One of the themes of Soldier’s home is the consequence of WW1. When Krebs comes back home he has definitely changed. “He did not want any consequences. He did not want any consequences ever again. He wanted to live along without consequences”. Before he left he believed in God, until he saw the terrible things that happened during the war. The things he experienced during the war are the reasons why he is the way he is now. His relationship with his family used to be better, his sister even used to brag about him at school. Now he has lost faith and is emotionally detached to his family. He doesn’t fit into society anymore, since he doesn’t try to fit in by doing the things that are acceptable, like getting married or having a job. He spends his time in bed or on the porch reading or watching girls walk by. Which shows us he kind of has given up on life.

The war has been difficult to handle for him, because of it being very stressful and eventful and this could be the reason why: “He had tried so to keep his life from being complicated” (p. 32, ll. 5-6). Furthermore he avoids additional contact with his mother and afterwards he avoids a meeting with his father. Instead he decides to go watching Helen play indoor baseball, which again is the easiest way away from any problems and other complications.

One of the main themes in ”Soldiers home” is transformation. As we follow a soldier: Krebs, who just returned from world war 1, and how he changed as a person after participating in WW1. Another theme could be how soldiers normally is seen as heroes, who has been out there serving their country - but in reality they are clearly traumatized andstruggle to get back into their former life. They experienced such horrors, that no one is able to understand, except from those who were there themselves. Also no one is really interested in hearing about the war, which can be seen in the following quotation: ”She often came in when he was in bed and asked him to tell her about the war, but her attention always wandered.” This quotation also shows how Krebs has no one to confide him to.  

One of the main themes of the story is the feeling of alienation. When coming home from the war Krebs is detatched from the society surrounding him. One of the reasons might be, that people didn't greet him, when he came back from the war, and so he had no one to talk to neither his family - "Later he felt the need to talk but no one wanted to hear about it." - being alone with his emotions and experiences causes him to feel alienated and not wanting to reconnect with his family nor people close to him.