition. He also came up with the term 'Iceberg Theory,' which, combined with imagism, defines his writing style.

The iceberg theory defines direct language as focusing on facts and telling the story as it is. No emotions are involved, although reading the book will give you a sense of that. The same theory reveals the minimalist writing style, as we will see later in this review. It also entertains silence, action, and dialogue.

He wrote extensively during World Wars I and II since he worked as an ambulance driver and reporter, respectively, while the soldiers fought. He was also involved in the Spanish Civil War. The combination of being in different wars and jotting down points (of whatever he was writing about) inspired Soldier's Home, among other short stories and novels.

The wars also captivated Ernest Hemingway to write factually, focusing on the truth. In other words, his writing did not have any sugar coats.

While the above gives an overview of the context surrounding the writing of this story, below is the Soldier's Home Ernest Hemingway summary. We will shed light on the story included in the Contact Collection of Contemporary Writers in 1925, its characters, themes, and more.

Soldier’s Home Short Story Summary

The protagonist, Harold Krebs, is an unhappy young man after returning home from World War I. In the beginning, we glimpse the main character's background. Before WWI, he studied at Methodist College in Kansas with a group of fraternity brothers.

Krebs joined the Marines in 1917 and stayed in Germany until 1919. By the time he returned home to Oklahoma, the hometown had already welcomed the soldiers who had returned before him. The hysteria had already died down by the time he arrived home. His late return is irrelevant since his fellow veterans returned earlier after the war.

Krebs fought in battles such as Belleau Wood, Champagne, Soissons, St. Mihiel, and Argonne Forest. Shortly after his arrival, Krebs didn't want to talk about the war. However, as time passed, he wanted to talk about it, but no one cared to listen. He lies about his wartime experiences to attract an audience but doesn't want to attract a crowd.

During late summer, Krebs is into typical things. He sleeps late, reads books, plays pool and his clarinet, and takes a stroll. Krebs is not interested in getting a girlfriend or settling down. He looks at the girls because they are beautiful, but he doesn't want to undergo the struggle of getting one.

A month has passed since his return. His mother asks him to descend the stairs to eat breakfast. As he eats his breakfast, he reads the newspaper and converses with Helen, his sister, who adores him. He then agrees that he loves her but with little show of emotion.

The conversation with his sister ends when his mother asks to speak to him. His mother tells him God doesn't like idle hands in his kingdom. Krebs says that he is not in his kingdom and then feels embarrassed for saying that. The mother explains that she understands Krebs's feelings and worries about him.

She continues telling him that his father gave her an account of his service during the Civil War. She has been praying for her son since she knows his feelings. When the mother asks if Krebs loves her, Krebs replies no. She starts to weep, making Krebs say he doesn't love anybody.

He then realizes that his words will only hurt her, and he cannot explain in a way that will make her understand. So, he lies about loving his mother and doesn't mean what he said earlier. After begging her to believe him, they pray together, but the mother does the praying.

The story ends with Krebs planning to leave his hometown and go to Kansas City to look for a job.

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Soldier’s Home Plot Summary

After attending Methodist College in Kansas, Harold Krebs enlisted in the army to fight in World War I. He has two photographs. The first one shows him together with the fraternity brothers. The second one is about the war while on the Rhine. Like the rest of the soldiers, it's him and a corporal who wears a baggy uniform. Two German girls in the photo don’t look pretty, and the Rhine is invisible.

Krebs came home in the summer of 1919 after many veterans had returned from the second division. He didn't receive the same celebratory welcome when he arrived home as his fellow veterans. The local hysteria had already died down. People were even confused about why he had come back so late.

Harold fought in Belleau Wood, St. Mihiel, Soissons, the Champagne, and Argonne. Initially, he doesn't want to talk about the war. Eventually, when he does, no one is interested since they have heard enough heinousness, and the actualities are dull.

Krebs lies twice about his wartime experiences so people will listen to him. As he lies more, he dislikes everything that happened during the war. This dislike also affects his good feelings when he has only one thing to do. The lies also cause Krebs's memories to lose their 'cool and valuable quality.'

The lies are irrelevant and do not arouse any interest. They make Harold nauseous. Even those playing pool with him are uninterested in what he says. They have already listened to thrilling ones, such as German women being chained to machine guns. The lies make Harold feel as if he has lost everything.

