Katharina Ochsenfahrt

Discussion essay on the short story "Soldier's Home" by Ernest Hemingway: How does Krebs's mother embody the community's values and what does Krebs think of those values? Katharina Ochsenfahrt

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, http://www.uni-jena.de/ (Institut für Anglistik/ Amerikanistik), course: Academic Writing, language: English, abstract: Relationships between parents and their children are never easy, because they belong to different generation, and have therefore different values in life. This often leads to conflicts. But in the short story Soldier's Home by Ernest Hemingway the protangonist Krebs and his mother do not have an usual generation conflict. Krebs has a changed character, because he has been to war. He does not have an aim in his life anymore. Krebs's mother embodies the community's values, and she makes Krebs start an adult life against his will. This includes that she encourages him to find a job, and a girlfriend. Moreover, she wants him to believe in God, and to show affection for her and the rest of the family.