Write a research essay (minimum 5 pages) on Ernest Hemingway’s “Indian Camp.”
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Duraid Al-Dulaimi Peter Kim ENG-132-99 3 June 2019
Indian Camp Research Essay Indian Camp’s main theme revolves around suffering. Women are the characters who,
particularly suffer in the setting of the book. In addition, it addresses the harm that a father can
cause to a son as a result of intimacy between the two. Further incidences of violence against
disenfranchised others come up throughout the book. Examples of victims include a Native
American Woman and Nick Adams. The article creates a correlation between the responses to
the suffering of women and the capacity for humanity. Hemingway rightly rates the book as the
best in his collection.
Nick Adams, a young boy undeservedly encounters personal suffering. He and his
physician father travel by boat to a camp at night to have his father attend to a woman in labor.
The part of the narration explaining the ride in the boats exhibits some level of bias. The riders of
the boats are not identified by names. Instead, they are only referred to as Indian men. Upon
reaching the destination, they find the woman groaning in pain. She was screaming loudly.
While the older women of the village attended to her, men indifferently, moved far away to
smoke in the dark and out of the range of the noise she was making (Hemingway, 30). The
behavior of the men speaks volumes about their humanity and their concern for the suffering of
women. Even though the men acted undisturbed by the suffering of the woman, her husband
bravely sat next to her, probably to offer her moral support in her suffering. As illustrated, her
attitude to the suffering of women is different from the general attitude of men. Further
illustration of suffering on the part of the man is the fact that he had badly cut his foot with an
axe three days ago and was certainly nursing injuries. However, his suffering did not deter him
from identifying with the suffering of his delivering wife.
Commented [Dr. Kim1]: You should know by now how to properly format titles. -1 Titles of short stories are put in quotation marks. See: https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Punctuating_Titles_chart.pd f
Commented [Dr. Kim2]: You need a more original title that reflects the specific focus or thesis of your paper. -1 See tips on how to write a title: http://www.wikihow.com/Come-up- With-a-Good-Title
Commented [Dr. Kim3]: Titles of short stories are put in quotation marks. See: https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Punctuating_Titles_chart.pd f -1
Commented [Dr. Kim4]: These are not your ideas. You must properly credit Tyler for these ideas. -2 See how to avoid plagiarism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y
Commented [Dr. Kim5]: This does not fit the rest of your discussion in your paragraph. -1
Commented [Dr. Kim6]: After you summarize Tyler’s approach to “Indian Camp,” you must connect the discussion in the paragraph to your thesis or main focus of your paper. -2 You are missing a clearly defined thesis. The thesis is the most important statement in an essay since it defines the main idea your paper will seek to prove by discussing the available research. See tips for writing an effective thesis: http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/tips/thesis/ -4 Example thesis: “Indian Camp” by Ernest Hemingway illustrates a male-centered perspective on parenting, Native Americans, and women.
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Nick Adams, curious about the screaming woman enquires from his father of the
possibility to offer her some relief. The enquiry confirms the caring character of the young boy.
Unfortunately, he had to leave his emotional position and identify with his father. The father
admits to lacking anesthesia. Notwithstanding the absence of the intervention, the physician
father resorts to carrying out caesarian section on the woman. Professional ethics would have
demanded that he seeks information on the progress of the woman in labor. However, such does
not take place. Rude enough, the physician does not explain her intentions to the patient.
Besides, he doesn’t even ask the name of the woman. Though she chooses the option to save the
life of the mother and the unborn child, no inhuman act against women would have exceeded the
operation. To make matters worse, the procedure is carried out in the presence of his young son.
The physician goes ahead and performs the operation while three Indian men and Uncle George
held her tight for ease of the procedure (Hemingway, 31). The process is lengthy as it involves
stitching after removal of the baby. In between the procedure, the woman, out of pain, bites
Uncle George’s hand. So indifferent to the situation of the woman, he resorts to insulting her.
Funny enough, one of the Indian men laugh at the George. All this time, Nick held the basin for
his father. Being a young boy, it is likely that witnessing the inhumanity would render him an
exhibiter of animosity against women in the future.
