Soldier’s Home/Krebs and Passivity

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A 3 page essay that examines Ernest Hemingway’s protagonist in his short story “Soldier’s Home,” Harold Krebs, a young man who has been traumatized by his wartime experience. He returns home physically to a small town in Oklahoma only to discover that he can no longer return home mentally. He no longer fits in. His parents expect him to pick up the threads of his life precisely where he left off; in other words, to be unchanged. Mentally scarred, Harold just wants to be left alone and feels totally passive towards his environment. Hemingway’s story explores the extent and boundaries of Harold’s passivity, as he dramatizes the fact that Harold, while passive, comes to a point where he can no longer even pretend that he is unchanged, which means he must leave his parents and family in order to maintain his own identity. Bibliography lists 2 sources.