Indian Camp

 "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."(p. 70)

    The story begins with a scene in which Nick, his father Dr. Adams, and his uncle George get across the lake in two rowboats with Indians. 

   Dr. Adams gets called to come to an Indian Camp to treat a lady who has a lot of trouble giving birth. Nick’s father calmly operates on the woman and delivers the baby, while Dr. Adams has nothing for her pain which makes her scream during the operation. During the birth the woman’s husband smokes silently on the top bunk of the bed but, after the birth, they realize that the husband in the top bunk slit his own throat. When they leave the camp, Nick asks his father questions about suicide and feels certain that he himself will never die. The quote is from the very last scene. 

  I had some questions through this short story. If you have read this book, you may have had the same questions. The biggest question is why the woman's husband killed himself before the baby was born. The second question is why Nick felt certain that he himself will never die in the end. Also, I thought uncle George was a little weird. At the beginning of the story, he was in the other boat with the Indians even though Nick and Nick's father were in the other boat together. As Nick and his father leave Indian camp, uncle George is not there with them. 

    Let me share my guesses with those questions I had above. I guess that the husband couldn't stand the screams the woman made. As for the second question, Nick thought he was lucky to have a father like Nick's father when he asked his father questions about death. In addition to this, through the operation, he strongly thought his father is a good doctor. So, I guess that he wants to live for his future children and be a father like his father. The third question is still mysterious to me.

Hemingway. E. (1924). Indian Camp, Ny. Scribner Paperback Fiction.