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Indian Camp
A young boy is taken by his doctor father to an indian camp to heal an indian.
24 pages
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About the author
Ernest Hemingway
2,263 books32.6k followersErnest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 133 reviews
September 23, 2016
بابا مردن سخته؟ -
.نه نیک، به نظرم خیلی آسون باشه، بستگی داره -
.نه نیک، به نظرم خیلی آسون باشه، بستگی داره -
February 10, 2019
دوستانِ گرانقدر، این داستانِ کوتاه در موردِ پسری به نامِ <نیک> است که همراه پدرش که دکتر است و عمو جورج.. برایِ زایمان یک زنِ سرخ پوست به کلبه ای میروند.. زن دو روز است که شدیداً درد میکشد و شوهرش نیز توانِ دیدنِ شیون هایِ زن و دردِ او را ندارد... بچه چرخیده است و دکتر باید سزارین کند، بنابراین با یک چاقویِ جیبی این کار را انجام داده و بچه که پسر است، به دنیا می آید و دکتر شکمش را با زهِ روده، بخیه میزند
نیک تمام صحنه هایِ زایمان را همچون یک کارآموزِ پزشکی با کنجکاوی نگاه میکند
در زمانِ بیرون رفتن، دکتر به سمتِ پدرِ بچه یعنی آن سرخ پوست میرود... ولی در کمال تعجب میبیند که پدر بچه .................. عزیزانم بهتر است خودتان این داستان را خوانده و از سرانجامِ آن آگاه شوید
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امیدوارم از خواندنِ این داستانِ کوتاه لذت ببرید
<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>
نیک تمام صحنه هایِ زایمان را همچون یک کارآموزِ پزشکی با کنجکاوی نگاه میکند
در زمانِ بیرون رفتن، دکتر به سمتِ پدرِ بچه یعنی آن سرخ پوست میرود... ولی در کمال تعجب میبیند که پدر بچه .................. عزیزانم بهتر است خودتان این داستان را خوانده و از سرانجامِ آن آگاه شوید
---------------------------------------------
امیدوارم از خواندنِ این داستانِ کوتاه لذت ببرید
<پیروز باشید و ایرانی>
November 5, 2016
A decent short story about a boy's coming of age through an encounter with life and death. Hemingway portrays Nick's naivete well and includes imagery that allows us to visualize his youthful experience of the story's tragic events. However, Hemingway reveals his misogyny and racism in this short story, as he writes about a Native woman who undergoes a c-section with no anesthesia. His portrayal of this event has no redemptive or meaningful quality; it just ignores and trivializes her pain. It reminds me of this Atlantic article about how doctors fail to take women's pain seriously I hope we can learn to improve upon Hemingway's portrayal of women.
June 5, 2017
داستان «اردوگاه سرخ پوستان»، که در سال 1924 در پاريس نوشته شده است، مثل اغلب داستانهاي همينگوي نمايشي از مهابت و خشونت و تناقضهاي ذاتي زندگي بشري است. داستان حقيقتي وراي دنياي واقعي را نشان ميدهد؛ گيريم که در آن مرز ميان حقيقت و دنياي واقعي آشکارا مشهود نيست. کودکي که در کانون روايت قرار دارد - نيک آدامز- آدم اصلي مجموعه داستان «در زمان ما» - در حقيقت بخشي از شخصيتِ خودِ همينگوي را بازتاب ميدهد. اين داستان و باقي داستانهاي کتاب نحوة رودررويي نيک نوجوان با خشونتِ جهان و کشف پليديها است؛ مواجهة معصوميت با بدخيمي مهارناپذير جريانهاي سرشته در جهان مدرن است. اما آنچه اين داستانها را متمايز و نظرگير ساخته است، بيش از هرچيز، صورت يا شکل ارائه آنها است. نحوة نگاهي است که راوي به جهان پيرامونش و افقهاي وراي اين جهان دارد.
