A Lost Hero

ENG 1102

19 September 2010

A Lost Hero

The story “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway, he paints a picture about the life of a young solider named Harold Krebs. Hemingway’s picture clearly lacks empathy, confidence, and placement for the young man after he has served his time in battle. Without these elements, a soldier would struggle in life just as Krebs did. Krebs came from a loving family, whose life revolved around their religious values. “Krebs [even] went to the war from a Methodist college…” (para 1). Before going to war Krebs life seemed ordinarily. “There is a picture which shows him among his fraternity brothers…” (para 1). This suggests that he was not only smart, but well liked among his peers.

Hemingway’s lack of empathy is clearly portrayed in several incidents throughout the story. After going to war and returning home, Krebs life had changed drastically. Many of the men who were drafted from Krebs hometown arrived home two years before him. “By the time Krebs returned to his home town in Oklahoma the greeting of heroes was over” (para 3). The town saw the other soldiers’ as their hero’s. Hemingway never mentioned in the story why Krebs came home long after the others. However, he did portray how the towns’ people found it strange. Krebs felt lonely, as if the work of fighting for his country, people did not appreciate. The war stories had been told and Krebs found lying to be a main source of any kind of appreciation from anyone. But yet, even through the lies, people seemed not to care. Krebs needed the moral support that every soldier has to have. Relief from the pain, from the experiences Krebs went through, he needed someone to just listen. At times, Krebs mother wanted to talk about the events that Krebs faced. But after Krebs would began to tell his story, “her attention always wandered” (para 8).

Confidence is another problem that Krebs lacked in Hemingway’s story. Perhaps one main factor is that there was no father-son...