When reading the short story “Soldiers Home” by Ernest Hemingway there may be a few comprehensive questions that could be brought up. One question that could be immediately accumulated from reading the short story is; How has the war affected Krebs? This is relevant because there are many incidences where Krebs shows that he is in fact a changed man now that he is back from the war. It’s interesting because it gives us a realistic view from what a soldiers might experience when they come home. In “Soldiers Home” the war has affected Krebs personality and his emotions. He is now a different man due to the war. I have proved this by showing textual evidence of Krebs personality and emotions before the war, how his personality has changed, and how Krebs emotions have changed.Krebs is shown as a different person in the beginning than from the latter parts of “Soldiers Home”. In the first sentence of the story it says, “ Krebs went to the war fro a Methodist college in Kansas” (87). Any person that goes to college is in pursuit of a future. There is a sentence that says, “ There is a picture which show him among his fraternity brothers, all wearing exactly the same height and style collar” (87). This excerpt from “Soldier’s Home” insists that Krebs once had a social life. Being in a fraternity also requires a lot of involvement within ones community. The picture also shows that Krebs has many friends. Early in the story Krebs is depicted as what he might call a complicated man. He is attending a college, in a fraternity, and also has many friends. Another aspect that is depicted from the first sentence of the story is that he is attending a Methodist college (87). Krebs attending a Methodist college shows that he is a religious man…
… love and affection. The army basically taught him that love isn’t a necessity. This sentence shows that Krebs doesn’t have very many emotions. Krebs also talks to his sister very sarcastically and with no emotion: “‘Am I really your girl?’ ,‘Sure’, ‘Do you love me?’ ,‘Uh, huh.’” (91). In this sentence Krebs shows a lack of caring about how his sister feels. Krebs emotions has been affected by the war.
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Coming home after a war is hard for some people. In this short story Krebs is making the return home hard on himself. Being away for so long made the war grow on him and change his customs. He used to have this standard of living and social life. Now that he has returned home he has become the complete opposite. This shows that Krebs personality and emotions have changed. This change of Krebs is significant to the story because it shows how war can affect a soldier.
