Ten Indians: A short story

by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway's "Ten Indians" is a short story of initiation and adolescence , set during a Fourth of July in Northern Michigan. Like most of Hemingway's Nick Adams tales, it is somewhat autobiographical.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics

Kindle Edition

Published April 4, 2021

About the author

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Best known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s, including seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His writings have become classics of American literature; he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature, while three of his novels, four short-story collections and three nonfiction works were published posthumously.
Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he spent six months as a cub reporter for The Kansas City Star before enlisting in the Red Cross. He served as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I and was seriously wounded in 1918. His wartime experiences formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms. He married Hadley Richardson in 1921, the first of four wives. They moved to Paris where he worked as a foreign correspondent for the Toronto Star and fell under the influence of the modernist writers and artists of the 1920s' "Lost Generation" expatriate community. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926.
He divorced Richardson in 1927 and married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War, where he had worked as a journalist and which formed the basis for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. He and Gellhorn separated after he met Mary Welsh Hemingway in London during World War II. Hemingway was present with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He maintained permanent residences in Key West, Florida, in the 1930s and in Cuba in the 1940s and 1950s. On a 1954 trip to Africa, he was seriously injured in two plane accidents on successive days, leaving him in pain and ill health for much of the rest of his life. In 1959, he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where, on July 2, 1961 (a couple weeks before his 62nd birthday), he killed himself using one of his shotguns.

Reviews

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s always wonderful to return to the world of my old friend, Nick Adams. Here we encounter young Nick experiencing his first heart ache. It’s masterfully told.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though Hemingway perpetuates racism against American Indians as well as sexism against women in "Ten Indians," he also details the bittersweet first heartbreak of Nick Adams. As I have said in previous reviews, I enjoy reading about Nick's coming of age. I just wish it did not have to occur in the context of so much misogyny, prejudice, etc. Similar to most other Hemingway works, I would not recommend this one.

Three more Hemingway reviews to go, Goodreads friends. At New Year's I will toast to the end of 2016 and to the end of my time with this over-hyped author.

[Mai · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pointless 🗑

What in the silly book-writing history is this?!
This isn’t a story — there’s no buildup, no depth, no purpose. How is this even considered a short story when it has no beginning, no middle, and definitely no end?

Let me get this straight: the guy hangs out with some neighbors, teases his friends, moves an Indian man out of the way, goes home, eats dinner, his dad tells him his girlfriend cheated on him, he gets heartbroken, sleeps, and wakes up... and that’s it?

I’m sorry — what exactly did I just read? Where’s the story? The emotion? The point? It’s like someone took a single dull memory and called it literature.

[Ælshunīv · Rating 1 out of 5]

um i couldn't care less, nick.

[Vojtěch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: This is a counter-argument against the current top review on Ten Indians.

No, Hemingway is not being racist and sexist. Sure enough the world he portrays is that way, but does that actually make Hemingway's story racist and sexist? I'm inclined to see it the other way around, as I found Ten Indians to be a profoundly humanistic short story.

The first authoritative figure of the story dismisses his own son‘s notion that “Pa wouldn't ever have had a squaw for a girl” and actually proceeds to encourage young Nick‘s (main character) relationship with an Indian girl. Now the Indian girl at hand betrays Nick, or so we are told by Nick‘s father – You can actually only guess if he didn‘t invent the little story about Nick‘s supposedly unfaithful girlfriend.

If you read this through any critical theory lenses and pay attention, the story is about how is racism and sexism perpetuated in society, how a father with best intentions for his son tells him what he "needed to hear". The story simply cannot be labeled as perpetuation of racism or sexism in itself (And you should feel ashamed, Thomas). Hemingway is only culpable of potraying the world as it was and as he lived through it. If you consider that to be problematic, then how are we supposed to get to understand history? Remember, Hemingway wrote modernist inter-war fiction. Awareness of this genre's as well as his own particularities should precede any attempt at applying critical theory (as is always the case).

Back to the actual review – The best reading possible is the one where you leave any prejudice aside. Then, you might enjoy the rest of the story, it‘s actual point; When Nick hears the story about the betrayal of his Indian girlfriend, he cries himself to sleep. Mid-night, he awakes to the sounds of waves breaking upon lake shore and high winds whistling through pine trees. And in the morning, it takes him quite a while to remember that his heart is broken - Hemingway leaves you with little to no doubt about young Nick's ability to shake his first heartbreak off. Now, it is nothing more or less than a story about resilience of youth. One of the few of Hemingway's stories which contains a straw of hope for the future.

And for the offended and offendable ones around, perhaps you could learn something from the story at hand – maybe, just as Nick did, you could try to shake off, or accept, the perceived cruelties of life you cry about, and strive on instead. Life will never be equal to all (least entropy destroys all order and universe is effectively done for), so you'd better get something out of it, besides being butthurt the whole time, before you die.