همينگوي در جايي گفته است که به کرّات به تابلوهاي سزان نگاه کرده و در آنها به آموزههاي ناب و مفيدي براي نشان دادن واقعيت برخورده است. چنان که ميدانيم سزان نقطة اوج و فرجام مکتب امپرسيونيسم است، و از بسياري از جهات او را برجستهترين چهرة تاريخ نقاشي مدرن به شمار ميآورند. سزان نقاشي است که رنگها و حجمها و شکلها را به گونهاي ظريف و انعطافپذير در آثار خود به کار ميبرد و توازن و تناسبي سنجيده را بر پرده نقاشي پديد ميآورد، که از هرگونه پيام عاطفي مستقيمي خالي است. سزان بر آن است تا نگاهاش را از ظاهر يا سطح طبيعت بگذراند و صورت يا ساختار دروني اشياة را ببيند. همينگوي گفته است: «سزان به من آموخت که از مستندسازي يا تطابق تصاوير با واقعيت پرهيز کنم.» از همين روست که کلمات در داستانهاي همينگوي حيات دوبارهاي مييابند، عناصر غيرضروري، و آنچه به طور سنّتي براي طرح و آدمپردازي واجب شمرده ميشده، دور ريخته ميشوند.جملههاي کوتاه، توصيفهاي فعال وگفتوگوهاي طبيعي و مؤثر، جاي عبارتپردازيهاي «ادبي» و تعابير و تشبيهات «گرانبار» را ميگيرند. «من به خوانندگان نميگويم که چه عکسالعملي نشان دهند، چه چيزي احساس کنند و چهگونه داوري کنند، تصاوير داستاني من خودِ معنا را القاة ميکنند و خواننده بيآنکه مستقيماً به او گفته شده باشد، همان را بروز ميدهد که خواهان آن هستم.»
طرح يا نقشه (plot ) «اردوگاه سرخپوستان» ساده و فشرده است: پزشکي ميخواهد پسرش در معرض تجربه حرفهاياش، زاياندن يک زائوي سرخپوست، قرار بگيرد. اما آنچه سرانجام پسر با آن روبهرو ميشود تجربه وحشتناکي است که از ظرفيت ذهن کودک فراتر است: مشاهدة پدري که هنگام زايمان دردناک همسرش، سرِ خود را گوش تا گوش ميبرد. پزشک مردي است که با خونسردي جبلي و به گونه طنزآلودي حقيقت را کتمان ميکند؛ او بدون آوردن وسايل لازم پزشکي به عيادت بيمار آمده است – بيماري که از هرگونه امکان بهداشتي محروم است – و به راحتي درد بيمار ناديده ميگيرد.
April 19, 2015
I'm starting to like Hemingway a lot, and I'm not yet sure why. This story creeped me out a bit though because it touches on suicide, and that's what Hemingway chose to do. The story made me wonder that perhaps he took his life because he wanted to control his destiny, rather than letting some other force take his life from him.
June 15, 2017
This story is about a doctor, taking his son with him to assist a labour, it's his first encounter with both life and death, for he'll assist the birth of a child and the suicide of a man, Hemingway's writing style is the most appealing.
April 26, 2024
The writing is fine, but the story completely trivializes and even belittles the pain of the woman giving birth. It’s also fully dominated by men and misses to provide any deeper meaning or message.
The three male protagonists are all very stoic and cold in their reactions to what’s happening, it just seemed like toxic masculinity to me that stays completely unrecognized. I didn’t really like it.
The three male protagonists are all very stoic and cold in their reactions to what’s happening, it just seemed like toxic masculinity to me that stays completely unrecognized. I didn’t really like it.
November 9, 2020
Is dying hard, Daddy?
No. I think it's pretty easy, Nick. It all depends.
An impressive short story!
No. I think it's pretty easy, Nick. It all depends.
An impressive short story!
April 12, 2022
A boy's gruesome encounter with life and death, more specifically, birth and suicide. Despite being such a short story, it tackles physical vs mental torture, misogyny, and creation vs destruction. It packs a punch despite such a simple and short story. That's Hemingway for ya.
June 28, 2017
“Indian Camp,” by Ernest Hemingway, follows the experiences of Nick, a young boy who is forced to witness birth and death for the first time in a traumatic “rite of manhood”. Intended as an opportunity for emotional growth, the excursion backfires and draws to a cheerless conclusion. In his novel, Hemingway never allows Nick to experience a moment of clarity or newfound emotional maturity. A strong sense of masculinity weaves its way through the passages and incredible emphasis is placed on the importance of not allowing sentiment to overwhelm a person. Because of this, “Indian Camp” draws to a close with the character of Nick being just as confused as ever about adult life, perhaps becoming even more deeply entrenched in his childish fantasy and assuredness.