Since returning from the war, Krebs has visited the library, slept late, read, ate, and played pool. He also plays his clarinet and takes walks downtown. His sisters adore him, and his mother tries to listen to his war stories, but her mind wanders. As for his father, he is noncommittal.

Krebs's father is a real estate agent who owns a car, and in which he drives clients around while showing them properties. Krebs was not allowed to touch the car before the war. The car, which still has the same look, is always parked in front of the father's office building, outside the National Bank. Everything in town is the same as before the war.

The only thing that has changed is the girls in town who have grown into young women. Harold does not want to pursue them but likes how they look. They walk around in patterns with short bobbed hair (the flapper culture), dutch collars hanging over sweaters, silk stockings, and flat shoes.

He also likes their walking style but views them as too complicated to get to know. He dislikes talking to or spending time with them since he doesn’t want to lie to them. He fears the consequences of building relationships and staying committed, so he only watches them from afar.

As Harold watches the girls, he thinks about the soldiers who shared stories about girls during the war. One said the girls don't mean anything to him, while the other said he cannot live without one. Krebs sees both views as lies. He thinks you don't need one if you do not think about a girl.

Krebs vaguely wants a girl but doesn't want the complications of getting into a relationship with one. He prefers the French and German girls who do not talk much. Their relationships are more straightforward than what he would experience in his hometown. He also thinks about how he liked Germany more than France and did not want to leave Germany. Anyway, he came back home.

Krebs likes viewing the girls while sitting on the front porch. He thinks about how he would appreciate the girls if they were German or French. He believes their world is not his, so he prefers to look at them than talk to them.

While still on the porch, Harold reads a history book about the war, learning about the battles he fought in. He enjoys the maps and wishes the book had more since he could visualize and point out where the battles happened. As he learns more from the book about war, he concludes that he is a good soldier.

One fine morning, Kreb's mother meets him in his bedroom and tells him about her conversation with his father. She tells him they have decided it's okay for him to drive the family car during the evenings. Krebs tells his mother that he thinks she is the one who made the father come to that decision.

After dressing up, Krebs descends downstairs to have breakfast. His sister, Helen, teases him about his oversleeping habits, referring to him as 'Hare.' She then gives him the Kansas City Star paper. As he opens it, his mother tells him not to tussle it since his father will not read a messed up paper.

Helen tells her brother that she will play indoor baseball in the afternoon. She also brags about how she is a better pitcher than the boys. Helen is good at it because Krebs taught her. She tells him she calls him 'beau' in front of the other children.

Helen then asks Harold if he is her 'beau,' and he agrees. She asks him if he loves her, and he says, "Sure." Helen then asks Krebs if he will go to see her play, to which he says, "Maybe." She interprets that as maybe he doesn’t love her.

Their mother instructs Helen to leave since she wants to talk to Krebs alone. She has a seat and asks Krebs what he is planning to do next. She urges him to get a job and settle down. She advises him that God has a job for everyone to do and that there is honor in every job. Krebs tells her he is not in God's kingdom before being embarrassed by what he just said.

The mother tells Harold that she knows how war affects a young man. His father and grandfather fought during the Civil War, so she knows how he must feel based on their experience. She tells him about Charley Simmons, a boy around the same age as Krebs who has a job and is already settled.

She wants him to drive his father's car, take girls out, and get a job. She also tells him to pass by his father's office later for a chat. Krebs's mother asks him if he loves her, and he does not. That makes her start to cry with her hands on her face. Krebs tries comforting her by telling her he doesn't love anybody. When that doesn't work, he feels sickened by it and then comforts her by telling her that she didn't mean it.

Harold then places his arms around her and kisses her hair. His mother believes him and asks him to pray with her. He agrees but cannot pray, so the mother prays for him.

As Krebs leaves the house, he contemplates how his mother made him lie. He wants a simple life, but his efforts are not making it any easier. Lastly, Krebs decides to move to Kansas City to seek a job and please his mother since he pities her. He decides not to go and see his father, but he will go to the schoolyard to watch Helen play indoor baseball.

