Rites of Spring/ Soldier's Home Analysis

When on the topic of American wars, it is a very predictable outcome for the likes of World War II, the Revolutionary War, and the Civil War to dominate the discussion. They were after all incredibly impactful events with lasting consequences on the nation and the world as a whole. But what about World War I? Why is the Great War, the War to End All Wars, so often overlooked. Could you even really explain what it was fought over? Well despite all this, the fact is that World War I was an absolutely catastrophic event that claimed the lives of around 20 million. In Modris Eksteins' "Rites of Spring" we read in detail of the horrors of trench warfare and the carnage that ensued on the frontlines. People would be slaughtered by the thousands on a daily basis and yet the two sides would still be at a stalemate with neither side controlling any new ground. In the Battle of the Somme for example, 60,000 British soldiers were killed on the first day. This battle would continue from July 1916 all the way until November of the same year. Overall, over a million lives were taken in this battle easily making it one of the bloodiest battles in history. More than just the death toll though, "Rites of Spring" focuses on the conditions soldiers had to endure not just on the battlefield but off it as well in the trenches. During the worst of battles, soldiers got practically no sleep due to various factors such as the cold, continual artillery fire, and all around atrocious living conditions. More than that, these men were exposed to a horrifying display of maimings, blood, guts, and gore every single day for as long as the battle lasted, or more likely, for as long as they lasted. While "Rites of Spring" explored the immediate toll taken on the soldiers during the battles, Ernest Hemingway's short story titled, "Soldier's Home," examines more of the psychiatric effects that the war had on surviving soldiers after the fact. In this short story, a young man referred to as "Krebs" returns home to the war a changed man. Aspects of life he used to find joy in and extract meaning from now feel meaingless. This to a degree was touched on in "Rites of Spring." The author there spoke of how the soldiers after a while started to become apathetic after continually experiencing the horrors of war firsthand. It is clear in "Soldier's Home" that Krebs has become completely indifferent to the world after returning home, even going so far as to tell his mother that he doesn't love her anymore. The truth was he didn't love anyone anymore. This is the unfortunate truth for many of those who have experienced full-on combat. They never come back the same person.