A strong, overlying theme of loss of innocence pervades “Indian Camp,” contributing to a sad tone throughout the story. The plot centers on an Indian woman’s difficult birth and her husband’s consequent suicide, but like many of Hemingway’s stories this only serves as the background for the actual drama taking place. In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to Nick, the young son of a doctor/surgeon who is taken along on a medical procedure supposedly for the purpose of learning a life lesson. Hemingway does not give the reader any information about Nick’s exact age or even his physical appearance. However, these details soon reveal themselves to be unimportant as it becomes clear that everything notable in the story will take place within the characters rather than around them.
Nick’s father, in particular, has a large role in molding his son’s consciousness as the plot unfolds. He refers to Nick as his “intern” and forces him to watch a bloody C-section being performed. Nick, scared and sympathetic towards the Indian mother, begs his father to ease her suffering. However, his father remains coolly professional to the point of heartlessness and dismisses the woman’s screams as irrelevant. His only concern is shown to be the final outcome of the procedure, a purely egotistical motive. Well before the surgery is complete, Nick is overwhelmed and elects to stop watching; a move that highlights his own immaturity and the inappropriateness of his father’s forcing him to be there, further accentuating his father’s own self-absorption.
Nick’s father is so proud of his medical achievement that he goes over the details of the event with so much removal from emotion that it is almost obnoxious. At the same time, the narrator of the story is also relaying the events to the reader in a detached fashion using little extraneous description. As a result, the reader is allowed to see a glimpse into what emotional turmoil the characters may be experiencing without making it necessary for the narrator to drag their feelings out into the open.
Hemingway uses the depressing birth scene as a possible foreshadowing to Nick’s adulthood. It is already apparent to the reader that Nick is being groomed to follow in his father’s hardened, dehumanized footsteps. The birthing incident further elaborates the differences between who Nick is and who he is to become. The reader sees that Nick’s childhood innocence will not last much longer, and that eventually, life will beat him down much like his father. Nick’s earlier sympathetic reaction to the pain of the Indian mother is shown as a childish outburst. The more “adult” reaction would be to adopt a “stiff upper lip” and stoically endure the procedure. This theme of the importance of masculinity carries throughout the story. A particularly interesting example is that of the Indian father. Early in the story he is portrayed as being strong and silent; a thoroughly masculine character. However, later on, he can no longer bear to listen to his wife’s screams and deal with his own pain at the same time and is found dead of suicide after the baby is delivered, having uttered not a word. As a result, Nick’s father seems to view the husband’s reaction not in an empathetic manner, but rather perceives it as a sign of weakness. He shows little respect or understanding of the situation. To Nick’s father, the Indian only serves to represent insufficient manhood. He responds to the tragedy with few words and appears to expect his son to do the same. It is this strong, silent stoicism Nick’s father wishes to pass on as a life lesson.
A strong, overlying theme of loss of innocence pervades “Indian Camp,” contributing to a sad tone throughout the story. The plot centers on an Indian woman’s difficult birth and her husband’s consequent suicide, but like many of Hemingway’s stories this only serves as the background for the actual drama taking place. In the beginning of the story, the reader is introduced to Nick, the young son of a doctor/surgeon who is taken along on a medical procedure supposedly for the purpose of learning a life lesson. Hemingway does not give the reader any information about Nick’s exact age or even his physical appearance. However, these details soon reveal themselves to be unimportant as it becomes clear that everything notable in the story will take place within the characters rather than around them.
Nick’s father, in particular, has a large role in molding his son’s consciousness as the plot unfolds. He refers to Nick as his “intern” and forces him to watch a bloody C-section being performed. Nick, scared and sympathetic towards the Indian mother, begs his father to ease her suffering. However, his father remains coolly professional to the point of heartlessness and dismisses the woman’s screams as irrelevant. His only concern is shown to be the final outcome of the procedure, a purely egotistical motive. Well before the surgery is complete, Nick is overwhelmed and elects to stop watching; a move that highlights his own immaturity and the inappropriateness of his father’s forcing him to be there, further accentuating his father’s own self-absorption.
