My teacher said to develop this into an essay, I am unsure of how to go about doing that.
As we grow up we become more aware of the aspects of life all around us. We recognize the types of relationships we have with people, pain and the intricacies of life. Ernest Hemingway includes all of these themes in his story “Indian Camp”.
Indian Camp is a story about a father, Dr. Adams who brings his son Nick to an Indian Camp to help an Indian woman give birth. Nick is introduced to a whole new way of life. He sees the shanties that they call home and the dogs running around. The smell that greets him is unpleasant. Nick’s dad wants to introduce Nick to his trade in order to encourage his Nick to follow in his footsteps. He may have wanted to show Nick to excitement of bringing a new life into this world, and saving a life. The woman who is giving birth bites Nick’s Uncle George who then calls her "(Expletive)!" and an Indian standing near by laughs. When the baby is finally born and Nick’s father was getting ready to sew up the incision, he tells Nick that he can choose to watch it or not. “Nick did not watch. His curiosity had been gone for a long time.” Nick is distraught by the childbirth, he can no longer watch, nor does he want to. Nick’s father was very proud of himself and said, " ' That's one for the medical journal, George,' he said. 'Doing a Caesarian with a jack-knife and sewing it up with nine-foot, tapered gut leaders.’" Uncle George responds by telling him he is a great man. Uncle George is being sarcastic, implying that he should stop feeling so great about himself and feel a little more sympathy for the Indians. Nick’s father got more than he bargained for when they saw that the father had committed a gruesome suicide some time during the childbirth.
This leads us to the question of why did the baby’s father commit suicide? The baby’s father may have killed himself because he had cut his foot very badly which must have impacted his ability to work and thus bring in money, a baby would just mean an extra mouth to feed. His pregnant wife giving birth, must have made the situation more real because the birth was happening now, which must have made him despair. Many men measure their self-worth by how much money they make and their ability to support their family, without bringing in the money his self-worth had plummeted. Men like to feel in control and solve situations. He couldn’t help his wife get through the pain of childbirth. He may have been scared to face the possibility of the mother dying or the unborn child not making it.
Nick had just viewed the pain of a woman in a difficult childbirth and seen a man who had killed himself. Nick had just viewed the pain that exists in this world. We can no longer call him a child, because a child has innocence and does not usually know about tragedy. Nick’s experiences had made him into an adult too soon, thus he retreats and regresses.
We also see the theme of complicated tragic relationships running through the story. We can understand that there is a complicated relationship with the Indians from when the Indian laughed after the woman bit Uncle George and Uncle George responds by calling her an offending name. Originally Uncle George had rowed across with an Indian and given them cigarettes. Uncle George seems to be acting wisely, like an intermediary. Additionally, Nick seems to have a delicate relationship with his father. Nick’s father does not seem to understand that his son is sensitive, and that maybe his son can’t handle being by a childbirth or maybe his son is not interested in medicine. The little bit of dialogue that there is between Nick and his father is terse, although we do have to take into account that most of the conversation occurred after the tragedy and therefore they may have been at a loss for words.
These events had a big impact on Nick. We see this when he experiences a period of regression in the boat where he thinks to himself that he chooses to “never die (Hemingway, 21).” Nick has been traumatized by his experiences. Life will never be the same for Nick after these experiences.
http://www.answers.com/topic/essay
Read noun definition 1a in here.
How will you transform this into YOUR OPINIONS or YOUR IDEAS or YOUR THOUGHTS about this topic?
Start with a true thesis statement. Your thesis statement must include factual information plus your position/opinion/stance. Without your position on the topic, it isn't a true thesis statement. So think of this sentence as the angle you want to take on the topic and what you intend to prove by the end of your paper. (If your statement is simply factual, then there's nothing to prove!)
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/thesistatement.html
This is one of the very best places I've seen online to help students write good thesis statements. It shows you sentences that aren't thesis statements and how to turn each one into real thesis statements.
Only you can write this because you must be able to state your own opinion/position/stance on the topic. Once you've drafted a thesis statement, feel free to post it if you'd like someone here to check it.
To develop this into an essay, you can start by creating an introduction that provides a brief summary of the story "Indian Camp" by Ernest Hemingway and introduces the themes that will be discussed in the essay. For example:
"Ernest Hemingway's short story 'Indian Camp' explores various themes, including the awakening of awareness, the complexities of relationships, and the impact of traumatic experiences. Through the story of a young boy named Nick accompanying his father, Dr. Adams, to an Indian camp, Hemingway delves into the profound changes that Nick undergoes as he witnesses the realities of life and encounters tragic events. This essay will analyze the themes of awareness, relationships, and trauma, and their effects on Nick's development throughout the story."
After the introduction, you can proceed to discuss each theme in separate paragraphs. For example, in the first body paragraph, you can explain how the story portrays the awakening of awareness in he is exposed to the harsh realities of life. You can highlight key moments or quotes from the story that illustrate this theme.
In the second body paragraph, you can analyze the complexities of relationships depicted in the story. Focus on the various relationships, such as those between Nick and his father, Nick and Uncle George, and the Indians. Discuss how these relationships are portrayed and how they impact Nick's understanding of the world.
In the third body paragraph, you can delve into the theme of trauma and its effects on Nick. Analyze the specific events, such as witnessing the difficult childbirth and the suicide of the baby's father, and discuss how these traumatic experiences shape Nick's perception of life and his subsequent regression.
Finally, you can conclude the essay by summarizing the main points discussed in each body paragraph and reiterating the significance of the themes in Nick's development.
Remember to provide evidence from the text to support your analysis and to organize your essay in a clear and cohesive manner.