The Setting in Soldier’s Home

The setting in Soldier's Home by Ernest Hemingway is a small, unnamed town in the US Midwest, Oklahoma. The story begins during the aftermath of World War I, when Harold Krebs, a young soldier, returns from the war after many veterans have returned.

By the time he came home, the fervor and patriotic enthusiasm that had initially engulfed the town had already declined. The town is still the same way he had left it, and no one wants to hear his war stories since the folks have listened to enough of it.

Combining that scenario with the protagonist's alienation from his prior life creates a sense of isolation. The setting shows a brute contrast between the vivid war experiences and how it becomes difficult for soldiers returning from war to reintegrate into the civilian life they left.

Since Hemingway's writing is based on the truth, the short story contains scenarios that reveal a setting based on the actual world war. For example, naming the Rhine River is one of the geographical indicators of some of the deadliest wars Krebs fought while on the Western Front.

He also names some of the battles that Krebs was involved in. In reality, they happened during WWI.

Characters in Soldier’s Home

The Soldier's Home has only four main characters. Other characters are mentioned in the short story but only appear in conversations with Harold's family. Most of them are unnamed.

The four characters in the Soldier's Home are:

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1. Harold Krebs
2. Helen
3. Krebs's Father
4. Krebs's Mother

1. Harold Krebs

Harold Krebs is the central character in Soldier's Home. He is a young soldier who struggles to reintegrate into civilian life after returning to his hometown after serving in World War I. The trauma of the war (PTSD) makes him emotionally detached from society.

What's worse, by the time he arrives, the welcoming joy of the veteran soldiers has died down. No one wants to hear the war stories, forcing him to lie about his account. He is, however, silenced by his fellow veterans, who remind him of his account while in the trenches.

The war may have stripped him of his ambition. After his arrival, Krebs is into reading, aimless walks downtown, watching girls pass by from the front porch, sleeping late, and playing with his clarinet. Harold portrays the struggles of a soldier adjusting to the norm after facing traumatic experiences in war.

2. Helen

Helen is Harold's sister. She has an unusual connection with Krebs, which some community members view as more romantic than sister-brother love. This relationship is one of the few instances of Krebs connecting with his community and family.

She calls him by his nickname (Hare) and refers to Krebs as his 'beau' in front of her friends. Part of these feelings come from Krebs showing her how to play baseball, making her better than even the boys at school.

Helen goes outside the brother-sister boundary to ask Harold if he loves her. That shows us how naive Helen is about relationship matters. She then asks if he will visit her school to watch her play indoor baseball. Krebs's answer makes her think maybe he doesn't love her.

However, it is reaffirmed in the end when he decides to go and watch his sister play before heading to Kansas City to get a job.

3. Krebs’s Father

Krebs's father is another minor character in Soldier's Home, only mentioned in the story. He, however, does not appear in it. We hear about him when Krebs's mother tells Krebs what his father said about the son looking for a job.

He is into real estate and uses a family car to drive his clients around. He permits Krebs to use the vehicle in the evenings, something he couldn't have allowed before Krebs went to war. Harold refuses to visit him in his office, which shows his resistance toward the traditional setting of men going to do some manly work.

He is mainly in his office, which displays the opposite of Krebs. Being at work most of the time shows that traditionally, men should not idle at home.

4. Krebs’s Mother

Krebs's mother is quite talkative in the short story. She seems to understand what her son is going through since she has seen the same in his father and grandfather. However, according to Harold, she makes things worse instead of resonating with him.

The story portrays her as a woman of faith, something Krebs does not settle with, especially when she invokes God in her conversations. In her view, she seems to understand the trauma Krebs is facing, but every time he tells her about the war, her wits are never present.

She tries to get into his inner feelings by visiting Krebs in his room. However, their characters' distinction is revealed at this point. When she tries to advise Krebs to be like the other boys who returned from the war and are now doing well, Krebs does not react.

She shows devotion to God when she tells her son to join her in prayer. Krebs, however, has no connection to religion, and it's evident when he says he cannot pray. She is doing her best to 'reach out' to her son, who now becomes embarrassed of her.

Ultimately, Krebs resolves to look for a job to please her.

Themes Addressed in Soldier’s Home

Soldier's Home glares at us with its central theme—war and its effects on soldiers. However, a few others float from the story as the main character interacts with his family and the surrounding environment.