Nick’s father is so proud of his medical achievement that he goes over the details of the event with so much removal from emotion that it is almost obnoxious. At the same time, the narrator of the story is also relaying the events to the reader in a detached fashion using little extraneous description. As a result, the reader is allowed to see a glimpse into what emotional turmoil the characters may be experiencing without making it necessary for the narrator to drag their feelings out into the open.
Hemingway uses the depressing birth scene as a possible foreshadowing to Nick’s adulthood. It is already apparent to the reader that Nick is being groomed to follow in his father’s hardened, dehumanized footsteps. The birthing incident further elaborates the differences between who Nick is and who he is to become. The reader sees that Nick’s childhood innocence will not last much longer, and that eventually, life will beat him down much like his father. Nick’s earlier sympathetic reaction to the pain of the Indian mother is shown as a childish outburst. The more “adult” reaction would be to adopt a “stiff upper lip” and stoically endure the procedure. This theme of the importance of masculinity carries throughout the story. A particularly interesting example is that of the Indian father. Early in the story he is portrayed as being strong and silent; a thoroughly masculine character. However, later on, he can no longer bear to listen to his wife’s screams and deal with his own pain at the same time and is found dead of suicide after the baby is delivered, having uttered not a word. As a result, Nick’s father seems to view the husband’s reaction not in an empathetic manner, but rather perceives it as a sign of weakness. He shows little respect or understanding of the situation. To Nick’s father, the Indian only serves to represent insufficient manhood. He responds to the tragedy with few words and appears to expect his son to do the same. It is this strong, silent stoicism Nick’s father wishes to pass on as a life lesson.
May 24, 2016
The exact descriptions, the story told without intruding on its simplicity: everything's here.
"In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die.”
"In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die.”
September 23, 2016
ساده، مستقیم رفت روی اصل مطلب، یه خاطره از هزاران خاطره یه انسان.
فک کنم اگه کارای دیگه ی همینگوی رو بخونم بتونم بیشتر با این داستان ارتباط برقرار کنم.
فک کنم اگه کارای دیگه ی همینگوی رو بخونم بتونم بیشتر با این داستان ارتباط برقرار کنم.
May 27, 2019
didn't expect this to be like this, it was so unlike hemingway.
November 24, 2024
sembra esserci un fil rouge di morte in tutte le mie letture ultimamente
February 19, 2024
Homework
April 13, 2021
Interesting short story about a boy accompanying his doctor father to help a Native American woman deliver a baby. The characters seem heartless and misogynistic which fit with how I see the era. You can read this in about 5 minutes. Supposed to be one of the best examples of Hemingway’s short stories.
April 1, 2025
Page-for-page this horribly ironic little short story socks you in the kisser way above its weight class.
December 18, 2013
An Indian woman is having a difficult childbirth, Nick's father, a white doctor, is helping her deliver her baby. The woman's husband couldn't bear his wife's suffering and decides to slit his own throat--
"'Why did he kill himself, Daddy?'
"'I don't know, Nick. He couldn't stand things, I guess.'
"'Do many men kill themselves, Daddy?'
"'Not very many, Nick.'
"...
"'Is dying hard, Daddy?'
"'No, I think it's pretty easy, Nick. It all depends.'
"They were seated in the boat, Nick in the stern, his father rowing. The sun was coming up over the hills. A bass jumped, making a circle in the water. Nick trailed his hand in the water. It felt warm in the sharp chill of the morning.
"In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die."
"'Why did he kill himself, Daddy?'
"'I don't know, Nick. He couldn't stand things, I guess.'
"'Do many men kill themselves, Daddy?'
"'Not very many, Nick.'
"...
"'Is dying hard, Daddy?'
"'No, I think it's pretty easy, Nick. It all depends.'
"They were seated in the boat, Nick in the stern, his father rowing. The sun was coming up over the hills. A bass jumped, making a circle in the water. Nick trailed his hand in the water. It felt warm in the sharp chill of the morning.
"In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he would never die."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 19, 2014
They were seated in the boat, Nick in the stern, his father rowing. The sun was coming up
over the hills. A bass jumped, making a circle in the water. Nick trailed his hand in the
water. It felt warm in the sharp chill of the morning.
