This story was very emotional, it showed a person who was desensitized by war. Knowing that Hemingway was probably going through many of the same thoughts and emotions it made the read all that much more real. Coming from a military family I know many people who have been in and around war. These people have all handled it in different ways but every one of them have had their lives changed forever by being around that environment. One of the more depressing parts of the story was the way that the main character Krebs was unable to really feel anything after he came back from the war, most notably love. He sees girls walking around the town, but knows that he can't have a conversation with them and really can't have a real relationship. This desensitization of feeling shows up again after the mother asks him if he loves her and he says no. In fact he can not even pray with his mother because he does not feel connected in that way. Perhaps this is because the nature of war where personal feelings make it hard to be a good soldier as it would be very difficult to keep fighting if you really cared about the person fighting next to you. Maybe Hemingway wanted to show the world that even if the war didn't take his or Krebs's life it took a great part of his soul.
Another point I thought was interesting was how Krebs missed the "heroes welcome" that preceded his own homecoming. When Krebs tried to find a sort of acknowledgment from the town and his stories, he finds out that most of the people have heard a great deal about the war and really don't find his stories special. This of course leads to his lying to generate a response but even then people do not want to hear. This must have been hard for Krebs because he has seen what war was like and perhaps wanted to tell somebody for a theraputic reason but nobody cared to listen. Maybe they did not want to hear about the war anymore, maybe they wanted to get on with their life. In fact a bit of symbolism was associated with the town as most of the town remained unchanged. It was in direct relation to how much Krebs changed and how he was not able to function in a world he once knew. If there was a question I would ask it would be what happened to Krebs was he able to get on with his life or did the war eventually destroy him.
I like your comment on how if the war didnt take krebs life it took part of his soul. I find that interesting and wonder how many soldiers come back to only to realize they havent got much left.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question I would say that Hemingway appears to hint to us that Krebs is determined to get his life back on track at the end of the story. After the talk with his mom he says that he is going to go get a job, even though we are not told much more then that. I think that we are left to assume, and hope, that Krebs was able to get a job and turn his life around.
ReplyDeleteI actually think that sadly Krebs was never able to get his life back together. The way the story eventual ends i believe suggests that he has died either on accident or suicide.
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