Disillusionment In Soldier's Home

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Elizabeth Castillo Mr. Stingo English 3 Honors February 8, 2012 Re-adaptation Crisis Some events can have such impact in life that nothing can ever change things back to the way they were. “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway portrays the crisis World War I veterans went through while attempting to re-enter their old lives. Krebs, the protagonist, clearly depicts the characteristics of the “Lost Generation” which include disillusionment, lack of meaning in life, and the loss of previously inculcated morals and values. The most general characteristic of war veterans is disillusionment, a feeling of disappointment towards society that essentially causes a lack of energy to “live life”. Krebs shows disillusionment in his attitude towards…show more content…
When his mother brings up God having something for everyone to do, Krebs replies, “I’m not in His Kingdom” (Hemingway 75). Krebs openly admits not having God in his life. Pre-war society was very pious and one had to have God in his or her life to be a better person and live with good morals. Because Krebs does not feel God with him, he does not strive to live a good life. He hurts his mom after telling her he does not love her and “felt sorry for his mother and she made him lie. He would go to Kansas City and get a job and she would feel all right about it” (Hemingway 77). Krebs means it when he says he does not and cannot love anybody which hurts his mother deeply. Because he has lost or weakened his values he hides how he truly feels and lies and takes it back. He decides that he will run away to Kansas only to escape the problems he cannot confront in his family. Krebs is the perfect example of the difficult re-adaptation process World War I veterans had to go through. Unable to go back to society’s old ways, these soldiers became known as the “Lost Generation”. To combat their feelings of disillusionment and depression, this new generation’s lifestyles became full of parties, drinking, smoking and other habits that had been previously looked down upon, and gave rise to the wild Roaring

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