Hi everyone!

I just finished reading “Soldiers Home” by Ernest Hemingway and I must say I was quite disappointed in the way Krebs character was portrayed. It seems as though he expects society to praise him because of the fact that he IS a soldier and that he fights for their country. Obviously we should acknowledge the fact that he is a Soldier and that he has put himself at risk for us, but he shouldn’t just do it because he wants attention. He should do it because he wants to.

I would also like to point out that I don’t really like the way this Author writes, but lets save that for another day.

Anyway, Jackson J. Benson cleverly recognizes the main theme “Blindness vs. Awareness” throughout the story. The son and mother have many conflicting encounters as the mother tries to talk to him and make him feel more at home by offering him access to the car, for example. I think that both Kerbs and his mother took turns in being the “Blind” and the “Aware” one. Hemingway writes “Krebs found that to be listened to at all he had to lie, and after he has done this twice he, too, has a reaction against the war and against talking about it” (Hemingway 273). From this quote, we can clearly see that Krebs thinks that since his stories don’t seem to cause any type of reaction upon his family, he can just lie to make it seem more exciting and interesting. This is an example of why I believe that Krebs could be the one whom is Blind. But on the other hand, I can also see why he can be a little hurt. He has served his country, whether it was for 2 months or 2 years, and he thinks that it should be rewarded. And it should be. We all can recognize the importance and bravery of the Soldiers that have sacrificed their lives for us, but we also need to recognize that these horrific events and details from war can be emotionally damaging to some people. Maybe his mother didn’t want to hear about it for a reason. Maybe she was just happy that he came home safe, and doesn’t want to think about him getting hurt or worse. Which brings me to my previous point about the mother possibly being the one “Aware”.  Although she is UNaware of the trauma that her son has gone through, she is more interested in the fact that he is safe, and at home.

I do admit that in parts of the story, the point of view can be reversed. The mother can be blind. For instance, when she says “..and he is willing for you to take the car out in the evenings,” (Hemingway 276) to Krebs, it seems as though she is talking to him like a child who needs discipline and responsibilities even though he is a grown man. But i’m sure that we can all admit that she is just happy to have her son back. Not all parents are fortunate enough to have their children safe at home and not at war risking their lives. The parents who do have this child, can be emotionally stressed because of all the horrific and traumatizing events that we, as a society, hear as outside perspectives. I should also point out the Krebs can as well be “applaud” because of the new “awareness” he has towards mankind.  After his experience with war, we can only assume that he has become used to facing these horrible events and is not ready to face any more complications in his life for the time being.

In conclusion, at first I was pessimistic about which character was “blind” and which was “aware” because of the many different conflicting idea’s that the mother and son had towards each other, but I came to the conclusion that the two characters can be seen in both perspectives. Blindness vs. Awareness was a great way of portraying the theme in “Soldiers Home,” and I definitely applaud Mr. Benson for pointing that out. It made it much easier to understand 🙂

Thanks,

– Victoria