Importance Of Krebs In Soldier's Home

In Ernest Hemingway's “Soldier’s Home”, the protagonist Harold Krebs returns to his home in the United States after serving his country overseas in World War 1. Krebs feels that it was much easier to be friends with French and German girls since they could not communicate on a complex level. On a similar note, the French and German girls shared the same simplicity as Krebs. It was also easy for Krebs to make social with the foreign girls since he was a soldier and his uniform was all he needed to attract the simple girls. In the first place, Krebs comes from a background of a mid-west American family with a mother tongue of English. By the same token, the French and German girls knew their languages and would most likely make up for their verbal communication with Krebs by gestures. This is what attracted Krebs, since he was able to “make friends” with the foreign girls without even going through the chore of having conversations. Making conversation with a soldier seemed trivial, especially with a war ongoing.

This is most likely why Krebs hopes for more complete maps in the volumes of books on the war so that he may locate the areas he was passing through. With the countryside comes simplicity. Krebs found simplicity in the war and the simple instructions from superiors. He found that same simplicity in the foreign girls, something he could not find in the girls back home. To him, they were too complex and the politics involved in courting a girl only reinforced his want for simple