Ten Indians

The narrative begins in medias res after the trip home has begun. How might the story be different if it included the activity in town and at the ball game before the start of the journey home? How might a description of the day’s activities affect the shape of the narrative, positively or negatively?

Compare and contrast Joe Garner and Mr. Adams as father figures. How are they similar and/or different? Consider how each interacts with Nick. How does Nick relate and respond to each of them?

Imagine that this story is set on Thanksgiving, another holiday that’s integral to American mythology. How might the change of celebratory days affect the narrative? How might the role of Native Americans change, if at all?

Select a passage from “Ten Indians” and rewrite it from Nick’s point of view, using first person. How does this perspective change the narrative? How might this version offer more or less insight into Nick’s character?

Read the fifth story in the Nick Adams chronology, “The Indians Moved Away.” How are Indigenous people depicted in this story? What themes and stereotypes carry over from ”Ten Indians”?

Analyze the mood of the story and how it affects the characters. Note any places where the mood shifts, and consider what emotions the mood and atmosphere might evoke in readers.

Consider one of the later stories about Nick Adams when he is an adult. What traces of his experiences on this Fourth of July are evident in it, if any? What does this say about childhood versus adult experience?

Some characters in this story are named, and others are not. What is the significance of the names Ernest Hemingway includes? What is the effect of leaving some characters, like Nick’s father, nameless?