Literary Analysis on Hemingway's Soldier's Home - Essay Example

Literary Analysis on Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” Introduction Literature is an evident reflection of life. It bears the scar of the time and reflections of the social paradigm from which it has evolved. The creator of such milestones that engage, scintillate and enlighten the readers for ages perish but their creations captivating the precise flavour of the age continues to illuminate the world till eternity. One of such eternal masterpiece is “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway.

The short story appeared in the anthology of short stories by Hemingway bearing the title “In Our Time” was published in the year 1925. These stories along with the stories of “Nick Adams “ series and stories from “Indian Camp” introduced Hemingway as an author to the rest of the world. But very astonishingly the story “Soldier’s Home” has that charm, that enigma to captivate and engage the minds of the readers of all ages. Thesis Statement The contemporary content of the story, its relevant relative presentation reaches it beyond any particular frame of time and make it universal and timeless in its approach.

Exploration of the Character of Harold Kerb to the Devices of Monologue and Dialogue The character portrayal of Hemingway’s protagonist of the short story, “Soldier’s Home” finds exploration through internal monologue and exchanges of dialogues between the various other characters of the story. For example, it is observed that Harold’s mother tries to restore the lost faith of Kerb over religion and she remarks, “God has some work for everyone to do. We are all of us in His Kingdom” (Hemingway, “The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway”, Pg - 115).

The revelation of the character of Kerb finds its expression through the position of Kerb before and after the war in the society, his post-war trauma and depression and his relationship with his family members as well. The exploration of these themes operating throughout the plot of the story gains a timeless flavour to the story, “Soldier’s Home”. Exploration of the Thesis A piece of literature appeals irrespective of the barriers of time, age and society only when the content and the theme of the story become universally relative.

The theme of alienation and isolation pervades all ages at all times. The story “Soldier’s Home” is a story of a soldier named Harold Kerb who joined war from the Methodist College and about his life after the war. The plot of the story accelerates between the past and the present life of the soldier. It is a story of Kerb’s trajectory before initiating into the war and his homecoming. The trajectory of Kerb’s life takes place in transition and the myriad transitory phase of Kerb’s life is marked by the transition in the story also.

Effects of War on Kerb The first transition takes place through the emotional shift in the life of Kerb which can be felt through his difference in behaviour before and after joining the war. The emotional aggravation that Kerb suffers affects his present and future and the sorrow is from his past life. The scar of Kerb’s past life continues in his present upsetting his future. The sorrow of the young soldier who enlists himself into the marine, serves and sacrifices his youth for his country and transits into the phase of life called manhood completely gets out of place after returning from war.

Reclusive and completely unfitting not only into the small town where he once spends a simple life but Kerb had to struggle a lot to find his space in his own home too. This transition of Kerb’s life which gets complicated all of a sudden and those too without any of his own fault, relates mostly with a greater audience and makes the plot and the theme of the story timeless, “He did not want them themselves really. They were too complicated” (Hemingway, “The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway”, Pg - 112).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder on Kerb Kerb is lost and confused and for this reason he can be related with the common man. Far from being a hero of the story Kerb appeals his readers like a boy form the next door. His failure to relate with the normal lifestyle after the recess from the war recalls the trouble which the veteran soldier form the Vietnam war in the recent past even suffered from and not only that any soldier who has spend a considerable portion of his life in the war front will find the story of Kerb very relative as this is a problem faced by any superannuated soldier irrespective of any age, time and society making the story “Soldier’s Home” timeless.

Post-War Changed Relationships Lastly, the way Kerb fails to relate to the girls who with the passage of time have changed into women appeals the readers of the story “Soldier’s Home” mostly and makes it easy for the commonplace readers to fit well into the shoes of Kerb. In the story, the reaction of Kerb for the girls of the town which he has left at the prime of his youth and vigour finds record in this way, “Nothing was changed in the town except that the young girls had grown up” (Hemingway, “The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway”, Pg - 112).

This is expressed pertinently through his relationship with the girls, the failure of communication that is evident in the post modern era where the breakdown of communication is very obvious. But at a greater realm the relationship of Kerb with the girls actually relates his relationship with people and in this way it gives a scope to the readers of the story of all ages and all times to be a part of Kerb’s life thereby making it timeless. Conclusion The short story by Ernest Hemingway, “Soldier’s Home” is set against the backdrop of the post-war depression and trauma encountered by a soldier after the World War I but the theme and content of the story make it timeless.

The story of Harold Kerb is not his own rather it echoes the depression, trauma and bizarre numbness encountered by every soldier across the globe who tries hard to revert to a normal mainstream life.