Syntax In A Soldier's Home

Hemingway truly shows his intent throughout A Soldier's Home through the use of repetition, dialogue and syntax. Hemingway uses these elements to portray an honest and critical tone that furthers showing the negative effects the war had on soldiers. The scenario demonstrates a cruel way to handle the newer veterans. Hemingway was a veteran himself, and his opinions of the war are scattered throughout the repetition in Krebs’s thought process. Krebs repeats the word ‘girls’ constantly throughout his thought process but only uses the word ‘women’ once. This use of girls represents a sort of innocence among the females who couldn’t serve in the war and separates Hemingway’s view of the masculine and feminine standards during this time. The time in which he used the …show more content…
This way of phrasing practically leads the reader to how Krebs questions how much he knew and whether he served appropriately or not. The question isn’t really brought up in any other place, and Hemingway insures that the reader notices this minor shift in tone. Tone, while constantly shifting, always centers on Krebs’s understanding of the war and how he was mentally feeling afterwards. The short and concise syntax is the final element to truly understanding this aspect of Hemingway's writing in A Soldier’s Home. Peppered throughout his writing are sentences that start with ‘He does’ or ‘He thought’, by using this simple subject verb syntax, Hemingway gives the reader clear hints to his honest and critical way of viewing the piece. The simplicity of it resembles how a child would speak, or how a children’s book is phrased, which gives the passage a feeling of innocence that makes the reader empathize with Krebs. Once a reader is hooked in such a way, Hemingway work for the questions he’s really