SSRJ #2: Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway

Of the three stories I read this week, I particularly enjoyed “Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway. I’ve always found Hemingway’s writings to be especially interesting, and this short story was obviously no exception to my rule. The story of the man named Krebs, and his arrival home from the war is obviously something that we can relate too in today’s time. We have soldier’s arriving home from Iraq regularly, and with Obama in office, I’m sure we’ll start to see more and more making there way back to American soil. There was something intensely fascinating about the way Krebs approached women, now that he was back home. He obviously enjoyed there company, and even wishes he had a girl of his own, but feels unmotivated towards pursuing any of them. Something deeply disturbing about the war seems to have affected his psyche, and hurt him so intensely, that his quest for a partner no longer exists.

Hemingway’s use of setting has always been fascinating, and without an overbearing amount of description, we understand the town that Krebs has grown up in. “Nothing was changed in the town except that the young girls had grown up. But they lived in such a complicated world of already defined alliances and shifting feuds that Krebs did not feel the energy or the courage to break into it.” (10) Understanding that Krebs town has gone unchanged since he left for the war, is an interesting thing to point out. His town, much like the one we live in, has not undergone significant change in many years. We can look at pictures of downtown Truckee, and still see those same spots and places that our former residents had experienced even decades before. Even though Krebs had been fighting in the war for a few years, things around his town remained the same. “The car always stood outside the First National Bank building where his father had an office on the second floor. Now, after the war, it was still the same car” (9) I find the idea alluring, that even with all the things Krebs had experienced, and all the destruction, heartbreak and death his town remains, for the most part, untouched. I believe that Hemingway understood the realities of war, and unlike many of the people who had never experienced it empirically, he was able to put into words the feelings many soldiers had coming home after the war. Be it World War I or Vietnam, the saying “out of sight, out of mind” shoots to anamnesis. “His town had heard too many atrocity stories to be thrilled by actualities.” (4)

As many, if not all of us, understand the damage war can place on the human psyche, why aren’t we more sympathetic towards our veterans? Do you think instituting some sort of post-war therapy could help them settle back into home life easier? And if so, why doesn’t the government pay for these costs? It seems it could be beneficial to many of our soldier’s returning home from Iraq/Afghanistan/Etc.

References:
Hemingway, Ernest, “Soldier’s Home” The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 8th Edition, Editor Michael Meyer, Boston, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Pg 185-190

SSRJ #1: The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Of the two short stories we read this week, I found Chopin’s The Story of an Hour to be the most personally interesting and emotionally poignant. My personal interpretation of her work lies somewhere between sympathy and disdain for Mrs. Mallard, whose husband passed away. But I also feel that it’s culturally relevant. Not just here in the United States, which I’m sure it certainly is, but in other countries where the woman is almost expected to be her husbands servant. Whether it be a stay at home mom, or a woman in an abusive relationship with her mate, be it boyfriend or spouse. Women are indoctrinated, or even brainwashed, into the belief that the female’s place is where ever here husband feels it should be.

When asked what this story means, it sees pretty straight forward until you start to dig around in the material, and it wasn’t until the fourth or fifth time you’ve read it that you start to pick up on the little things. Chopin’s use of imagery, and more specifically, her visual and tactile descriptions in her story, become even more emotionally transparent in paragraph 5. Rain, when used symbolically, can represent the cleansing of human sin, or in this case, Mrs. Mallard’s husband “The delicious breath of rain was in the air.” (5) And “In the street below a peddler was crying his wares,” (5) is not necessarily representative of Mrs. Mallard’s husband, but the in theory could be her sorrow disappearing. While “notes of distant song which someone was singing” (5) and the “countless sparrows” (5) who were “twittering in the eaves” (5) could be happiness on her horizon. I believe in the year it was written, this emotionally charged piece of literature was probably one of the very few feminist stories to be published or even written. The way our society conditions women to behave and act a certain way is something, while we’ve recently tried hard to put behind us, is still very much a part of today’s society.

What is your opinion on marriage? Is it necessary to be married, or do we think this way because we’ve traditionally been raised to believe that it’s what “people” do?

References:
Chopin, Kate, “The Story of an Hour,” The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 8th Edition, Editor Michael Meyer, Boston, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Pg 39-43.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Patrick Hartmann and I'm taking the class because it's a requirement to get into San Francisco State but more importantly I love English and am excited to start the new semester!

I've almost completed my Associates Degree attending Sierra College at the Truckee campus, just up the road from Rocklin. I decided to try an online course, to help put aside time for work and other activities, as well as learning through a new medium like the internet. I'm very enthuasitic about this subject and getting to know all my classmates!

I have a few authors that I perfer reading, such as Cormac McCarthy, Joesph Conrad, Fredrich Nietzche, Daniel Pinchbeck and many others.

I'm looking forward to the learning and work that lies ahead!