He grew up in Kansas, attended a Methodist college, and was conformed to the society he once knew. As he entered the zenith of World War One, Krebs became surrounded with a contradicting environment of love versus war. When it was time for Krebs to return home from the war, he decided to remain in Germany until 1919, with hopes of avoiding conversation of the atrocities he witnessed. Upon his return, his entire demeanor altered. His ability to love tarnished, as he no longer knew how to reciprocate the emotion. Besides the fact that Krebs admitted to his mother that he no longer loved her, he also made it very clear that he did not want to deal with any “consequences” that came with an intimate relationship (Meyer 167). It was not necessarily that he did not want to love, but he could not put in the effort. Krebs maintained the mindset that he would rather feel a little more, while giving a little …show more content…
After the war, Krebs, no longer possessed an emotional sense of a home, or an understanding of love. According to the study of psychology, it would be safe to diagnose Krebs with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD occurs after an individual experiences a distraught event or events, in which social isolation, emotional detachment, and the inability to find pleasure in life becomes prevalent (Mayo Clinic). It becomes evident that Krebs is experiencing social isolation, as he only “practiced on his clarinet, strolled down town, read, and went to bed” (Meyer 167). Besides diagnosing Krebs with PTSD, psychology also explores other possibilities that would allow for Krebs to be the way that he is. Throughout the text, Hemingway constantly mentions the mother and sister, specifically interactions between them and the main character. However, the author choses to emit any physical or conversational interaction between Harold and his father. The only information that the reader can extract from the text is that his father was a real estate owner and did not allow for anyone to drive his car. During the duration of Krebs’s departure, the car remained in his father’s