Structure

The overall structure of the short story

The short story ”Indian Camp” by Ernest Hemingway follows a linear plot structure as events progress chronologically. The story starts at night and ends the next morning.

The story can be divided into three parts: In the beginning, Nick, his father, and Uncle George are on the lake, heading for the camp. In the middle, Nick’s father performs a Caesarean on a Native American woman, and they discover the suicide of the woman’s husband. In the end, Nick and his father are back on the lake, heading home in the morning sun. 

These three parts follow the home-away-home structure and underlines that young Nich goes through a learning experience. Symbolically, the trip can be interpreted as a journey of transformation for Nick. In...