"Complications" An analysis of "Soldier's Home"
In Ernest Hemingway's short story, "Soldier's Home", we are presented with the story of a young man returning from war. As the protagonist of Hemingway's short story, Krebs returns from WW I to the town and house in which he was raised as a boy. Though we are not given any narration of Krebs' experiences before or during the war, Hemingway leaves us symbols of both in the first four paragraphs of the story. One, a picture of Krebs before the war, with his fellow fraternity brothers at a Kansas Methodist college, where notably, "all of them [are] wearing exactly the same height and style collar" (136), obviously symbolizing conformity to Methodist / family values and expectations. The second from during the war, a picture of Krebs with, "two German girls and another corporal." (137). This picture is placed to let the mature audience ponder the likely possibilities it reflects. An assumption can easily be made that the two girls are, in all likelihood, prostitutes; an assumption that acquires greater validity and significance as the plot progresses. Yet a third and very important symbol Hemingway leaves us as foundation to build his story upon is the solitary note of Krebs, " [
Hemingway goes further to incorporate this conflict into Krebs' relationship with his mother, and through her, his father, God, society, indeed, the entire system of standards that are expected of Krebs. Krebs' mother's hopes and love for her son are, indeed, the embodiment of these standards. Hemingway shows us Krebs' mother's expectations when she offers Krebs the family car to, "take some of the nice girls out riding with you, [. . . with the exception...] But you are going to have to settle down to work," (140), incorporating both the standards of courting (as a precursor to the standard of marriage), and materialism. Indeed, tying these both to their standards of God and religion, demanding that, "There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom [the Kingdom of God]." (140). Even further, Hemingway ties the entire package of standards and expectations to a mother's and son's love when Krebs' mother queries, "Don't you love your mother, dear boy?" (141). Hemingway shows us that Krebs rejects all this, first warning his mother, "I'm not in His Kingdom [the Kingdom of God]." (140), and when she insists and reasserts these expectations summarily dismissing her as the embodiment of all his complications and consequences, "No, [I don't love you] I don't love anybody," (141). Yet Hemingway does not render Krebs malicious or contrary. Krebs quite simply finds these views his family holds dear as unnecessarily complicated, petty and meaningless compared to his wartime experiences which have gone completely ignored, and in that way belittled and rejected, just as Krebs has in turn rejected his family's values. having] been at Belleau Wood, Soissons, the Champagne, St. Mihiel, and the Argonne" (137), all of which were instrumental and equally horrific battles of WW I; and yet this is all that Hemingway leaves us throughout the entire story, this off-hand
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Approximate Word count = 1250
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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