Hemingway+Indian+Camp

TO THE 3 VOLUNTEERS - ON MONDAY I AM GOING TO GIVE THE ENTIRE CLASS THE FANCY, BIG LITERATURE BOOK. IN ADDITION TO READING "INDIAN CAMP" YOU WILL ALSO NEED TO MAKE A SMALL COMMENT ON HEMINGWAY'S BIO - I MEAN IT WHEN I SAY SMALL - EACH OF YOU CAN POINT OUT MAYBE THREE FACTS (OR OPINIONS) FROM HIS BIOGRAPHY.

IN THE MEANTIME, FOR "INDIAN CAMP," PLEASE DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING:

The relationship between the two primary characters The relationship between the white men and the Native Americans What the story says about life and death Tone & Mood

Thanks and have a great weekend/ Monday night!

Yashoda: //Indian Camp//: The relationship between the two primary characters is that of a father and son. Assuming that he is more intelligent, the father takes on his role of teaching his son, Nick, about different events in life. In the story he teaches Nick about the process of birth. Nick is sensitive and emotional, and has a hard time receiving the information given to him without feeling remorse and sympathy for the women in labor. His father understands this, but himself is very practical and relatively unaffected by the pain the woman is experiencing. He himself states, "But her screams are not important. I don't hear them because they are not important." (18). Regardless of his apathy, Nick's father does feel bad for bringing Nick to the camp and causing him to see the horrendous death the Native American suffered. The story shows the supremacy of the white man over the Native Americans. In the beginning Nick and his dad are shown to be relaxing on the boat, "Nick lay back with his father's arm around him," while the Native American works hard to row the boat (16). The story also shows that the white man had no respect for Native Americans when Uncle George calls the Indian woman a, "Damn squaw bitch" after she bites him (18). Another aspect of the story showing the supremacy of the white man is the fact that only Nick, Uncle George, and the Father (the white men) have names but Indians don't. The story deals with life and death the way most people deal with generic life. The author brings about the concept of giving up something in order to receive something else in his portrayal of life and death. The baby is born (a good thing happens), but within a few minutes the father of the child is found dead (something is given up). The tone and mood of the story change many times through the plot. In the beginning of the story when Nick, his uncle, and his father are in the boat the tone and mood are peaceful, but as the woman in labor is mentioned and described the tone and mood become painful and sympathetic. The tone and mood change again when the father is discovered dead, they both become horrific/horrified, and sad. But the last line of the story, "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." creates a peaceful, hopeful, and reassuring tone/mood.

Hemingway Bio: Hemingway became an international celebrity after he published //The Sun Also Rises// in 1926, and at the time of his death he was probably the most famous person in the world. He moved to Paris in 1920 and worked to become a writer. At this time he got to know the community of expatriate artistic and literary Americans in the city. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for //The Old Man and the Sea// (1952).

= Julia = = Indian Camp: = = The tone and mood throughout the story shifts with changing subjects. In the beginning all is peaceful and calm as they row on the water. Despite this peaceful setting there is an unsettling undertone. As they are rowing along, Nick's father tells Nick that they are going to see a very sick woman in pain. This begins the dark mood the reader feel and the dark tone, Hemingway is trying to convey. As Nick's father is taking care of the woman there is an upsetting and stressful mood, yet it is still peaceful and calm just as on the river because Nick's father appears very sure of himself while he tending to the woman. As the baby is born there is a a relieving tone, and all seems well. However, shortly after the father of the baby is discovered to have killed himself while the baby was being born. This shifts the mood and tone to dark and depressing. There is a mood of happiness for the relief of the mother and the baby being born, yet there is a very dark and depressing undertone because of the baby's father's death. As the story ends, Nick is once again in the boat with his father, and although the scene is the same at the beginning and creates a calm mood, there is a dark and depressing undertone as Nick wonders why the Indian man killed himself and "he felt quite sure that he would never die"(21). This gives a dark undertone because the reader is absolutely positive that Nick will at some point, die, as do all things. = = The relationship between Nick and Nick's father is fairly basic. Nick's father act as guidance for Nick and essentially his keeper. Nick's father brought Nick to give him an learning experience about medicine. It almost seems as though subconsciously Nick's father brought Nick along to show him another side of life, in addition to learning about medical practices. = = In this story, the relationship between white men and Native Americans is highlighted. There are obviously stark contrasts between the two. Although Nick's father is knowledgeable about the world, Nick has no idea how this part of society lives. The way the area is described, it seems very foreign to Nick. The idea in itself that Nick's father came to help the woman is very important to the difference between white men and Native Americans. The Native Americans in this story are so far from society, that they do not even have actual doctors to help women like the one in this story. Their lack of resources show that the white man at this time lived a much more advanced life. The difference in culture in this story, plays the white man to be in a more advanced, and highly educated society than the Native Americans. = = Life and death are huge in this story. In the beginning of the story, Nick's father is determined to bring life, to the world. Birth in our society is typically viewed as very joyful and happy, however in this Indian Camp, it seems like more of a burden then a joy. It is so much of a burden/problem that the father of the baby is discovered to have killed himself moments after the baby was born. It is interesting that Hemingway emphasized the beginning of life and the end of it. It is also interesting to see that in the story, it is so difficult for this baby to be born, but at the end of the story and Nick wonders why the man killed himself, Nick's father tells him he thinks it is easy to die. = = Hemingway's Bio: = = Hemingway enlisted in WWI as an ambulance driver. After the war he became an expatriate and moved to Paris. He learned many things from other famous writers of the time such as Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Most of the books and stories he wrote reflected his experiences throughout his life. = -

