soldiers

White
Aaron White
Dr. C. Speer
English 102 T&TH

18 February 2020
Outline
I. Introduction

Thesis Statement: The difficulties of a soldier going through postwar adjustment and

attempting to fit back into society include the inability to talk about what they experienced,

display emotion, and difficulty getting and holding a job.

II. Soldiers show difficulty talking about what they have experienced in war.

A. They feel no one understands.

B. There are not that many people that actually care enough to listen.

III. They have a problem showing emotion.

A. They are taught to keep all emotion inside.

B. The mental beating from war causes them to have no feelings.

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V. Conclusion

Aaron White

Dr. C. Speer

English 102 T&TH

English 102 T&TH

17 February 2020

Back Home
The effects that war have on soldiers do not just occur on the battlefield. They linger, often

times, for many years after a soldier returns home, and in some cases, a veteran is never able to shake

the experiences from war. In “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway, the author writes about the

protagonist, Harold Krebs, and some of the challenges he faces on his return home from World War I.

Some of the difficulties of a soldier going through postwar adjustment and attempting to fit back into
society include the inability to talk about what they experienced, display emotion, and difficulty

getting and holding a job.

One can only imagine the thoughts that run through a person’s head who has seen war. Most

soldiers and veterans long to talk about their experiences while in the military and war but there is no

way a civilian who has not experienced the same could understand. The author alludes to this with
the quote, “His acquaintances, who had heard detailed accounts of German women found chained to

machine guns in the Argonne and who could not comprehend,” (handout). Also, there is a sad truth
that there are not as many people as one might think that actually care to listen to a soldier or
veteran’s troubles. This can be seen within the firdt few paragraphs of the story as Hemingway

writes, “ Later he felt the need to talk but no one wanted to hear about it.” (handout).
The inability and difficulty to show emotion hampers a great deal and soldiers coming back

home. A soldier is taught to adapt and react to adversity and rely on their training; emotion is not part
of the picture in the line of duty. So upon returning home, many just seem to be numb and
emotionless. The author writes of Krebs watching the girls in his town and says, “He would have

liked to have a girl but he did not want to spend a long time getting her… He did not want to have to
do any courting.” (handout). Krebs did not want to because those things require feelings and

emotion, which he had none to share. Krebs also showed this in a conversation with his own mother
where she asked him, “Don’t you love your mother dear boy?” which he replied, “No,” followed by,

“ I don’t love anybody.” (handout).

 To be a valuable asset to society, a person must work and give something back, Soldiers,
often times, have difficulty with this and getting and holding a job, whether it be because they do not

have much will to do anything or they feel they just do not belong anywhere. Hemingway talks of
Krebs always sleeping late and his sister asks him one morning, “Well, Hare, you old sleepy-head.

What do you ever get up for?” His mother also asks him if he has been thinking of what he is going
to for work and he seems very disinterested and acts as if he does not want to do anything, “ She says
“God has some work for everyone to do,” and that “There can be no idle hands in His Kingdom.” He

resentfully replies to her saying that he is not of His Kingdom, somewhat implying that he is not like
everyone else and has no sense of belonging.

Soldiers have had difficulties coming to terms and adjusting with the experiences they have
had in war since the beginning of time and it will always be an issue in our society. There are many
stories, such as “Soldiers Home”, that attempt to shed some light on the subject but unless has

actually been in those shoes, they can never fully understand the constant struggles that go on
inside a soldier’s mind. It is a sad fact and the inability to talk about experiences, show

emotion, and obtain a job and become valuable contributions to society are just a few of the
difficulties that a soldier who has returned from war faces.

Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. “Soldiers Home.” from In Our Time. (1925) (handout)