The caring husband really felt for his wife for the pain she was undergoing. He probably
felt guilty that he was responsible for the suffering, having impregnated the lady. It reached a
point that she felt she could not bear it any further. Unfortunately, he resorted to suicide. Upon
learning of the development, the physician father regretted that he ever let his son accompany
him. At this juncture, he felt that the experience was tormenting to the son. Possible effect of the
nasty experience to the son would include the loss of sympathy and empathy. As illustration, he
Commented [Dr. Kim7]: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/inq uire-enquire/
Commented [Dr. Kim8]: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/inq uire-enquire/ -1
Commented [Dr. Kim9]: Unclear idea. Write what you mean with more direct and clear wording. -1
Commented [Dr. Kim10]: Wrong gender. Dr. Adams is male. – 1
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curiously interrogates the incidence of death. Besides, as they rode back home, he felt that as
long as his father was in control, he was assured of resisting death.
At the time of the occurrence, Nick was afraid of the woods at night and the fear that he
remains in the wood at night. The extraction confirms that he was too young to be forced to
witness a caesarean birth, not even to witness the horrible incident of suicide of the Indian man.
That being the case, some critics argue that he was too young to be left alone in their camp, too,
hence the reason for accompanying the father. However, his father could have asked one of the
women to take him Nick to a different shanty instead of having him witness the cruel act.
Alternatively, he could have left his son with the Indian men who were smoking in some
reasonable distance. It is worth noting that many American boys are primarily raised by mothers
(Spanier, 35). As such, they experience an extremely difficult time trying to separate with their
caregivers. The explanation probably explains best why Nick felt for the screaming woman and
asked the father of the availability of an intervention for pain. The strong bond between the boys
and their caregivers implies that the said gender have to struggle free with all the violence of a
second birth for a detachment from the woman who bore them. The imagery of second birth
takes us back to the situation when he experienced his father literally cut the bond between the
child and the mother. No wonder that Nick develops a feeling of immortality after the
experience. Unfortunately, Nick had never separated properly from his own mother. As such, he
remained unable to experience connectivity. Unfortunately, a child who finds difficulty in
separation experiences major challenges in attending to the suffering of another person. Instead,
such a child replaces attentive love with fantasy, evident in Nick’s behavior.
The other case of suffering and cruelty surrounds Clarence Hemingway. As illustrated
below, he was, in no doubt, a demanding father. To begin with, he taught his child, Ernest, to
Commented [Dr. Kim11]: This is not an approved source. You need to request to use any source other than the ones I assigned. -2 You need to show you can follow directions. The research paper assignment is testing your ability to incorporate the assigned sources from forums 1-5 into your essay to show you can accommodate the available research on “Indian Camp.” Where are the sources from forums 2, 3, and 4? -60 (minus 20 points for each missing source). See how to properly incorporate a source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoQzXVmFXfk
Commented [Dr. Kim12]: This is a confusing idea. -2
Commented [Dr. Kim13]: This does not make sense. A person can only be born once, unless you are trying to invoke a religious idea, but that does not fit “Indian Camp.” -2
Commented [Dr. Kim14]: How can you know this? There is no mention of Nick’s mother in “Indian Camp”? -2
Commented [Dr. Kim15]: You need to connect this personal information about Hemingway to what he wrote in “Indian Camp” and to your overall thesis. -2
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cock, load, and shoot a gun while was only two years old. In addition, one of the son’s birthday
present was a fishing trip in the rain with the father. Further, he took Ernest on a seven mile hike,
severely blistering his feet so that blood socked the socks and shoes (Tyler, 38). In callous
disregard of the feelings of his children, Clarence once punished his children with a razor strop.
Moreover, he once took his children to the state prison and warned them that the prison would be
their home in case they became disobedient. When Ernest was fourteen years old, he and his
friend shot a porcupine while they were out on a hunting spree. Surprisingly, he coerced the two
of them into eating the porcupine. In general, he used to act autocratically against his children. It
is, therefore, expected that such children will become unruly. Besides, they may lack essential
life skills such as empathy and sympathy. As illustration, Hemingway himself felt that he was
brought up by cruel parents. At some point, he is seen disclosing to his fourth wife that his
parents, particularly the father was cruel and that they frequently charged him with
responsibilities far beyond his capacity. Further, he claimed that much to his disappointment, his
father would remove the cartridges from his pistol and act as though he was shooting himself.
Unfortunately, the father used to be very proud of the act. However, the son was not ready to
forgive his father for the act and any other cruelness and/or weaknesses the father meted on him.
