Setting

Time setting

Published in 1924, the short story “Indian Camp” by Ernest Hemingway is set on the American continent during the time of Indian camps, in which Native Americans were still living completely segregated from the general population. Consequently, the story was probably meant to be set in the early 1900s.

The short story takes place in the course of one night.

Physical setting

The main physical setting is the Native American camp. This camp is presented in a dark atmosphere of barking dogs and shabby housing with primitive lighting, and it is only reached after a labyrinth-like hike through the woods:

Then they went into the woods and followed a trail that led to the logging road that ran back into the hills. [...] Ahead were the lights of the shanties where the Indian barkpeelers lived. More dogs rushed out at them. The two Indians sent them back to the shanties. (p. 13, ll. 6-7 + 11-14)

One function of this description of the setting is to paint a picture of the poor and isolated lives the natives lead. It is a very different kind of life to that of most white Americans back then.

Another function is to symb...