Indian Camp

Vernacular is the word used to describe informal speech, such as slang or dialect. When writers use vernacular, they seek to add a sense of realism to the story. Most will still use formal language in exposition and even in dialogue, using vernacular to make characters or specific phrases stand out.

Hemingway prided himself on his naturalistic dialogue, a technique he used to make characters feel more like real people, allowing readers to think more critically about the claims that they make. Vernacular is present in the dialogue in “Indian Camp.” As Dr. Adams explains what a breech birth is and the woman’s situation, he uses natural, simple descriptions rather than medical terminology to ensure his young son understands him: “You see, Nick, babies are supposed to be born head first but sometimes they’re not” (17). Likewise, when Dr. Adams is trying to comfort Nick after discovering the body of the husband, he says, “It was an awful mess to put you through” (18). The wording allows him to downplay the horror, minimizing his culpability and the traumatic impression the events left on his son.

Vernacular can also be used for characterization. For example, Uncle George calls the pregnant woman anti-Indigenous and misogynistic slurs after she bites him, adding negative aspects to his characterization and deepening the story’s themes about colonization and masculinity.

Point of view describes a story’s perspective, the things that the text chooses to “see.” It’s often helpful to think of point of view as the lens through which the text looks, like a camera on a movie set.

“Indian Camp” is told through a third-person limited point of view. The narrator has some insight into Nick’s feelings—“Nick did not watch. His curiosity has been gone for a long time” (17)—but none of the other characters’ thoughts or feelings. Hemingway’s narrator employs realism in their perspective; they observe a bass jumping out of the water, Uncle George handing out cigars, and the husband’s dead body, but they do not offer explanations or interpretations. In a short, economical story, each detail is important in its presence, and it’s up to the reader to draw conclusions.

On the other hand, readers can determine what’s important by noticing what falls outside the text’s point of view. These can be assumptions that the text is making about values or events as well as plot beats that aren’t described. For example, the pregnant woman is given no dialogue, which allows interpretations about how masculinity is defined in contrast to femininity. Likewise, the husband’s suicide is unexplained, but combined with other hints like Uncle George handing out cigars, it strengthens the interpretation that Uncle George is the child’s real father.