Some of the themes addressed in the story include:

The Trauma from War

In Soldier's Home, Harold Krebs is a young man who returns home after WWI. There is no truly explicit expose of Harold's emotions, but the prose writing style tells it all. After the war, Harold sleeps late, wanders downtown, plays pool, and watches girls as they pass by while sitting on the front porch.

We can detect Harold's disconnection from the rest of the family and community. The story offers insight into how a soldier adjusts or fails to adjust after the war experience. As Hemingway tries to portray, Krebs's struggles at home cause trauma as much as what happened during the war.

That shows the deteriorating nature of a soldier's psyche even after the battles are over.

While in his hometown, Krebs's life is painted with alienation, sluggishness, and indifference. It's funny that he watches girls (who have now turned into young women) walking by and admiring their patterns. They, however, appear as decorations to him and not people he can talk to.

The indifference extends to other life matters. He makes his mother cry when he says he doesn’t love her and he doesn't love anybody, and when she invites him to pray, Krebs can't. He has to lie to his mother to calm her down after she breaks down due to Krebs's answer. His inability to recognize the power of God and connect with others shows how empty Krebs is.

Based on how the story begins and ends, it's clear that Harold wasn't always indifferent and empty. There is a picture of him with members of his fraternity, all looking the same. There is also the family car that Krebs's father does not permit him to drive before the war.

That means the younger Krebs was social and wanted to drive around and enjoy the social status of having a four-wheeled locomotive on the road. Now, after the war, his father is okay with him driving the car in the evenings.

Krebs is still not into the idea. He replies to his mother (who brought the message) that she must have made the father decide. He is aware of his mother’s intentions to get him out of his inner traumatized world. He, however, wants to avoid getting involved in what he refers to as 'complications.'

The kind of Krebs's feelings that Hemingway describes portray the effects of war, the impact of the same old town on him, and what he feels out of all of that. In the modern day, we refer to this condition as PTSD. Back then, it was known as the shell shock.

When the short story writer uses the word 'feel,' he exposes Harold's inner look. He is 'embarrassed and resentful' when the mother prays and 'sick and vaguely nauseated' when she mentions how she used to hold him while he was a baby.

He also feels 'sorry for his mother,' which is another byproduct of what he feels or averts from feeling.

Kreb's trauma is a result of war. It altered how he thinks, especially when it comes to whether he needs a girl or not. It also makes him want to lead a simple life without any complications. While the trauma may even be bigger than he thinks, the war also brought out acts of bravery and nobility. Something about the war made Krebs feel 'cool and clear inside himself.'

As we have mentioned under this theme, Krebs's trauma comes from other sources as well. After coming home from the war, everyone is confused about why he arrived later. He was among the last soldiers in the second division. By the time he arrives, people already know the facts and fiction about the war.

Even his mother's mind gets off the train whenever he narrates his wartime experiences. When he realizes people are not interested in his account, he lies using what other soldiers tell. Eventually, he feels bad about lying and loses everything about the war stories, making him not feel 'cool and clear inside himself.'

Something revives some happy moments in Harold. He reads a history book about the war and the battles he took part in on the Western Front. It's an interesting book that helps him connect to the past and his former self. He even wishes it had more maps, which means the book cannot direct him through the trauma he is facing.

As the story ends, Krebs decides to look for a job in Kansas to make his mother happy. He, however, feels sorry since she made him lie. His emotions toward others seem part of the 'complications' that make him lie. However, he watches his sister play indoor baseball before heading to Kansas.

Food for thought: Soldier's Home focused on soldiers' trauma after WWI. One hundred years after the book was published, isn't it the same experience modern soldiers face after deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan? Also, what kind of frenzy do you think soldiers in the Ukraine and Russia war are experiencing after getting out of the foxholes and barricades?

Men and Women’s Roles in the Society

Hemingway writes about men and women in a way that contemporary readers would view as sexist and rigid. Soldier's Home has the exact characterization. Krebs is unable to express his feelings truly. While we can attribute that to the trauma from the war, it also shows how, traditionally, masculinity would never involve being emotive.

Women can, however, allow emotions to be part of their definition. Krebs says the girls don't pose as humans because they seem like a 'pattern' to him. We must understand Harold's stereotype toward women and why the story agrees with his view.

