Krebs struggles to re-enter normal life after he returns
from the war. Since none of his family or all of the citizens surrounding him
has no understanding of his struggles from the war and receives absolutely no
appreciation from them, Krebs feels apathy towards life. He constantly reflects
on his own life and his opinions regarding different struggles he faces when he
returns home. The constant repetition that Hemingway utilizes throughout the
short story “Soldier’s Home” emphasize the theme and purpose of the story and
help the reader understand how Krebs truly feels.
Krebs
begins with repetition about girls for a few pages within the short story. He
began with mentioning, “Nothing was changed in the town except for the young
girls had grown up. But they lived in such a complicated world of already defined
alliances and shifting feuds that Krebs did not feel the energy or courage to
break into it.” This line accentuates Krebs change that he encounters when he
returns to his hometown. The town did not change but the people around him did,
and nobody understands him, not even the young girls. Since nobody appreciated
his service in the war once he returned, he has no courage or ambition to even
approach any of the girls. Krebs also tells later that “he did not want to get
into the intrigue and politics…did not want to have to do any courting…did not
want to tell any more lies.” He does not want to explain to a girl what he has
dealt with and the struggles he constantly deals with after returning from the
war. The repetition of the girls and “lies” help explain why Krebs really
struggled returning home.
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