![Ernest Hemingway 1923 passport photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Ernest_Hemingway_1923_passport_photo.jpg)
"Soldier's Home" is a short story by
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
. It was included in the 1925 ''Contact Collection of Contemporary Writers'' and published by
Boni & Liveright
Boni & Liveright (pronounced "BONE-eye" and "LIV-right") is an American trade book publisher established in 1917 in New York City by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. Over the next sixteen years the firm, which changed its name to Horace Live ...
in Hemingway's 1925 New York collection short stories, ''
In Our Time''.
[Oliver, (1999), 308]
Summary
The story's protagonist is Harold Krebs, a young man who is unhappy after he returns home from serving in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
The story begins with a very brief background of Krebs' life. Before the war, he attended a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
college in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
where he was part of a fraternity. In 1917, Krebs enlisted in the
Marines
Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
and did not return to the United States from Germany until 1919.
By the time of his return to his home state of
Oklahoma, the town has already given the returned soldiers a big, elaborate welcoming; Krebs’ return seems late and irrelevant as the war had already been over for some time. Krebs was involved in the battles at
Belleau Wood,
Soissons
Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...
, the
Champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...
,
St. Mihiel, and the
Argonne Forest. At first, Krebs did not want to share his experiences, but as time progressed at home, he wanted to talk about the war but no one wanted to listen. Krebs lies about his wartime accounts in order to gain an audience, though he does not want a ton.
By late summer, Krebs is doing typical things: he sleeps in late, reads books, plays pool and his clarinet, goes for walks and reads. He has no interest getting a girlfriend. He just looks at girls because they are pretty, but he does not want to have to work to get one.
About a month after his return, his mother requests that he come downstairs to eat breakfast. While Krebs is eating breakfast he reads the newspaper and talks to Helen. He then agrees that he loves his mother, but without much emotion.
The conversation ends as his mother comes back into the room and asks to speak with Krebs. His mother says God cannot have any idle hands in his Kingdom. Krebs replies that he is not in His Kingdom. He then feels embarrassed for saying that. Krebs’ mother then tells him that she understands how he feels, and that she is worried about him. She says that her father told her about his own service in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and that she has been praying for Krebs because she knows how he must feel. She then asks if Krebs loves her, and he says no; she cries. Krebs states that he doesn't love anybody. Krebs then realizes that he won't be able to make her understand and saying that will only hurt her. He says that he did not mean what he said but he does not love anyone anymore. Krebs begs her to believe that he did not mean it and so she prays for him.
The story concludes with Krebs plotting to leave his hometown and get a job in
Kansas City.
Style and themes
In the 1920s, Hemingway was inspired by
Ezra Pound's writings and applied the poet's principles of
imagism
Imagism was a movement in early-20th-century Anglo-American poetry that favored precision of imagery and clear, sharp language. It is considered to be the first organized modernist literary movement in the English language. Imagism is someti ...
to his own early work.
[Meyers (1985), 74, 126] Hemingway's short stories from the 1920s adhere to Pound's tight definition of imagism;
[Benson (1975), 285–287] biographer
Carlos Baker
Carlos Baker (May 5, 1909, Biddeford, Maine – April 18, 1987, Princeton, New Jersey) was an American writer, biographer and former Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature at Princeton University. He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and ...
writes that in his short stories Hemingway tried to learn how to "get the most from the least,
oprune language,
omultiply intensities,
otell nothing but the truth in a way that allowed for telling more than the truth".
Hemingway adapted this style into a technique he called his
iceberg theory
The iceberg theory or theory of omission is a writing technique coined by American writer Ernest Hemingway. As a young journalist, Hemingway had to focus his newspaper reports on immediate events, with very little context or interpretation. When h ...
: as Baker describes it, the hard facts float above water while the supporting structure, including the symbolism, operates out of sight.
[Baker (1972), 117]
Setting
The story takes place in Krebs’ hometown in Oklahoma around the early 1920s after World War I. The town is the same, while Krebs himself has changed. His home is where he reflects on things that have changed him, like watching the girls and not wanting to get one, and telling his mother he does not love her.
Symbolism
There are many symbols used throughout the story. Harold Krebs' name itself is a symbol. Harold "is an old English name meaning army power or army ruler." Krebs also had German ties to the word crab, which is a metaphor for Krebs’ crab-like shell he has obtained from his experiences (Ullrich What's).
The way that Harold has changed represents how America has been changed from the war. His values were changed now, like how America has been challenged from changing values to more modern times (Smelstor Soldier's).
Krebs’ home plays a large role in the story as well. On his porch, Krebs sits and observes the women of his town, much like how trenches in warfare allow a vantage point to observe enemy's movements. Here, Krebs' home is represented in such a way that can be related to Krebs’ wartime experiences.
The map is another symbol. Krebs is reading a book about the war but he wished it had many more detailed maps. This symbolizes how now he is searching for direction in his own life, how he wishes his life would be mapped out. For the past two years he has been in the army listening to directions, now he is free and does not know what to do.
A final symbol is the photograph in the beginning of the story. It describes Krebs and his fraternity brothers all of whom were wearing exactly the same thing. This shows "the conformist mentality of prewar, midwestern America" (Smelstor What's).
Television adaptation
''
Soldier's Home'' was adapted to a
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
television movie in 1977.
References
Sources
*
Baker, Carlos (1981). ''Ernest Hemingway Selected Letters 1917–1961''. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
* Benson, Jackson (1975). "Ernest Hemingway as Short Story Writer". in Benson, Jackson (ed). ''The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway: Critical Essays''. Durham NC: Duke University Press.
* Meyers, Jeffrey (1985). ''Hemingway: A Biography''. New York: Macmillan.
* Oliver, Charles (1999). ''Ernest Hemingway A to Z: The Essential Reference to the Life and Work''. New York: Checkmark Publishing.
* Hemingway, Ernest. "Soldier’s Home" The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing, 11th ed, edited by Michael Meyer, Bedford/St. Martin's, 2015, pp. 162–166.
* De Baerdemaeker, Ruben. "Performative Patterns in Hemingway's 'Soldier's Home'." The Hemingway Review, no. 1, 2007, p. 55.
* Smelstor, Marjorie. "Soldier’s Home." Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition, January 2004, pp. 1–2.
* Smelstor, Marjorie. "Soldier's Home by Ernest Hemingway." Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature, 2016.
* Imamura, Tateo. "'Soldier's Home': Another Story of a Broken Heart." The Hemingway Review, no. 1, 1996, p. 102.
* Ullrich, David W. ""What's in a Name?"—Krebs, Crabs, Kraut: The Multivalence of "Krebs" in Hemingway's Soldier's Home." Studies in Short Fiction, vol. 29, Summer92, pp. 363–375.
External links
* Full text o
"Soldier's Home"at HathiTrust Digital Library
{{Hemingway
1925 short stories
Short stories by Ernest Hemingway