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Class Hemingway’s “A Soldier’s Home”: A lost identity
Harold Krebs is a complex man. Throughout Ernest Hemingway’s short story “A Soldier’s Home” it’s clear that Harold Krebs isn’t quite sure who he is or who he has become after serving two years as a Marine in World War I. Hemingway’s distinct and simple writing style helps to carry the story of this multifaceted man. He is referred to as “Krebs”— a soldier – by the narrator; “Harold” by his mother; and “Hare,” an affectionate nickname that his sisters have given him. The three different names that Hemingway uses for Harold Krebs helps tell the story of confusion and isolation that the main character is experiencing while trying to readjust to life after a gruesome war. The three names help tell a complex story filled with emotion in a subtle way.
Harold Krebs, a former church-going small-town Oklahoma boy, is the main character of this story. Harold Krebs mother, sisters and father are the supporting characters, and they all view Harold Krebs differently. Before he left for war, Harold Krebs was used to the familiar things in his small town, but now he is …show more content…
The main characters three names could symbolize three personalities. Soldiers that come home from war are frequently diagnosed with mental disorders, PTSD or schizophrenia.
Ultimately, “A Soldier’s Home” is a story about a lost soul that was changed by the savagery of war. A soldier may never really find a home after the things they’ve seen because people really don’t understand what a soldier went through. People imagine, but they don’t understand a soldier’s experiences. Krebs is a military man who has seen too much. For Krebs to fit in with society, he must lie which conflicts with Harold’s upbringing. Harold feels that he can’t live up to his mother and society’s expectations, but at the end of the story he is in the role of Hare and Hare is a
Date
Class Hemingway’s “A Soldier’s Home”: A lost identity
Harold Krebs is a complex man. Throughout Ernest Hemingway’s short story “A Soldier’s Home” it’s clear that Harold Krebs isn’t quite sure who he is or who he has become after serving two years as a Marine in World War I. Hemingway’s distinct and simple writing style helps to carry the story of this multifaceted man. He is referred to as “Krebs”— a soldier – by the narrator; “Harold” by his mother; and “Hare,” an affectionate nickname that his sisters have given him. The three different names that Hemingway uses for Harold Krebs helps tell the story of confusion and isolation that the main character is experiencing while trying to readjust to life after a gruesome war. The three names help tell a complex story filled with emotion in a subtle way.
Harold Krebs, a former church-going small-town Oklahoma boy, is the main character of this story. Harold Krebs mother, sisters and father are the supporting characters, and they all view Harold Krebs differently. Before he left for war, Harold Krebs was used to the familiar things in his small town, but now he is …show more content…
The main characters three names could symbolize three personalities. Soldiers that come home from war are frequently diagnosed with mental disorders, PTSD or schizophrenia.
Ultimately, “A Soldier’s Home” is a story about a lost soul that was changed by the savagery of war. A soldier may never really find a home after the things they’ve seen because people really don’t understand what a soldier went through. People imagine, but they don’t understand a soldier’s experiences. Krebs is a military man who has seen too much. For Krebs to fit in with society, he must lie which conflicts with Harold’s upbringing. Harold feels that he can’t live up to his mother and society’s expectations, but at the end of the story he is in the role of Hare and Hare is a