Krebs Experience In The War example essay topic

Has one ever left his / her home country for a while and undergone a profound change in life experience outside his / her hometown? If so, may one be able to accommodate himself / herself to the changed situation after one has returned to his / her home? In Ernest Hemingway's! oldier's Home, !" he effectively depicts the conflicts of characters between the protagonist, Harold Krebs, and the antagonists, Krebs! | family and his friends. In order to perceive the conflicts in! oldier's Home, !" it is important for one to understand the literary meanings of character, protagonist, and antagonist. A character is a person, animal, or something else presented in a dramatic or narrative work. A protagonist who is the main character of a narrative engages the reader's interest and empathy.

On the other hand, an antagonist is the character in fiction that opposes the protagonist and gives rise to the conflict of the story. There are three main conflicts between Krebs and others. The first conflict, which he might encounter immediately after returning to his home from the Rhine, is the conflict of the perception of war between him and the people of his hometown, Oklahoma. Since people in the town know that! SShe enlisted in the Marines!" during World War I, they ask him to talk about the glories of the war. However, he refuses to mention anything about the war because!

SS [he finds] that to be listened to at all he ha [s] to lie. !" To him, war is horrific because of his traumatic experience in the war. As a result, ! SShe ha [s] been badly sickeningly frightened all the time.

!" Nevertheless, people who have not been drafted into military think their victory in the war is glorious. They! SS welcome elaborately on [the] return!" of their military. Krebs does not want to be welcomed, so he comes back! SS years after the war [i]'s over. !" People cannot identify with his unpleasant experience in the war; as a result, they!

SS seem to think it [i]'s ridiculous for him to be getting back so late. !" The conflict of the perception of war shows that Krebs has a deep horror of war, but others glorify their victory in the war. The second conflict is the conflict of social values between Krebs and his friends. The social values of people are that adults should work and marry to contribute society. After coming back home, Krebs becomes idle. He has a routine life.

He! SS sleep [s] late in bed, ! K play [s] pool, ! K practice [s] on his clarinet, stroll [s] down town, read [s], and [goes] to bed. !" As his mother says to him: ! SS [He] los [es] [his] ambition, that [he] ha [s] n! |t got a definite aim in life.

!" He does not want to find a job, and he does not need a girl either.! SS When he [i]'s in town, [the girls! |] appeal to him [i]'s not very strong. !" He cannot settle down after the war, but his friends in his age have already! Sshe [d] a good job and [are] going to be married. !" The conflict of social values indicates that Krebs cannot accommodate himself to the community because he does not have! SSthe courage to break into it.

!" However, his friends have already followed the social values and contributed themselves to society. The last conflict is the conflict of family relation between Krebs and his parents. After returning to his hometown, he loses his affections for others. When his mother asks him if he still loves her, he replies honestly that he does not. Not only his mother, ! SS [he] do [es] n! |t love anybody.

!" His parents still love and concern about him as before. His mother wants to pray for him, and his father wants him to get a job and! top in and see him at his office!" . Nevertheless, he does not want to pray because he thinks he is! S Snot in [God's] Kingdom, !" and he refuses to!

SS go down to his father's office. !" The conflict of family relation demonstrates Krebs! | inability to love despite of the love from his family. Krebs! | experience in the war results him to create irreconcilable conflicts of the perception of war, social values, and family relation between him and others. While people usually feel glorious if their country defects the enemy, Krebs is horrified by the war. While the community encourages people to work and marry, Krebs neither wants to get a job nor finds a girl. While love is essential to people, Krebs does not need it.

He feels alienated from society. He loses his identity because! SSthe world they [a] re in [i]'s not the world he [i]'s in. !" If he could stay in a country where he liked and felt comfortable, he might not have to suffer isolation from society.