In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he
felt quite sure that he would never die.
over the hills. A bass jumped, making a circle in the water. Nick trailed his hand in the
water. It felt warm in the sharp chill of the morning.
In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he
felt quite sure that he would never die.
July 27, 2022
I read the original uncut version, which gives far more backstory of young Nick (whom we will meet again in future Hemingway stories) and his relationship with both father and uncle. They’re often impatient and intolerant of this young lad. They want him to grow up quickly and experience all the harsh realities of life. Thus, we know from the outset this will be a brutal loss of innocence/coming-of-age story.
A very young, frightened, innocent Nick fires off a volley of shots at a supposed wolf, witnesses his father perform a c-section on a native Indian who was in enormous distress and without medical aid, and then sees the wife’s husband commit suicide immediately after the baby is born. This final act is somewhat baffling, and I struggled to connect it to the story – maybe some ritual? The circle of life? Also, the uncle mysteriously disappears at the end of the story.
Although the father (a qualified doctor) seems indifferent and very matter of fact to the woman’s pain, this might be because he realised there was no anaesthetic available. She had been in labour for two days. His professional duty was to act quickly to ensure her (and her unborn child’s) safety. He only had camping and fishing tools at his disposal.
The impressionable Nick reconciles his naive understanding of life and death through what he has experienced that night and through further questioning of his father, in whom he has absolute trust. It’s clear after all that he hasn’t really ‘grown’ from the experience since his final thought is of immortality: ‘he felt quite sure he would never die’.
A very young, frightened, innocent Nick fires off a volley of shots at a supposed wolf, witnesses his father perform a c-section on a native Indian who was in enormous distress and without medical aid, and then sees the wife’s husband commit suicide immediately after the baby is born. This final act is somewhat baffling, and I struggled to connect it to the story – maybe some ritual? The circle of life? Also, the uncle mysteriously disappears at the end of the story.
Although the father (a qualified doctor) seems indifferent and very matter of fact to the woman’s pain, this might be because he realised there was no anaesthetic available. She had been in labour for two days. His professional duty was to act quickly to ensure her (and her unborn child’s) safety. He only had camping and fishing tools at his disposal.
The impressionable Nick reconciles his naive understanding of life and death through what he has experienced that night and through further questioning of his father, in whom he has absolute trust. It’s clear after all that he hasn’t really ‘grown’ from the experience since his final thought is of immortality: ‘he felt quite sure he would never die’.
July 15, 2018
Read in The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories.
A doctor takes his son to an Indian camp where the doctor performs a c-section. Tragic tale of life and death in this depressing coming-of-age story.
A doctor takes his son to an Indian camp where the doctor performs a c-section. Tragic tale of life and death in this depressing coming-of-age story.
February 13, 2019
i missed a page when i first read it but just accepted the fact that it didn't make sense thinking hemingway just b like that
November 29, 2020
lo he leído para clase pero se me olvidó puntuarlo y marcarlo como leído
2/5
2/5
August 31, 2025
eh. very mid. should have been kept in the drafts.
January 7, 2026
Indian Camp є більшою мірою про те ж, що і The Killers, лишень дотепні діалоги тут замінили описами середовища довкола персонажів. насправді дуже цікаво прослідковувати ниточки між усіма історіями автора, і приємно це робити не для викладачів в університеті.
Read
October 1, 2024read for ap lit— not anything notable to me but the life and death symbols were fairly interesting to discuss
March 10, 2020
A story-teller of Hemingway's proficiency, can pen poignant tales. This story too is no exception. It moves the reader as it has the ingredient of tragedy and abrupt twirls, ghastly and monstrous spins. But before coming to that, let us start from the origin.
The tale is narrated from the standpoint of a small boy, Nick. He escorts his father to the Indian camp out of inquisitiveness.
He likes to take a boat-ride in the dark, and then the walk through the meadow and woods. But after that what he sees and hears does not appeal to him. Perceptibly, it is too much for a juvenile mind to stomach. Three things stand out:
Firstly, it is the dismal condition of the young woman in labour for two days. It is abysmal to envisage what she must have gone through, devoid of apposite medical help. It is for the most part heartbreaking to imagine her abject condition in today's age.