= Kaite! = = = = = = In the story, "Indian Camp", Hemingway shows a different style of writing. Rather than his usual journalism aspect to it, such as the bland reporting of facts and events, this work has more substance to it. The tone shifts often, with is starting off tranquil at the departure from the lake. Nick and his father haven't gotten into the plot of the story yet, and everything seems to be normal. Then, as it is revealed that they are going to help a ill woman, the suspense of the tone hightens and becomes more of an anxious tone. This anxiety continues to grow as the group gets closer to the hut. Once labor is done and the procedure has been completely, the tone lightens up a bit. This is temporary, for the darkness of it all hits a high note as the blood caked body of the father is uncovered. He had killed himself with a razor blade, "ear to ear." From there, the tone gradually gets closer to being back to the calmness at the start of the tale. It's almost as if the tone were to be mapped out, it would look like a heartbeat. = = = = The companionship between the father and the son throughout the stoy is sweet dispite the darkness of it all. Nick's father is trying to teach him important things about life when he brings him along, and ends up teaching him far more than he intended. The suicide brings Nick, being the apparently young boy he is, to ask many questions on death and its uncanny eye for timing. He asks if dying is hard, among other questions a parent would never want to here from his child. Although, the father does not show and remorse about bringing his son along. Nick sees his father as a hero due to the fact that he is a doctor and saves people for a living. From the looks of it, the father likes that about his relationship with his son, so he is glad that he saw him that way. = = = = Relations between whites and Native Americans in this novel are not shown in the best of ways, even though the white doctor is coming to cure the Native girl. The Native Americans are extremely underdeveloped characters, yet their activities are the central point of the story. There is not much of a respect for them in many ways, like when Uncle George refers to the pregnant woman as a "Damn squaw bitch!" after she bit him. The Natives seem to be waiting on the white men, when it should be the other way around. There is not a balance of respect between the two races, but there is not any apparent tension. Nick hardly notices this inequality between the two parties due to his obvious innocence. Nevertheless, it is focused on. = = Life and death are the central themes of this story. Nick, being unharmed by the world at his point in this life, is ignorant to the improbability of life and the fragile balance the keeps people alive every day. There are plenty of points in this story, in which life and death are communicated. First, is the death of the Native American man. His suicide throws away so much as a new life is being brought into the world, and he narrowly escapes the sight of his newborn. As Nick questions, the thought of whether or not dying is easy is a novel point to be overlooked. In this story in particular, death comes and goes. Life has a flow through it. Life is highlighted through the use of the newborn baby's start to life. It symbolizes all that the man threw away. The cycle ebbs and flows throughout the story, and throughout time itself truly. Another instance where life is shown is when Nick is looking into the water. With this calmness, he realizes that although the man may have died, there are still things alive in the world. The sun was still coming up. The weather was cool but nice. The little things still existed to Nick, yet the man did not. That is a concept Nick faces when asking his father questions on whether death is easy or not. With those questions, Nick's innocence deteriorates. = =__ Hemingway's Bio: __= =Hemingway enjoyed watching the bullfights in Papoloma, Spain. He integrated his every day life into his literature in that sense. Through his writing, he showed how society was changing. For example, he was often critiqued for his view on women in his stories. In actuality, he was showing the way women were changing during the time period.= = =