Nguyễn Trương Trường Thơ

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Friday shift 2 – Group 4

SOLDIER’S HOME

REFLECTION

Soldier's home is a story that reflects the reality of war, and it is the soldiers who suffer severe physical
and mental injuries. The prominent example in the work is Harold Krebs who returns home to his small
town in Oklahoma after serving in World War I. The first effect that Krebs suffered after the war was the
alienation and disconnect with the American society. He felt sick towards people's indifferent attitude
about war. He finds it difficult to connect with the townspeople and his own parents since they don't
really get the atrocities he saw during the war. After going through severe and drastically different
experiences during the war, Krebs finds struggling to find meaning and purpose in his life. He feels
detached and apathetic, unable to reconnect with his pre-war self. The second influence that bring Krebs
out of the society is his parents and townspeople high expectation on him. It’s very hard for him to live
up to these expectations and societal pressures placed on him to reintegrate into civilian life. He desired
simplicity which contrasts with the complicated society he was living in. This severe fact is one more time
pushing him far away from his own town. Therefore, war didn’t wound him in his physical body, but it
killed his inner self. At the end of the story, Krebs would leave his hometown for Kansas where he
believed things were simple and clean. However, this is an open ending without any evidence proving
that he will lead a new life or still remain uncertain. But I believe he will belong to the later phrase. Only
those who have witnessed and experienced war will appreciate the current peaceful life and the
sacrifices of soldiers. The severe psychological effects cannot be erased in a short period of time.
Whether Krebs leaves or stays, the hurt in his soul is still there. Only he can help himself escape his
current adversity. The important thing is whether Krebs is willing to change himself to integrate into the
community or not. We cannot force others to change for us, that is impossible. Only you can change
yourself to get along with everyone.

1. Things would be more positive if Krebs didn’t come home late. Do you agree? Explain.

I don’t agree with that statement. In my perspective, he endured the cruelty of war, and he changed
after the war, so it didn't matter whether he returned sooner or later. During the time Krebs was in the
army, there were so many changes in his hometown and he himself changed. No one side voluntarily
changes themselves to reintegrate with each other. If Krebs hadn't come home late, maybe he would
receive the initial excitement and celebration from the townspeople. But those compliments are only
temporary and then they will return to their original trajectory. Krebs gradually fell to the fringes of
society because he could not respond properly live up to high expectations from his parents and
community like the community could not satisfy Krebs’s desire. It was the deep contradiction between
society's indifference to the war and the psychological ghost in Krebs' heart after the war that made it
impossible for him to return to the Krebs of before the war.

2. Explain the irony in the title 'Soldier's Home'. If you were asked to give another title for the story,
then what would it be?
The title “Soldier’s home” carries a sense of irony in relation to the story’s content. There is irony in the
title "Soldier's Home" given the content of the story. The word "home" usually conjures up images of
coziness, acceptance, and a safe haven. But in the story, Harold Krebs, the soldier, returns to a "home"
that is far from giving him a feeling of comfort or belonging.

If I were to suggest an alternative title for the story, it could be “The concealed scars of soldier”. This title
highlights how Harold Krebs, the main character, is still affected by the war even when he returns home.
It implies that he still feels the effects of what happened to him during the war, which makes it hard for
him to settle down and feel like he belongs in his community. It encapsulates the main idea of the
narrative, which is the psychological and emotional challenges faced by a soldier attempting to make
sense of his experiences during the war while trying to find his place in the American society.

3. “If a writer of prose knows enough about what he is writing about, he may omit things that he knows
and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as
though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one-eighth of it
being above water”. State your understanding about this quote by Hemingway. Give supporting evidence
from the story to prove your point.

Ernest Hemingway's quotation emphasizes the idea of purposeful omission in writing as well as the
intensity of implication. It implies that a talented writer can elicit strong feelings from readers by
disclosing details sparingly and letting them draw their own conclusions and feelings from what is left
unsaid. The comparison to an iceberg highlights the idea that truth and value are found underneath the
surface.

In “Soldier’s home”, in order to give readers the opportunity to deduce the underlying feelings and
experiences of the protagonist, Harold Krebs, Ernest Hemingway purposefully leaves out some specific
information. Firstly, Hemingway lets the readers speculate and surmise the breadth of Krebs' experiences
by withholding detailed accounts of the atrocities and tragedies he suffered. Though those memories
aren't conveyed directly, the readers are nonetheless left with a sense of their weight. This literary
device evokes strong feelings in readers and makes them sympathetic to Krebs' inner turmoil. Secondly,
Hemingway doesn't go into detail about Krebs' inner thoughts or express his feelings directly. Krebs is
portrayed in the story as being emotionally numb and detached, finding it difficult to connect with
others. Readers might infer Krebs' emotional condition from his actions, tone, and interactions with
other people.

In a nutshell Hemingway's quotation shows how intense emotions can be evoked by omitting details,
which enables readers to understand and feel the breadth of a character's experiences. By purposefully
leaving out some details in "Soldier's Home," Hemingway evokes a feeling of unexpressed pain and
emotional detachment that encourages readers to connect with the narrative on a more profound and
sympathetic level.