Ernest Hemingway’s short story “Soldier’s Home” is a Modernism story that focuses on the life of a soldier named Krebs, who joined the marines and fought in World War I, as he returned from Europe years after the war had concluded (Hemingway 69). Ernest Hemingway is considered one of the most prominent American writers of the twentieth century, widely celebrated for his works of fiction in novels and short stories (Young.) Hemingway was heavily influenced by the political atmosphere of the early 20th century and his month-long stint in Italy on the Piave River front which resulted in an injury from an Austrian trench mortar that badly wounded him (Wagner-Martin 23). With the rise of Modernism in the literary world coming to fruition late in the 19th century …show more content…
His short story, “Soldier’s Home,” is a perfect case study of the work of a Modernist and clearly demonstrates the themes that surrounded the movement as well as the general mood of the time period following The Great War. The setting for “Soldier’s Home” is in a small town in Oklahoma and his home. The main plot takes place shortly after his arrival home (Lamb 90). Ernest Hemingway exemplifies the Modernist themes of ambiguity, non-traditional ideologies, nihilism, and abstract ideas throughout the short story. Foremost of the time period and of the Modernism movement, also reflected through Hemingway’s works, was the lingering sense of ambiguity that existed following the conclusion of The Great War. Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” reflects this theme throughout the short story through the literary style Hemingway used to create the story’s atmosphere as well as through the actions of Krebs himself. The story is written using the third person limited point of view which helps to exemplify the thoughts and emotions of Krebs as opposed to the actions of his family which serves to demonstrates the societal norms of the time period. Throughout the story, Hemingway