the father delivers a baby by cesarean section using only his jackknife, but without anesthetic. And the husband silently commits suicide with a razor. Nick asks his father a series of questions about death after he witness the death of the husband and the birth of the little Indian boy nearly at the same time in the short night. Then Nick comes to a very shocking answer that “He fell quite sure that he would never die.”
C. The brief introduction
Indian Camp just a very short story which only has 1463 words, but the themes of the story are varieties. And the story has strong conflicts when the child was delivered the father is killing himself. It also shows that death is easy but birth is hard. My focus in this essay will uncover the ways Hemingway?s work has built on racial identity, gender issues and the difference in different person. And I will list and analysis some contrary scenes to expose the theme base on such a system of inequality. Just as the white and the black, men and women, and the doctor?s attitude to Nick, Uncle George and the young Indian woman these contrary scenes show the inequality in Indian Camp.
Part II Inequality in Race
Racism is a major theme in literature, in Indian Camp it also reflect a special racism. I prefer to call it inequality in race. Inequality in race means the unfair
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difference between races, when some have more wealth, status or opportunities than others.
Hemingway transport Nick, his father, and his uncle from their own sophisticated and civilized world of the white man into the dark and primitive world of the camp. But not transport them into another place where is pleasant. The black are living in Indian Camp, but now the white are arriving at Indian Camp. This just as the history that the ancestors of the white came to here then control everything, and now the descendants of white also come here to dominate the Indian Camp. [4] The husband lay in the upper bunk because he hurt his foot with an ax three days before. He can see everything what the white doctor does or the color of his son from the upper bunk, and he can?t do anything but looking at his wife is cut open by the white doctor. This shows that the black is dominated by the white and the black do not have anything to against it but just choose to death. For the long-term oppression they just endure it silently and never had the idea of fighting back.
The young Indian woman is screaming because she is being in labor. When Nick asks his father “Oh Daddy, can?t you give her something to make her stop screaming?” [3]The white doctor?s answer is shocked me. He says “No. I haven?t any anesthetic. But her screams are not important. I don?t hear them because they are not important”. From that I feel that the white doctor have no regard for the young Indian woman but for his operation. He does not regard her as a man but an animal. So it shows the white still have discrimination to the black.
And I noticed that Uncle George is smoking a cigar, but the husband is smoking
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pipe. And when the young Indian leads them through the woods he carries a lantern. But when the doctor has a look at the husband he carries a lamp. In the same stage, the white and the black have a widely different life. It seems that they do not live in a same time. The Indians still live a very primitive life. The three whites Nick, doctor and Uncle George are balanced by the three Indians who help hold down the woman. The arrangement is also shows that there still have inequalities between the black and white.
Part III Inequality in Gender
Gender is also a primary theme in literature, India Camp also refer to gender. And there is inequality in man and woman.
Hemingway writes that “She lay in the lower bunk, very big under a quilt. Her head was turned to one side. In the upper bunk was her husband. ” The arrangement that the woman lay in the lower bunk and her husband lay in the upper bunk. Why the husband does not lay another place but lay in the upper bunk? And he also can leave the shanty and stay with the other Indian man. The lower and upper not only tell us the location that the couple lay but also shows that the position of man and woman in society and families. Men have a superior position and they oppress women all the time.
Hemingway mentioned that “All the old women in the camp had been helping her. The men had moved off up the road to sit in the dark and smoke out of range of the
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noise that she made.” The men think the screaming that she made because of pain is noise. And they get away from it. But women have to suffer from even though it is pain badly. And there is a vividly described that “After when he started to operate Uncle George and three Indian men held the women still.” It means that when the white doctor operates on the young Indian woman there is no woman to give a help. They are pure man. Jeffrey Meyers said that “We might expect to find love, equality and solidarity in the story, but in fact Hemingway disappoints our expectations by revealing the opposite---for there is no evidence of love, equality or solidarity. The Indians are strikingly affectless and isolated. The men should give the concern moved out of range of the screams, the husband rolled over against the wall, and the only direct contact with the squaw is made by the three Indians who, with Uncle George, held her down” in his analysis. [2] So we can see that the position of male is higher than that of female in that time, and Hemingway is pay more attention to male than female. We can realize that women are in a weak position, men and women status is unequal. “A considerable number of critics argue that Hemingway is a great man who discriminate women. Therefore, in his works only ?Code Heroes?” Zheng Qingqiu said in her essay. [5]From that I come to a conclusion that there is inequality in gender in Indian Camp. They do not have their own rights and the white men do not treat them as man. They have a bad life in Indian Camp.
Part Ⅳ Inequality in Person
In the process of interpersonal communication we have different attitudes towards
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different people. And there is no obvious inequality in person. But we can see there is inequality in person in Indian Camp. For example, it mentioned that “?I will put some peroxide on that, George?, the doctor said.” It shows that the white doctor pay more attention to Uncle George?s injury, which is bitten by the young Indian woman and he care about Uncle George. He cannot stand a white man to suffer just the little affair. But there are sentences that “?No. I haven?t any anesthetic, his father said?” and “They?re usually the worst suffers in these little affairs”. The white doctor regards the cesarean section as a little affair even though the young Indian makes such loud scream because of pain. He simply reverses the position between caesarean section and the bite. He regards the bite more serious than the caesarean section. He tends to use peroxide on the bite, but he does not have anesthetic or any medicine to stop the scream that made by the young Indian because of being in labor. This reflects that the doctor?s attitude towards the young Indian woman and George is obviously different.
The doctor?s attitude towards the young Indian woman and the husband is obviously different. When the caesarean section is finished the doctor also has the interesting to see the proud father. And he can feel the father?s feeling when his wife give birth. But it is very strange that he cannot see the pain and hear the scream that the woman made. Does he is blind or deaf? The answer is obviously no. It?s because he does not see the young Indian woman as a normal man or man. So he can?t see it. The doctor?s attitude towards Nick and the others is obviously different. The doctor very cares about Nick not only his physical health but also his mental. He
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