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A bit of headcanon
Jun. 22nd, 2014 07:56 pmSo onto a bit of headcanon for little Harold here; going off of the bit of information given to us by Hemmingway to provide a bit more of a comprehensive background for the character.
As stated in the story Krebs is the son of two loving parents and the brother of two, teenage sisters. His mother was the typical, religious housewife, and his father worked as a real estate agent. Before the war he appeared to have been an extremely confident and outgoing, young man. Growing up in a regular, American community for the time, regularly attended a Methodist church, worked hard and studied hard. He would have been one who conformed to the rest of society - and seemed to have had a rather bright future. It was even stated that he had been a part of a fraternity in a Methodist college. That he had worn the same clothing as the rest of his frat brothers and openly got along with them. However it was not really specified what he was studying, exactly, it could be implied that he was taking Liberal Arts classes. With a focus on English, though such a thing cannot be confirmed he does seem to enjoy reading quite a bit; and since the story is a reflection of Hemmingway himself, it could be a safe assumption.
When war against Germany had been declared, Harold who like so many other American boys, had been enlisted in the United States Marines in nineteen-seventeen before being shipped off to England, then finally France. It appeared as though he had taken quite the shine to military life as well, and rose through the ranks at a remarkable speed. Within time Krebs was made a Marine Corporal. Though when this promotion had occurred and the specifics for it are never made clear, it had to have taken place either during the war, or after.
However after witnessing the things that he had, and performing the things that he had, Krebs’ mind began to falter a little, eventually producing a form of PTSD, or as it was known then, “Shellshock”. He did not wish to return to a civilian life either, having grown far too used to life in the military; Harold began to extend his tour of duty before finally being forced to return in nineteen-nineteen. After which he had immediately been discharged and left to live with his parents for a time. Though it was never really mentioned how long it was that he had been out of service, it was perhaps two years. Again this is just an educated guess, but the way it was written out, with him attempting to talk about the war, and then lying about before finally just deciding to try and put it in the past, and failing. It was also mentioned that history books were being produced about what had taken place, pointing towards the idea that he had returned sometime ago and was having problems moving on and reintegrating with the rest of society.
At the end of the story he had mentioned looking for work in Kansas City Oklahoma. Though exactly what he would attempt to do is never made clear. It can be safely assumed that he would go on to try and “live a life without consequences”.
As stated in the story Krebs is the son of two loving parents and the brother of two, teenage sisters. His mother was the typical, religious housewife, and his father worked as a real estate agent. Before the war he appeared to have been an extremely confident and outgoing, young man. Growing up in a regular, American community for the time, regularly attended a Methodist church, worked hard and studied hard. He would have been one who conformed to the rest of society - and seemed to have had a rather bright future. It was even stated that he had been a part of a fraternity in a Methodist college. That he had worn the same clothing as the rest of his frat brothers and openly got along with them. However it was not really specified what he was studying, exactly, it could be implied that he was taking Liberal Arts classes. With a focus on English, though such a thing cannot be confirmed he does seem to enjoy reading quite a bit; and since the story is a reflection of Hemmingway himself, it could be a safe assumption.
When war against Germany had been declared, Harold who like so many other American boys, had been enlisted in the United States Marines in nineteen-seventeen before being shipped off to England, then finally France. It appeared as though he had taken quite the shine to military life as well, and rose through the ranks at a remarkable speed. Within time Krebs was made a Marine Corporal. Though when this promotion had occurred and the specifics for it are never made clear, it had to have taken place either during the war, or after.
However after witnessing the things that he had, and performing the things that he had, Krebs’ mind began to falter a little, eventually producing a form of PTSD, or as it was known then, “Shellshock”. He did not wish to return to a civilian life either, having grown far too used to life in the military; Harold began to extend his tour of duty before finally being forced to return in nineteen-nineteen. After which he had immediately been discharged and left to live with his parents for a time. Though it was never really mentioned how long it was that he had been out of service, it was perhaps two years. Again this is just an educated guess, but the way it was written out, with him attempting to talk about the war, and then lying about before finally just deciding to try and put it in the past, and failing. It was also mentioned that history books were being produced about what had taken place, pointing towards the idea that he had returned sometime ago and was having problems moving on and reintegrating with the rest of society.
At the end of the story he had mentioned looking for work in Kansas City Oklahoma. Though exactly what he would attempt to do is never made clear. It can be safely assumed that he would go on to try and “live a life without consequences”.
