Kid stuck in a Man’s body

In class on Thursday, we touched on a lot of different topics revolving around Hemingway’s character, Krebs, and how his homecoming wasn’t as settling as he wanted it to be. While away fighting, life just seemed simpler. He was a soldier with a set of instructions. All he had to do was do his job, while not getting killed in the process. Although some people might find war a stressful time, I suppose it wasn’t for Krebs. That could just be because his adrenaline was probably rushing 24/7, keeping him in that “fight or flight” mode. It interesting because, when studying the 1950s, we learn about the troubles soldiers had after coming home from the war. After constantly being on the look out for the enemy and wanting to keep alive, coming home to a peaceful environment where all they had to do was sit at a desk from 8-5 was a pretty drastic switch. People almost felt the need to be back in that war situation, physically and psychologically, and so major cases of PTSD sprung up as many men’s minds, in response to the lack of a war environment at home, brought the war back home.

Now, it would be an easy assumption to say that Krebs has PTSD, but I think his condition goes a little more in depth than the normal case. It seems as though Krebs wants his time in and before the war back, but not the militaristic side. Before the war, Krebs understood things. At the war, Krebs, again, understood things. But now, both things have changed as he has returned to his hometown and even the girls are different. According to Krebs, the world around him is changing, leaving him behind to wonder what has happened. Unfortunately, for Krebs, no one else understands his predicament. He is forced to tell lies in order to get someone to listen to him. So, Krebs figures he’s done with it all. He’s done trying to catch up with things he doesn’t feel is necessary. Of course, he does state that he wants a girlfriend, but he doesn’t want to have to work for one. He doesn’t feel the need to change in order to have one. To put a sappy side to it, he just wanted to be true to himself, and if a girl likes that kind of quality, she can decide to be with him. (Honestly, we should just call up Disney right now).

I suppose we should feel a little proud of Krebs for staying true to himself and not trying to be with the crowd. I would have almost been completely rooting for him if it had not been for his conversation with his mother. Although she was nagging him a little, something I definitely would not have appreciated, she did come from the side of a loving, caring mother who just wants her son to live a healthier lifestyle. Granted, she isn't’ really aware of what is going on in Krebs mind, but she’s just trying to help him adjust to life back at home. The way Krebs just blows her off and first says that he doesn’t love her (which I suppose goes hand-in-hand with his whole not lying phase), and then decides to watch his sister’s softball game instead of visiting his dad in his office. As Mr. Mitchell says, he does seem like a childish response: Blowing off one’s adult responsibilities to go watch sports or something. But, honestly, it almost fits in with how Krebs has been treated his entire life. Although we only get this little snippet of his life, it seems as though Krebs has been treated like a child all throughout his upbringing. Using words like “mommy” and having to get permission to take the car out seems almost like what a teenager would have to do, not a full grown man who has just returned home from the war.

One could also argue that Krebs’ mentality of wanting things in the world to come to him, not the other way around, could also be seen as less of a revelation and more of a man who is stuck in the past. As a kid, we sometimes believe that money grows on trees, our parents are superheroes, and things will just come easily to us. But, as we grow older and are forced to make our own way in the world, we see that life just isn’t that easy. By living at home and have the seemingly cradling parents, Krebs has yet to leave the nest and explore the world for himself. I feel like, until he moves out of his parents’ house, he will always be forced to be mamma’s boy and won’t fully mature and figure out how to work in the world he lives in.

All in all, I feel sympathetic for Krebs that he feels trapped inside, unable to speak to anyone about his true feelings. But I also feel like it’s time for him to grow up a little. I realize that sounds a little mean but his parents and their comfortingly stable income won't always be there to help him survive. He needs to put on his big-boy pants to find his way in the world before it completely leaves him behind. (Respectively, of course, because he still is a struggling veteran trying to making understandable adjustments).