The illustrations better exemplify the impact that a father and his cruelty have on the children.
The above discussion focuses on Hemingway’s cruelty to his children and how he
possibly inherited the cruelty from his parents. Even before he married, Grace, her potential wife,
felt that they needed to reach consensus on the manner in which they would guard their children
against all actions and thought of cruelty. The concern confirms that Grace had possibly noted an
aspect of cruelty in Clarence. Indeed, Grace cautioned that she took cruelty for unpardonable sin
and that in the event she noted it in a person she loved, her love would turn to bitter hate (Tyler,
Commented [Dr. Kim16]: This needs to be clearly connected to your thesis. -2
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42). However, not only was Clarence cruel to his children but also to other people. As expected,
the cruelty in Hemingway’s behavior replicated in his son Ernest, much to the displeasure of her
mother. As an example of cruelty, whenever he banished a person, Ernest developed a feeling of
absolute pride on account of enforcement of the decision. As justification, he claimed that he had
never seen a forgiven person experience complete restoration to the status he previously enjoyed.
To further illustrate his arrogance, it happened that Ernest’s Sister Carol married John Gardener
though Hemingway was strongly against the union. Later, whenever people enquired of Carol’s
whereabouts from Ernest, he rudely retaliated by telling people that she was dead (Tyler, 44).
Luckily, he adopted a slightly different approach from that of his father in dealing with his
children. However, he apparently became a demanding father in his own right. Obviously, such a
response would amount to suffering on the part of the person to whom it was directed. The
interesting bit of his story and probably motivated by her mother, he successfully learned the
skills of suppressing his own emotions. It is reported that his father taught him to concentrate on
whistling whenever he was pissed off and felt as if to cry in order to divert his mind away from
his pain and suffering. In general, compelling a child to please a parent or implicating him in
cruel parental actions is one form taken by the powerlessness of childhood.
In conclusion, the Book, “Indian Camp” presents a picture of suffering and cruelty
against women and children a great deal. A doctor chooses to operate a woman devoid of respect
for the emotions and the dignity of the patient and her spouse, thereby, violating the Hippocratic
Oath. Indeed, the physician does not deem the screams of the patient to be important. Though
she physician is successful in the operation conducted without anesthesia, the mother bears
extreme pain. Unfortunately, the spouse feels cannot bear the pain of his wife and he commits
suicide. Unfortunately, all this takes place in the presence of young Nick. That scenario aside,
Commented [Dr. Kim17]: Incorrect. You must accurately describe the source, which is a short story. -1
Commented [Dr. Kim18]: This is not your idea. This is an interpretation provided by Meyers. -2 See how to avoid plagiarism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y -2
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the book features Hemingway and his cruelty. His wife is not for cruelty. However, she puts up
with the behavior which is eventually passed on to the children, Ernest included. Interestingly,
Hemingway had obtained the character from his parents. Ernest, as well, brings up his children in
a manner that closely resembled his father’s style.
Commented [Dr. Kim19]: This information is not clearly connected to “Indian Camp.” -2 You also are plagiarizing the information and failing to properly credit the source where you obtained it. Clearly credit Tyler for this information. -2 See how to avoid plagiarism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q0NlWcTq1Y -2
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Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. “Indian Camp.” Reading and Writing about Literature, 2nd ed. Ed. Phillip Sipiora.
Boston, MA: Pearson, 2002: 28-31.
Spanier, Sandra Whipple. “Hemingway’s” The Last Good Country” and” The Catcher in the
Rye”: More Than a Family Resemblance.” Studies in Short Fiction 19.1 (1982): 35.
Tyler, Lisa. “Dangerous families” and” intimate harm” in Hemingway’s” Indian Camp.” Texas
studies in literature and language 48.1 (2006): 37-53.
Commented [Dr. Kim20]: This is not an approved source. -2 I need to be sure you are not plagiarizing your paper, which is why I require you only to use the sources I have assigned. I am testing your ability to incorporate and accurately write about the assigned sources, not if you can find another source. The comparison of The Last Good Country by Hemingway and J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye is not directly related to “Indian Camp.” Relevant references to The Last Good Country that relate to “Indian Camp” are provided by John Cohassey in the source from forum 3, which you were required to include in your paper.
Commented [Dr. Kim21]: You are missing the required sources from forums 2, 3, and 4. -6