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Civilization Conflict in “Indian Camp”

  • 인문논총
  • 2011, 28(), pp.57-70
  • Publisher : Institute for Human studies, Kyungnam University
  • Research Area : Humanities > Other Humanities

Lee Jong-moon 1

1협성대학교

Candidate

ABSTRACT

Ernest Hemingway's first novel, In Our Time is discussed as a collection of short stories reflecting his own experiences. Among the fifteen stories, “Indian Camp” foreshadows many of the themes and techniques of his subsequent novels and best introduces his thought and art. In “Indian Camp”, Hemingway describes Nick Adams's journey into the unknown. A very young Nick witnesses moments of pain, birth, and death and is initiated into the adult world. This story reaches a climax when Nick's awareness of evil causes him to turn away from the experience in the cabin. At the end of the story, Nick feels sure that he would never die and denies death. That leads to his calm affirmation of eternal life and resolution not to succumb to fear in later life. But if we read this story carefully, we understand that there is civilization conflict between the whites and natives. As some critics suggest, Uncle George is the father of the baby and the Indian husband commits suicide because of his wife's unfaithfulness. Doctor Adams and Uncle George represent the civilization of the white man and intruder, and symbolize the new order. In this respect, the birth of a half-breed baby shows how the old culture is born and fused into the new culture. The baby is a mixture of both cultures. Therefore “Indian Camp” is a parable of the gradual intrusion and supplanting of one culture upon another.

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