Summary

In “Three Shots” by Ernest Hemingway, Nick, his father, and his uncle are camping in the woods. As Nick is getting undressed in the tent, he remembers a shameful event from the previous night. That evening, after dinner, Nick’s father and uncle went fishing on the lake, leaving the boy alone. Nick’s father gives the boy a rifle and tells him to shoot three times to call them back in case of danger.

As Nick walks back to the camping spot, he begins to feel frightened. In his tent, Nick’s fear gets the best of him, as the boy thinks about dying and remembers a church hymn related to death. Furthermore, he also remembers being unable to sleep in his school bedroom at night because of this. Unable to cope with his fear of death, Nick takes the rifle ...