Explain how krebs in a soldier home would rather observe life than Essay

Explain how krebs in a soldier home would rather observe life than live it. give reason as to why he feels that way use exa - Essay Example But in the later part of the story he is referred to as Krebs, to elucidate the transformation in his character. The Krebs is a German word which in English means cancer. The author very interestingly refers to Harold’s character as Krebs in the later part of the story because he wants to describe the transformation that the character went through, which completely left him disdained from all earthly emotions. He wants to be part of a simple life than involve in complexities. He has transformed into a person who just observes life rather than living it. In the story â€Å"A Soldier’s Home†, Hemmingway describes three very important situations which mark Harold’s transformation into Krebs. It was the time of the First World War, when most of the young lads joined the army to fight for their motherland. Harold Krebs was one such young man who joined the army after college. It was only after his return from the war that the first instance of his transformatio n was marked. Krebs was a little late to return home and was not part of the celebration that the other soldiers received on their return. By the time he came back all the hysteria regarding the war has settled down, people were no longer interested in war stories but Krebs wanted to experience the thrill and in couple of occasions he even lied about the stories. People were interested in lies not the realities of war. This gave birth to a raging conflict within Krebs, against the entire community. People were not interested in his stories and that left him in a state of shock. There were many criticisms regarding this point. As Hemingway’s "Soldier’s Home" opens, Harold Krebs, the protagonist, has just come back from World War I. All the other young men his age have settled back into small-town life and found a niche for themselves as contributing members of the community. But Harold, for some reason, cannot do this; instead, he plays pool, "practice[s] on his clarine t, stroll[s] down town, read[s], and [goes] to bed."(Bernardo, K., n. d.) "Nothing was changed in the town except that the young girls had grown up". â€Å"It appears as if the town was never affected by the war, not as Krebs had been. The town radiates conformity, such as the girls all wearing the same clothes. Harold's mother and father wish for him to conform too, as he once did in college where he too wore the same clothes as his fraternity brothers†(Comtois, Jean P., n.d.).   The second instance in the story which depicts Krebs character slowly turning into an observer of life rather than living it is when he starts appreciating the beauty of the girls of his hometown, but does not want to involve into any relationship with them. In war he had learnt that, one did not need girls to survive, though few of his soldier friends thought differently, he did not believe that the complexities of relationship were worth it. When all of his other contemporaries had returned from the war and settled down into the culture of the town, it was he who could not relate to any emotion and did not even feel it to be worth it. He only felt comfortable eyeing things from a distant. Even this phase of Krebs life was up for many criticisms some of which are, â€Å"