It think that home can be defined as something we are looking for throughout out life – love, comfort and something which can’t be embraced or explained. Home is not simply a place where you lay your head. Hemingway in his short-story “Soldier’s Home” shows that it is very hard both psychologically and physically to be a soldier.
The whole story is centered not on the war effect on psyche, but rather on home. We see that for Krebs home hasn’t changed physically as it was still situated in hometown in Oklahoma.However, home has changed psychologically as it hasn’t been touched by battles and engagements. Despite the fact that loving family is waiting for him, Krebs feels he has no home any longer.
Home becomes a place only where he can lay his head. The author shows symbolically that the main hero has changed, but he doesn’t want to. Krebs realizes that he is an alien in his home as no one in the family has survived what he has. I think that the author is willing to show that home is important, but it can be never found.
Moreover, the definition of home can be changed as Krebs’ one. Home is usually associated with family, but family doesn’t allow Krebs to become an adult. For example, when they don’t let Krebs buy a car, they don’t want him to grow and to change. They tend to forget about his war experience and they don’t ask Krebs about the war.
However, it seems they care more of themselves rather than of Krebs’ happiness. Krebs realizes that his mother is getting him to pray and to eat breakfast. For Krebs it is routine and doesn’t mean home.Mother wants Krebs to find a job and to be credit to the community as other boys.
Moreover, she wants Krebs to be engaged, but Krebs doesn’t want to put efforts to win the prize. As the end we see that Krebs rejects the world he used to live as he has changed. He can’t live in a place which has become so strange and not understandable. He decides to search for another life and for another home.
Krebs moves to Kansas City and I think that the author shows that hope to find home never dies.
