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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Irony
Explanation and Analysis—History Book and Maps:
Krebs passes time sitting on his porch and reading about the war, describing both the book and his time as a soldier in a positive, though ultimately ironic, manner:
He sat there on the porch reading a book on the war. It was a history and he was reading about all the engagements he had been in. It was the most interesting reading he had ever done. He wished there were more maps.... Now he was really learning about the war. He had been a good soldier. That made a difference.
The idea of a book on a war one fought in being the most interesting reading one has ever done, and more informative than fighting in the war itself, is unexpected and therefore situationally ironic. This notion is particularly surprising considering Krebs's disposition towards his time as a soldier. Although Krebs feels compelled to lie about his time as a soldier, a historical account of the war intrigues him. This is an instance of situational irony, where the very thing that estranges Krebs from his family and town—the war he fought in—is also what he is drawn to and interested in from his place of solitude, the porch.
Krebs, feeling isolated and lost back in his hometown, is drawn to maps and historical books because they ground him. Not only do they describe a time when he felt like a "good soldier" making a "difference ," but they describe precisely where he was in time and place, the exact opposite of his current, aimless existence.
This moment of irony ends with an ambiguity typical of ironic situations: when Krebs says "that made a difference," he could be referring to the fact that he was a good soldier who made a difference in the world or that he was a good soldier, which marks him as different from the bad soldiers. Regardless, the ambiguity of the text is ironic in a meta-analytical sense, raising questions about the accuracy of books more generally as Krebs purports to learn history by reading rather than through experience.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Soldier's Home?:
After Krebs proclaims to not love his mother, she starts crying, prompting Krebs to lie and say he does in fact love her. In a moment of dramatic irony, Krebs then reflects on this lie and his future:
He had felt sorry for his mother and she had made him lie. He would go to Kansas City and get a job and she would feel all right about it.
There are two distinct instances of dramatic irony at play, or a moment of irony which highlights the difference between the reader's understanding of an element of the story and the character's more complete understanding of that element. First, after proclaiming to not love his mother, Krebs himself suffers in order to make his mother feel better, as lying produces a feeling of nausea in Krebs but he nevertheless lies about loving her. Thus the very love for his mother that Krebs is lying about is seemingly demonstrated in choosing to tell that lie. This instance of dramatic irony suggests that Krebs might love his family more than he explicitly lets on, contributing to the optimistic tone of the story's ending.
Secondly, the fact that the novel ends with Krebs resolving to go to Kansas City to find a job is ironic with the title of the text, which the reader is aware of, in mind. In "Soldier's Home," Krebs's homecoming from war turns into a departure from his hometown with ambiguous plans and an uncertain, yet hopeful, future. The ending of "Soldier's Home" is, ironically, a soldier leaving home. This instance of dramatic irony provides a bittersweet ending to the novel: Krebs may have a future in store for him, which is ultimately what his parents want for him, but that future is only available if he leaves his hometown.
Both instances of dramatic irony illustrate the tension between Krebs, his family, and his future. His love, or lack thereof, for his family results in a promise to leave his childhood home in a story that begins with his return back to it.
Related Themes:
