Soldier's Home

“By the time Krebs returned to his home town in Oklahoma the greeting of heroes was over.”

This quote establishes Harold’s place in the world. After returning from World War I, he does not receive a hero’s welcome, which foreshadows the main conflict of the story. Namely, his mother will have little compassion for his plight and urge him to get a job and settle down.

“A distaste for everything that had happened to him in the war set in because of the lies he had told. All of the times that had been able to make him feel cool and clear inside himself when he thought of them; the times so long back when he had done the one thing, the only thing for a man to do, easily and naturally, when he might have done something else, now lost their cool, valuable quality and then were lost themselves.”

This quote shows Harold’s alienation since returning from the war. The only way people will listen to his stories is if he tells lies, which makes him feel bad about himself and the war. Although at the time he thought the “manly” thing to do was to enlist in the military, he is now conflicted about that choice and wonders if he should have done something else.

“His mother would have given him breakfast in bed if he had wanted it. She often came in when he was in bed and asked him to tell her about the war, but her attention always wandered. His father was non-committal.”

This quote speaks to the theme of Postwar Generational Divides. Harold’s parents try but are unable to fully understand Harold’s experiences during the war. There’s a distance and disconnect between them.