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The ways of how a person’s psychological state and attitudes to everyday situations change in response to traumatic experiences, such as war or violence, have been an inspirational topic for multiple generations of writers. “Soldier’s Home,” a short story by Ernest Hemingway, is an excellent example of works that reflect on psychological changes and issues following military service and the difficulties of reintegration into society (1).
First published more than ninety years ago, the short story is devoted to the struggles of Harold Krebs, a young man who has recently returned to Oklahoma, his native state, after serving in the First World War and participating in five battles (Hemingway 1). The story provides a detailed account of how an individual’s everyday experiences and mental condition can change after returning from combat. It is particularly important that the author uses direct ways to convey messages or introduce facts and symbols to illustrate how war creates hundreds of emotionally broken people.
The short story in question opens a window into war veterans’ minds by developing the themes of fixation on the past and feeling underappreciated. After years of challenging experiences in five important battles, the protagonist seems to have an urgent need to tell others about his memories to get some attention and, probably, gain more respect from others (Hemingway 1).
The need to feel accepted and appreciated remains unfulfilled given Harold’s actual life circumstances, and the character realizes that the post-war hysteria and the glorification of soldiers are almost over. Understanding that “his town had heard too many atrocity stories to be thrilled by actualities” and that his real stories can hardly impress anyone and instill profound respect for those participating in the war, Harold has to decorate his real memories with fictional details to avoid being taken for granted (Hemingway 1).
To his disappointment, other people “were not thrilled by his stories” even after hearing all the lies and fabricated details aimed at making Harold’s experiences look more dramatic (Hemingway 1). Although desperately trying to demonstrate affection and “asking him to tell her about the war,” Harold’s mother fails to listen closely, whereas his father does not play a significant role in his life (Hemingway 2). This lack of appreciation apparently causes Harold’s psychological issues to grow.
To continue, the story in question effectively illustrates the reappraisal of values – a common problem that influences veterans’ ability to socialize and adapt to daily life during the peaceful time. Prior to becoming a soldier, Harold used to be quite similar to other boys of his age and was willing to pursue some standard goals, such as getting an education (Mahmood 362). Apart from explicit facts, there are some symbols to give hints about Harold’s bygone potential for becoming an effective member of society in the future. Hemingway begins the story by describing the photo of Harold surrounded by other members of his fraternity, “all of them wearing exactly the same height and style collar” (1).
Looking similar to others may symbolize Harold’s being on the same page with peers and society in general. However, the experience of suffering hardships during the war makes Harold indifferent to things that bother other men of his age in daily life, thus strengthening his apartness. For instance, even though he is still attracted to girls, Harold refuses to work towards building relationships with the opposite sex and do anything to develop mutual understanding with girls (Hemingway 3).
Thanks to his experience of serving in the Marine Forces, Harold understands that being single should never be a tragedy for a man, which makes him rather different from other young men that happen to be addicted to sexual relationships.
Hemingway’s work effectively proves that traumatic events can destroy young people’s essential curiosity, obsession with new experiences, and the ability to enjoy life. After returning home, the main character constantly demonstrates the signs of apathy, as well as indifference towards many things that he used to like. Even though he is still a young man who has multiple opportunities in life, Harold often behaves in a way that makes him similar to elderly people who are sure that life is over and emphasize the negative side of everything. As an example, Hemingway stresses that Harold “had never been allowed to drive the family motor car” before he left the family and joined the military forces (4).
After Harold’s return, his mother observes his strange behaviors and finally understands that something special is needed to make him happier and more enthusiastic about life. Eventually, in an attempt to impress her son, she tells Harold that his father allows him to “take the car out in the evenings” if he wants it (Hemingway 3). Instead of gladness and excitement, her son makes a cynical comment to say that she must have urged the father to say it (Hemingway 4). With that in mind, the detrimental change is evident when it comes to the depth of Harold’s emotional reactions to events that he used to desire before going to war.
Next, the story sheds light on certain disorientation that affects veterans after coming home from wars and encourages them to find ways to get distracted from memories and thoughts about traumatic events. After reuniting with his family in Oklahoma, Harold tries to find some new hobbies and eventually starts playing pool on a regular basis (Hemingway 2). Visiting the pool room becomes an essential part of his daily routine quite quickly, and Harold actually likes playing and polishing his skills (Hemingway 2).
On the one hand, his willingness to play the game on a daily basis is indicative of Harold’s desperate attempts to recreate a sense of order in his life that has been destroyed by the war (Donehoo 40). This desire is understandable since the life of a soldier basically lacks order and regularity, and the risks of unexpected events are high all the time. There is an opinion that the very nature of the game and its rules could help Harold to change his way of thinking and finally regain order and return to normal life (Donehoo 40).
On the other hand, it is possible that Harold sees the game of pool as a good way to engage in intellectually challenging activities and, therefore, reduce the amount of time that he spends suffering from his destructive thoughts about the past.
The work by Hemingway is also interesting since it demonstrates that participation in armed conflicts affects people’s overall health. Harold’s emotional and psychological problems after military service include a sort of emotional stupidity (he even tells his mother that he does not love her) and anxiety (Hemingway 6). The way of how Harold talks to his mother and answers questions that require him to be really delicate and polite may be indicative of some psychological deformations resulting from living in uncertainty during the war. After saying that he does not love his mother, Harold is urged to lie that he “was just angry at something” and did not mean that specific thing (Hemingway 7).
Another problem affecting his overall health is that he finds it difficult to set new goals to pursue, which is indicative of depressive moods. Much of what Harold experiences aligns with the common symptoms of depression and PTSD in veterans, but his problems do not seem to be taken seriously by others (Haynes et al. 235; Salam and Abualadas 100). In the absence of help from qualified professionals, Harold struggles to make his experiences meaningful and overcome fears by improving his knowledge and reading books on war history (Salam and Abualadas 100). Thus, it is possible to say that the story encourages society to recognize the need for special services and resources for veterans.
To sum it up, in “Soldier’s Home,” Ernest Hemingway manages to demonstrate that the consequences of war trauma can reduce a person’s ability to function in society to a large extent. In particular, the short story contains details that shed light on problems that are common among recently deployed veterans, such as the urgent need to feel safe and engage in particular activities on a daily basis to return to normal life as soon as possible. Reintegration can be extremely challenging for veterans, and the story about Harold’s difficulties and attempts to do anything to relieve stress effectively supports the need for services to help veterans to transition back to civilian life.
Works Cited
Donehoo, Molly J. The Significance of the Game of Pool in Ernest Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home.” 2018. Georgia Southern University, Master’s thesis. Web.
Haynes, Patricia L., et al. “Cognitive Behavioral Social Rhythm Group Therapy for Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Sleep Disturbance: Results from an Open Trial.” Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 192, 2016, pp. 234-243.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Soldier’s Home (1925).” So Many Books. Web.
Mahmood, Snoor Ismael. “After-Effect of War on Characters in Ernest Hemingway’s” Soldier’s Home” and Katherine Mansfield’s” The Fly.” Journal of the University of Garmian, vol. 6, 2019, pp. 360-367. Web.
Salam, Wael, and Othman Abualadas. “Trauma Theory: No “Separate Peace” for Ernest Hemingway’s “Hard-Boiled” Characters.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, vol. 6, no. 7, 2017, pp. 97-102. Web.
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