Hemingway, Ernest.“Soldier’s Home.”

“Solder’s Home”

1) The title, “Soldier’s Home,” focuses on the setting. Do you have a clear picture of Krebs’s home? Describe it, filling in missing detail from your associations of home, Krebs’s routine or anything else you can use.

Krebs’s parents doesn’t treat their son like a man. After coming home from the war his parents have just decided to let him start driving the car. Krebs’s mother says speaking for his father “He thinks you should be able allowed to drive the car” (169). Krebs wants to be respected by his parents to live the life that makes him happy. Krebs’s mother wants him to settle down. Krebs’s mother even says, “Charley Simmons, who is just your age, has a good job and is going to be married. The boys are all settling down; they’re all determined to get somewhere; you can see that boys like Charley Simmons are on their way to being really a credit to the community” (169). Krebs’s father wants him to get a job. Krebs’s mother says for his father, “All work is honorable as he says” (169). Krebs’s sister wants Krebs to be a part of her life. Krebs’s talks about all of the “complications” of returning back home. He did however, stop and see his sister play baseball before he leaves town.

3) Belleau Wood, Soissons, the Champagne, St. Mihiel, and the Argonne were the sites of fierce and the bloody fighting. What effect have these battles had on Krebs? Why do you think he won’t talk about them to the people at home?

Krebs wanted to talk about the war. Hemingway states, “Later he felt the need to talk but no one wanted to hear about it” (165). Krebs thought that no one wanted to listen to him.Hemingway states, “His town had heard too many atrocity stories to be thrilled by actualities” (165.) The army had a major effect on Krebs.  Krebs learned a lot from the army. Hemingway states, “Besides he did not really need a girl. The army had taught him that” (166).

4) Why does Krebs avoid complications and consequences? How has the war changed his attitudes toward work and women? How is his hometown different from Germany and France? What is the conflict in the story?

Hemingway states, “Krebs wanted his life to go smoothly” (170). That is why Krebs wanted to avoid complications and consequences. Krebs learned a lot from the army. Hemingway states, “Besides he did not really need a girl. The army had taught him that” (166). Krebs explains the different types of guys in the army. Krebs final explanation of women is, “You don’t need a girl unless you thought about them” (167). Krebs than explains the only difference in French and German is the women. The conflict in the story is all of the complications of returning back home.

6) How does Krebs’s mother embody the community’s values? What does Krebs think of those values?

Krebs’s mother wants her son to get a job and settle down. Krebs’s mother talks about the other returned soldiers in town. Kreb’s mother even says, “Charley Simmons, who is just your age, has a good job and is going to be married. The boys are all settling down; they’re all determined to get somewhere; you can see that boys like Charley Simmons are on their way to being really a credit to the community” (169). When Krebs’s mother talks to Krebs about the returned soldiers she uses the word “all” a lot to describe them as a whole. After Krebs’s mother tell him all of these things Krebs says, “nothing” in return.

7) Why can’t Krebs’s pray with his mother?

Krebs doesn’t want to lie when he pray with his mother. Krebs dream he has for himself and his mother dream for him are two totally different things. Krebs talks about “consequences” a lot throughout the story. Krebs didn’t want to deal with consequence of praying with his mother.

10) Explain how Krebs’s war experiences are present throughout the story even though we get no details about them.

Krebs’s talks about the things he had learned in the army. Krebs learned a lot from the army. Hemingway states, “Besides he did not really need a girl. The army had taught him that” (166).

Works Cited

Hemingway, Ernest.“Soldier’s Home.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9^th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2012. 165-170. Print.