Existentialism in Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway Essay...

The saying â€Å"Existence precedes essence† is the slogan of existentialism. This element of existentialism is displayed throughout the short story â€Å"Soldier’s Home† by Ernest Hemingway. Of the different elements of existentialism, existence precedes essence is most evident in â€Å"Soldier’s Home†. Harold Krebs was a soldier in World War 1 who got back afew months later than the rest of the men from his town. He was forced to tell lies about his war experiences in order to get along and fit in with the people in his town. â€Å"His lies were quite unimportant lies and consisted in attributing to himself things other men had seen, done or heard of, and stating as facts certain apocryphal incidents familiar to all soldiers† (Hemingway 654). Even though†¦show more content†¦This all matters because if Krebs wanted to change the path in which his life was headed he had the ability to do so. â€Å"’Soldier’s Home’ is also a story about the main characters inability to make commitments for fear of the consequences those commitments might engender† (â€Å"Soldier’s Home†: Short Stories for Students). Harold Krebs was reluctant to partake in the activities that many young people his age were doing such as relationships. Krebs wa s not interested in following the norms of society. He did not feel obligated to be like everyone else which is exactly what he should have felt. Most people give into to what the society wants because they feel that it is the only logical path to take. If you are just like everyone else what impact on the world could you possibly have? As for Harold Krebs, he did not believe that it was his duty to be just like everyone else. Even when his family pushed him to be like everyone else he just did his thing. The war changed Krebs into someone that he nor his family recognized. Krebs came back to a town where nothing had changed. Krebs no longer fit in because the war had such a dramatic impact on his life and way of thinking. â€Å"Nothing had changed in the town except the young girls had grown up† (Hemingway). The people in the town did not understand what Krebs had truly gone through during the war. After such traumatic events occurred, Krebs would never be the same. Today, we know that Krebs probably suffered fromShow MoreRelated Nothingness in A Clean Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway1369 Words   |  6 PagesNothingness in A Clean Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway Man is often plagued by the question of his own existence. Existentialism is a subjective philosophy that is centered upon the examination of man’s existence, emphasizing the liberation, responsibility, and usually the solitude of the individual. It focuses on individuals finding a reason for living within themselves. The philosophy forces man to make choices for himself, on the premise that nothing is preordained, there is no fate