Second, the shanty is thoroughly unhygienic and dark with the exception of a lamp or two. Her condition worsens; the elderly, pitiable women of the camp try to help her in their own ways but without any accomplishment.
Third, her screams are tear-jerking. Although a doctor's trained mind is unsympathetic because he considers them as standard and trifling, but we, as readers, are unquestionably affected. Since we take pleasure in all the contemporary amenities, our hearts cry out for the unfortunate.
It is inconceivable to have an operation without anaesthetics. That is done on the poor young lady. A Caesarian surgery takes place with crude implements like a jack-knife and then the stitching is done with tapered gut leaders. We get goose pimples at the mere thought.
What must the woman have gone through!
However, the most pitiable part of the story is when her husband is found deceased with a slit throat. He killed himself because he could not swallow his wife's shrieks.
He was incapacitated at the moment as he had cut himself with an axe. He lay in the upper bunk, powerless to move and help and so must have felt aggravated. When he could not bear it any more, he slit his own throat with a razor, without uttering a cry. Had he mustered up a little more courage and remained alive, he would have been a proud father. But alas! That was not to be.
These two incidents have an overwhelming effect on the readers. We take all the facilities for granted but what they must have meant to the settlers in those days the have-nots in today's society, too, is unimaginable.
The young Indian woman, who went through untold miseries giving birth to her baby, was dealt a terrible blow. She had no husband to support her.
Her future was murky.
How long could the other Indian barkpeelers support her?
After all, they were also poor labourers. Whom would she share her joys and sorrows with? How would she bring up her son in such a pathetic condition?
How would she face this ghastly situation, this appalling loss?
These questions haunt us and so the story affects us to such an extent that we almost, by the end of the narrative, spell a word of thanks to God for what we have got.
The tale is narrated from the standpoint of a small boy, Nick. He escorts his father to the Indian camp out of inquisitiveness.
He likes to take a boat-ride in the dark, and then the walk through the meadow and woods. But after that what he sees and hears does not appeal to him. Perceptibly, it is too much for a juvenile mind to stomach. Three things stand out:
Firstly, it is the dismal condition of the young woman in labour for two days. It is abysmal to envisage what she must have gone through, devoid of apposite medical help. It is for the most part heartbreaking to imagine her abject condition in today's age.
Second, the shanty is thoroughly unhygienic and dark with the exception of a lamp or two. Her condition worsens; the elderly, pitiable women of the camp try to help her in their own ways but without any accomplishment.
Third, her screams are tear-jerking. Although a doctor's trained mind is unsympathetic because he considers them as standard and trifling, but we, as readers, are unquestionably affected. Since we take pleasure in all the contemporary amenities, our hearts cry out for the unfortunate.
It is inconceivable to have an operation without anaesthetics. That is done on the poor young lady. A Caesarian surgery takes place with crude implements like a jack-knife and then the stitching is done with tapered gut leaders. We get goose pimples at the mere thought.
What must the woman have gone through!
However, the most pitiable part of the story is when her husband is found deceased with a slit throat. He killed himself because he could not swallow his wife's shrieks.
He was incapacitated at the moment as he had cut himself with an axe. He lay in the upper bunk, powerless to move and help and so must have felt aggravated. When he could not bear it any more, he slit his own throat with a razor, without uttering a cry. Had he mustered up a little more courage and remained alive, he would have been a proud father. But alas! That was not to be.
These two incidents have an overwhelming effect on the readers. We take all the facilities for granted but what they must have meant to the settlers in those days the have-nots in today's society, too, is unimaginable.
The young Indian woman, who went through untold miseries giving birth to her baby, was dealt a terrible blow. She had no husband to support her.
Her future was murky.
How long could the other Indian barkpeelers support her?
After all, they were also poor labourers. Whom would she share her joys and sorrows with? How would she bring up her son in such a pathetic condition?
How would she face this ghastly situation, this appalling loss?
These questions haunt us and so the story affects us to such an extent that we almost, by the end of the narrative, spell a word of thanks to God for what we have got.
April 15, 2018
My teacher is mildly in love with Ernest Hemingway, but this short story did not reveal to me why. Parts of it are haunting, I suppose.
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