After coming home from the war, Krebs spends time on the front porch watching girls at a distance. Most of them have grown into young women. According to the story, Krebs would like to have a girl but doesn't want to engage in the complexities of getting one. He hesitates to engage in a social life that will help him get to know a girl as an individual.

The war caused him to lose his feelings, and he wants to live without 'consequences,' which means he doesn't want to be trapped or involved in life's complexities. His ideas and views about women fall into the traditional realm. Women can talk and express themselves, while men are meant to stay quiet. Men are termed weak if they talk too much or express their feelings.

That means Krebs's desire to 'have' a girl is an objective view instead of knowing the girl individually. Hemingway does not show any dialogue from the female side (apart from Helen and the mother). So, we need to find out the views and thoughts of the girls Krebs used to see around. That is why the story aligns with Krebs's thoughts and shows nothing to suppress the sexist representation.

Krebs sees his mother as too talkative, which is part of how women should be. When Krebs tells her she doesn't love anybody, she cries dramatically, making Krebs think she can never understand his world. The love expressed by the mother sickens him, and he blames her for making him lie. He does not see that it's his fault.

Trying to vocalize every worry she has about her son seems to worsen Krebs's emotional pain. The only woman close to Krebs is Helen, the sister. Krebs looks comfortable with her innocence since he knows there is no complication from her. That is why he seems to agree with everything she says or asks. She, however, also portrays the feminist side of being talkative and flirtatious. She is also unafraid to express her feelings, which is the opposite of Krebs.

Even with traditional thinking about gender roles and norms, Krebs is subjected to the exact definition. According to the story's setting, his father spends most of the time at work—where men should be. Krebs, however, is always at home if not taking a stroll or visiting the library, for example. That means he is in a feminine space, and his family pushes him toward the male space.

Overall, the story takes something for granted: the idea that its representation of masculinity and femininity is how the world works. Those hurting in that definition are men since they can never express what they feel.

Lies in the Society

The short story reveals lies several times. The war has robbed Krebs of a sense of self and a happy feeling that would make him feel complete. Upon returning home, no one is interested in hearing about the war.

When he had to explain his account, he lied twice, although at first, Krebs did not want to talk about it. It's unfair to attribute the lies to the effects of war, but we can look at how Krebs views lies and how they appear in the story.

The first time the lies appear is when Krebs narrates the wartime experiences of other veterans as his own. He is reminded of his account when he meets his fellow former soldiers since they know he is lying.

The 'cool' feeling he had after 'doing the one thing a man should do' starts to fade away at this point. Suddenly, he has a distaste for everything that happened to him while at war. This implies that Harold poisoned the connection to the deeds that made him honorable and noble. That is why, according to Ernest Hemingway, he loses everything.

Other instances of lying are gender-related, and they surface based on how men relate to women. First, Krebs has a vague desire for a girl. He doesn't want to be involved in dating because he doesn't want to tell more lies.

That reveals the girl conversations the soldiers had while at war. According to Krebs, those who said that girls don't mean anything to them and those who said that they cannot live without one were all lying. In his mind, one does not need a girl if he doesn't think of one.

Another instance of lying is when Krebs's mother asks him if he loves her. At first, Krebs responds with an answer that reflects his true nature of feelings. When he realizes how hurt the mother is by his response, he is forced to lie to her by saying he didn't mean it. The lying feeling makes him feel sorry for his mother since, according to him, she made him lie.

In Krebs's world, women make men lie. He cannot date a girl without lying to her, so he avoids dating because he doesn't want to lie anymore. Courting to him misrepresents what men and women feel, and the lies are there to make everyone happy. The girl's conversation while at war shows that men will lie about women since it's a masculine thing. On one hand, they are strong enough not to need women; on the other, their potent nature needs women.

In the last part, Krebs shows us that men lie to fulfill family obligations and also protect how women feel. The mother is the woman in this case. The scene offers insight into how Krebs views women. To him, they are forces dragging him towards the social world that he dislikes. Lying about his wartime experiences shows his desire to connect with the people at their level.

To Krebs, lies govern all social interactions. That is why he does not want to engage in them anymore—it's not worth it. Now, since this veteran does not want to lie, it seems he is running away from something —the consequences.

