Someone once said that war talk by those who have never been to war is dull. In other words, those who have been through a war are totally changed and harmed in such a way that they can never share it with anyone who has not been to war. In a way, this accurately characterizes the dilemma of Harold Krebs, the protagonist in Ernest HemingwayÆs short story of a man returning from combat SoldierÆs Home (1925). Within SoldierÆs Home, it can be shown that Harold cannot fulfill the ôgloriousö visions of war held by those in his hometown. He found nothing ôgloriousö about combat and cannot play the role others in his town cast for him (Hemingway http://www.cis.vt.edu/modernworld/d/hemingway.html#3). Bernardo defines HaroldÆs dilemma when she discusses a common trait of the Hemingway hero, ôA person who believes in nothing requires tremendous courage just to keep on living, but for the Hemingway hero it is better than living a lieö (Bernardo 1). This paper will demonstrate how HemingwayÆs belief that it is better to believe in ônothingö than to live a lie is illustrated in HaroldÆs inability to reenter society after the war.
Harold Krebs returns to his boyhood home and finds nothing has changed. People still park where they did before he left and the girls look just like the girls he remembered before leaving. Other returning veterans have adjusted to small-town life. Harold cannot adjust. For though nothing in the town has changed, the experiences in combat have irrevocably changed Harold. He no longer believes in the values constructed by society, finding the values of heroism and glory associated with war to be artificial compared to the harsh reality that he experienced. Instead of heroics or glory, Harold knows ôhe had been badly, sickeningly frightened all the timeö (Hemingway http://www.cis.vt.edu/modernworld/d/hemingway.html#3). This means that he feels like he is a sham, or living a lie,
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