Indian Camp

“‘This lady is going to have a baby, Nick,’ he said.

‘I know,’ said Nick.

‘You don’t know,’ said his father. ‘Listen to me. What she is going through is called being in labor. The baby wants to be born and she wants it to be born. All her muscles are trying to get the baby born. That is what is happening when she screams.’

‘I see,’ Nick said.”

This exchange of dialogue between Nick and Dr. Adams reveals the characterization of the father and son. Instead of waiting for a narrator to tell us the characters’ mindsets as they row into the camp, the dialogue shows Dr. Adams’s knowledge and impatience, as well as Nick’s eagerness to please his father.

“‘No. I haven’t any anæsthetic,’ his father said. ‘But her screams are not important. I don’t hear them because they are not important.’”

This bit of dialogue characterizes Dr. Adams. Instead of the well-prepared and caring doctor he tries to portray himself as, he reveals that he is unequipped (lacking anesthetic) and uncaring, dismissing the woman’s screams as unimportant.

“You see, Nick, babies are supposed to be born head first but sometimes they’re not. When they’re not they make a lot of trouble for everybody. Maybe I’ll have to operate on this lady. We’ll know in a little while.”

Dr. Adams’s explanation represents one of the rare bits of exposition in “Indian Camp.” As he describes the woman’s condition to Nick, Dr. Adams also fills in the details for the reader. The reader now knows what’s wrong with the woman and the stakes of the story. This explanation is also an example of vernacular; Dr. Adams is speaking in simple terms his child will understand.

“Later when he started to operate Uncle George and three Indian men held the woman still. She bit Uncle George on the arm and Uncle George said, ‘Damn squaw bitch!’ and the young Indian who had rowed Uncle George over laughed at him. Nick held the basin for his father. It all took a long time.”

Such cursing was not common in mainstream literature in the early-20th century, which makes Hemingway’s use of vernacular notable. By breaking with norms and expectations, Hemingway forces the reader to pay attention to George. His use of slurs here characterizes him, and his woman’s bite hints at a connection between her and George.

“Nick did not watch. His curiosity has been gone for a long time.”

Although Nick is the main character in “Indian Camp,” the narrator does not directly share his perspective very often, which makes this instance of focalization stand out. Nick reveals that he’s no longer interested in his father’s work. This quote occurs in repetition, where Nick looks away three times in succession, emphasizing the degree of his discomfort.

“Uncle George looked at his arm. The young Indian smiled reminiscently.”

These two short sentences make for a powerful juxtaposition. Placing the image of George looking at his arm so close to the young Indigenous man smiling, the text invites readers to consider the relationship between them and why the Indigenous man would be so happy that the woman bit George. Hemingway scarcely uses adverbs, making “reminiscently” stand out here as proof of a past connection.

“‘That’s one for the medical journal, George,’ he said. ‘Doing a Caesarian with a jack-knife and sewing it up with nine-foot, tapered gut leaders.’”

In this case, the use of vernacular highlights the loose and improper nature of Dr. Adams’s bragging. Instead of showing care for the woman who just went through a traumatic experience, Dr. Adams uses the occasion to make himself look better. While the narrator did not describe the surgery in detail, Dr. Adams’s brusque speech and reference to a jackknife reveal how brutal it was.

“Uncle George was standing against the wall, looking at his arm. ‘Oh, you’re a great man, all right,’ he said.”

The sarcasm employed by Uncle George highlights his bitterness and anger. Unlike his brother, George cannot let himself get caught up in the excitement of the moment or the achievement. Instead, he chooses to downplay the event, putting more attention on the bad thing that has befallen him.

“The Indian lay with his face toward the wall. His throat had been cut from ear to ear. The blood had flowed down into a pool where his body sagged the bunk. His head rested on his left arm. The open razor lay, edge up, in the blankets.”

Unlike the cesarean, which is not visually described at all, the husband’s dead body is described in more detail. Instead of using lurid imagery, though, Hemingway chooses understatement. The short and direct sentences make each point more impactful, while the plain language used by the narrator makes the event seem more horrific.

“‘Why did he kill himself, Daddy?’

‘I don’t know, Nick. He couldn’t stand things, I guess.’”

The explanation that Dr. Adams provides is another form of understatement but to different effect. When Dr. Adams explains the suicide this way, he reveals his lack of care for Indigenous people. The understatement invites the reader to reject Dr. Adams for his inappropriate diagnosis. Like the lack of anesthesia earlier, this statement also calls Dr. Adams’s expertise as a doctor and patriarch into question.

“‘Do many men kill themselves, Daddy?’

‘Not very many, Nick.’”

Nick’s question highlights one of the story’s themes. When he asks about men killing themselves, Nick shows an interest in masculinity and learns that men don’t die by suicide (in his father’s opinion). This knowledge drives Nick to believe that he will not die.

“‘Do many women?’

‘Hardly ever.’

‘Don’t they ever?’

‘Oh, yes. They do sometimes.’”

Once again, Dr. Adams uses understatement to deal with a difficult issue. Instead of taking seriously Nick’s questions and experiences, he downplays them with dismissive answers.

“‘Is dying hard, Daddy?’

‘No, I think it’s pretty easy, Nick. It all depends.’”

Nick’s question shows that he is a round character. As opposed to a flat character, with only one motivation or character trait, Nick has changing motivations and contradictory traits, just like a real person.