Harold wants to live a life without consequences, and the repetition of the word 'consequences' emphasizes how much he wants to avoid the consequences of lying. Krebs experiences consequences while at war. World War I brought in another level of brutality that destroyed any illusion created in the past using ideals such as chivalry and civility.

Even the young men who participated in the war felt stripped of their national pride. So, these ideals are lies that led to the death of many while battling on the Western Front. Krebs is avoiding them as a way of outgrowing the trauma from the war.

The Style in Soldier’s Home

Hemingway uses his 'Iceberg Theory' while writing the short story. He coined the style himself, inspired by imagism, a writing style favored by those in the Lost Generation expatriate group, such as Ezra Pound.

Imagism is a writing style primarily used by poets. It favored using sharp and precise language that clearly describes a character or subject. In his 'Iceberg Theory,' drawing from imagism results in the iceberg effect. What you see at the top has something more hidden beneath.

The short stories Hemingway writes use this theory, meaning Soldier's Home is among the stories that apply it. He gets the most from the least, prunes his language, and tells the truth like it is. In his writing, the hard facts are well visible through reading the text, but there is more to be figured out that operates away from sight.

Other style aspects in the story include:

• Repetition: There is repetition when Hemingway describes how Krebs likes to watch girls passing by but doesn't want to talk to them. There is repetition when emphasizing that Harold wants to live without consequences. It's a style that shows us the train of Krebs's thoughts.
• Minimalism: In addition to imagism, Hemingway uses direct language while writing. He is inspired by writing nothing short of the truth. Minimalism is a writing style he picked and polished while reporting about the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
• Realism: His mission to write the truth brings out realism. For example, in the picture where Krebs is at war, the Rhine River is not visible, and soldiers' uniforms are baggy. That shows the actualism of war instead of what people perceive after the soldiers leave and come back.

Symbols in Soldier’s Home

There are a few outstanding symbols in Soldier's Home. They include the following:

1. Pictures

At the story's beginning, two pictures help describe Krebs's past. While they don't give us a complete picture of the young soldier's past, they at least give us a glimpse into it. The first one shows him with his fraternity, all wearing the same collar.

This picture shows how people before the war used to conform to ideas and culture since they all appeared to wear the same thing. It also tells us that it's hard to distinguish Harold from the rest.

In the second picture, Krebs is at war in one of the sites—the Rhine. He stands there with another corporal and two German girls (whom he describes as not beautiful), and the Rhine is invisible. This picture is supposed to tell us more about the war, but the Rhine's absence is significant here.

That means there is a lot we may not know from the war. The blurry location also shows Krebs's lost sense of direction as he tries to figure out his next move after returning home.

Pictures are supposed to tell us something within their four corners. In this case, they don't tell much, meaning there is more slipperiness and uncertainty in the past that also slips into Krebs's present life.

2. The Front Porch

Another item that has a symbolic meaning is the porch, where Krebs goes to chill. When Krebs isolates himself from the others, he sits on the porch for awfully long periods. That is where he wants to be while watching girls and other people walking by.

The porch shows his passiveness and idleness. He does not intend to interact with the community or participate in what's happening in the 'real world.' It's also a stationary space that is well distinguished from the rest of what the streets contain. It's, therefore, protecting Krebs's stagnancy as he watches the world proceeding.

Harold likes reading a history book about the war while on the porch. It shows his desire to immerse himself in a world without physically being in it. He is reading about the war he was in, but the descriptions and the maps thrill him. He wants to separate himself from his former life and make his observations from a different view.

The irony of what happens on the porch is that even as he uses it to distance himself from his former life and what's happening, he is still a part of it. His parents still expect more from him. The feelings of war he is trying to avoid are also part of him through experience.

3. Girls

While on the front porch, Krebs likes to watch the girls as they pass by with their Dutch collars and silk stockings, among other wearables that make them classy. Hemingway only describes them, but no conversations reveal who they are. Therefore, they represent the normal life in Krebs's hometown, which he wants to avoid engaging in.

Staying on the porch instead of interacting with them shows his refusal or inability to participate in the world he left behind. The effect of war has made him to distance himself. His character is also the opposite of what the girls portray. He is stoic, while the girls are chatty, emotional, and 'complicated.'

His mother urges him to take a girl out while driving the father's car in the evenings. She wants her son to engage in normal life activities. Therefore, Krebs's distancing himself from the girls shows how alienated and empty he is after the war.

4. The Family Car

Krebs's father has a car that he drives his clients around in. It's always parked outside the bank since his office is in the same building. Back then, a car represented a ranking social status and wealth.

Before the war, Krebs's father never allowed the son to drive the car. That means there was an elevated privilege in knowing how to drive a car and driving it. It also shows Krebs's desire before going to war, which is associated with American success.

The car in Soldier's Home represents direction and ambition. After returning from the war, Harold's mother urges him to drive the car during the evening and take the girls out. What Krebs wanted to do before the war is now a reason for his mother to coax him and urge him to get out and get a life.

This car, however, is the same. So, as much as it performs the purpose of mobility, it also shows how paralyzed Krebs is.

Soldier’s Home Genre

Soldier's Home is a modernist fiction short story about the impacts of war on soldiers and the difficulty they experience connecting with their civilian lives.

Hemingway uses modernism and imagism aspects from his 'Iceberg Theory,' which inspires the theory more. He writes using hard facts floating above the water's surface, leaving a deeper meaning for readers.

This writing style also incorporates minimalism, as discussed in the Style section.

Soldier’s Home Historical Context

World War I, fought between 1914 and 1918, exposed Europe to some of the most devastating battles humankind has ever witnessed. Even today, the trenches on the Western Front are there, showing the marks of horror left during the war.

The British and the French were able to win the war after the Americans intervened in 1917. While that sounds good for the winners, the young American men involved in the war were subjected to very vicious conditions. That led to many of them suffering from PTSD, which was then known as shell shock.

During this time, Hemingway was posted in Italy to work with the American nurses as an ambulance driver. The real battle was, however, on the Western Front in Belgium and Germany. Some of the battles mentioned in the short story happened during WWI and were the deadliest.

New technology at the time showcased what it could do. There was the use of mustard gas, machine guns, and bombs dropped from the air (aerial bombardment). Military strategy had also graduated, thanks to new ways of collecting information and possessing better weaponry.

So, reading about the war combined with Soldier's Home will give you a better understanding of what the soldiers experienced and their after-effects after returning home.

Emergence of the Lost Generation

After WWI, society in the US faced a tremendous change. Technology boomed, women had more freedom (the flapper culture and receiving voting rights in 1920), and the stock market brought in new money.

When the American soldiers came back home, they struggled to get back to normal life. Those with literary ambitions returned to Europe since expenses were less than in the US. Furthermore, they were familiar with the language, and the moral codes were not restrictive.

By 1924, Paris had an American population of about 30,000 people. It was the year that Hemingway started to write Soldier's Home. He found his way to the Lost Generation community through his letter of introduction to Gertrude Stein, also a member.

Stein invented the phrase 'Lost Generation' to refer to the young American writers visiting her literary salon in Paris. Hemingway was intrigued by the phrase and used it in most of his novels.

Krebs, in Soldier's Home, represents this generation. The youths refuted the values and morals that their parents raised them with because they believed they were a sham.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the main conflict in Soldier's Home?

The central conflict in Soldier's Home is Harold Krebs's difficulty settling back home after serving in World War I. He finds it hard to interact with people in his hometown who are confused about why he returned late.

2. What message do we get from Soldier's Home?

Soldier's Home teaches us that war affects the soldiers who get in it in ways that people back home cannot comprehend. On the other hand, life goes on after war, and one cannot live without complications and consequences.

3. What do girls symbolize in Soldier's Home?

The girls in Soldier's Home represent normal life in Krebs's hometown. Krebs, however, doesn't want to participate in it.

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On a Final Note

Soldier’s Home is a powerful testament to the enduring effects of war on the human psyche. Through Krebs’ isolation and disillusionment, Hemingway masterfully captures the complexities of returning home to a world seemingly untouched by the horrors of battle.

By carefully analyzing the story's elements, we gain a deeper appreciation for Hemingway's literary brilliance and the lasting impact of war. If you found this analysis helpful and need assistance with your scholarly endeavors, consider our essay writing services for expert guidance and support.