Now with all philosophy aside; I found Hemingway's modern writing style, capable of creating a profound and believable situation with just a few dialogs in seemingly random scenes, to be very beautiful and enjoyable. 8/10.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't say I like this one. It is filled with prejudices and stereotypes of Native Americans. I know it was very common at the time and still present today. I do not like the depiction of Native Americans in this story. There is no even attempt at characterizations in any of the Native Americans encountered. That makes it not a very good story. Plus, I do not agree with the prejudices in this story.

[tortoise dreams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because it's referenced in Bernard Malamud's A New Life. Then I discovered more to think about. Please: representation is not endorsement. If we hide away, ignore, and paper over every portrayal of bigotry, racism, or prejudice, they will flourish unabated.

[Aventinus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Μία ενδιαφέρουσα μικρή ιστορία για το τι σημαίνει να είσαι παιδί και να ραγίζει η καρδιά σου.

[Franci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the last paragraph.

[Rolando S. Medeiros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eu já tentei dois romances do Hemingway e nunca segui adiante. Não que eu ache ruim, mas simplesmente nenhum dos dois (Adeus às Armas, Por Quem os Sinos Dobram) me deram um ímpeto de continuar lendo, de devorar as páginas. (Impossível não lembrar aqui do comentário do Nabokov sobre a obra dele - "something about bells, balls, and bulls"). Um conto dele me encheu o saco: Neves de Killamonjaro; de outro gostei bastante: Um Lugar Limpo e Bem Iluminado. Mas, só agora, só nesse aqui, eu consegui ver beleza no estilo dele, no método do iceberg.

É meio que um realismo simbólico, onde aquilo que ele esconde, a parte submersa do iceberg, evoca uma multiplicidade de significados. Tudo que parece incidental, de pouca importância - aqui, a simples narrativa de um menino ajudando na mudança de uma família de amigos e voltando para casa para receber uma triste mas trivial notícia do pai - tem densidade e peso, ainda que não se gaste palavras com isso.

Não é à toa, nesse estilo tão desnudado, que há aqui resenhas que veem essa como uma história preconceituosa. É o contrário: você precisa ler nas entrelinhas para perceber a sutileza com que o Hemingway fala de problemas sociais, de preconceito, de opressão, tudo indireta e camufladamente. Não é gratuito o título, nem o fato da narrativa se passar no Quatro de Julho, nem os encontros que o protagonista faz na estrada, muito menos o comentário dos amigos.

Há ironia do Hemingway ao pintar uma família feliz, trabalhadora, educada, e o jeito descompassado com que falam sobre os indígenas; há carinho no desenrolar do último diálogo, na maneira com que um pai oculta certas informações de um filho que tem o coração partido; há a crítica ao representar os indígenas comemorando e bebendo o nascimento da nação que os massacrou e agora os humilha. Tudo em cenas distantes, sem exposição, que parecem desconexas, mas compõem todo um quadro geral.

"But just as the waves during the night have washed the beach, the passage of the night has already erased part of the agony: and he was awake a long time before he remembered that his heart was broken."

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the least favorite of Hemingway Nick Adams coming of age short stories that I like. Hemingway explores racism and disillusionment in this short story. Maybe we could look at it a different way in that the reader will get a better understanding of the two themes above through reading this book. Like it or not the book does make one scratch his head at Hemingway's intentions at getting these points across. Does that make Hemingway racist probably not. A good writer like Hemingway wants the reader to find the meaning of his story in the words he uses and he does. Read between the lines before you make that final judgement on this story.

[Mostafa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 star
ده سرخ پوست
یک داستان کوتاهِ فنی با ظرافت هایی به سان نقاشی مینیاتور که ارنست همینگوی در ۲۸ سالگی منتشر کرد
اگرچه داستان در مورد سرخوردگی از عشق است اما داستان لایه های قابل تاملی دارد
جو گارنر به همراه همسرش( خانم گارنر) و دو پسرش به نام های کارل و فرانک به همراه پسر همسایه شان نیک از مراسم چهارم جولای که روز استقلال آمریکاست به منزل باز می گردند
داستان درون مایه ای دو لایه دارد
اول: سرخوردگی نیک از عشق به دختری سرخ پوست
دوم: انحطاط سرخ پوستان به دلیل ظلم سفید پوستان

جو گارنرِ پدر نسبت به سرخ پوستان هیچ گونه تفاهم و احساس هم دردی ندارد، سرخ پوستان از نظر او اسباب درد سر هستند و حکم اشیاء را دارند
او در طول مسیر بازگشت به خانه آنها را به سبب بد مستی از جاده کنار می زند اما توجه نمی کند که سرخ پوستان مستی را از فرهنگ سفید پوستان یاد گرفته اند، آنها بودند که سرخ پوستان را تحت انقیاد خود دراورده و همانند موجودی درجه دو با آنها برخورد کرده اند

نکته طنز در روز جشن چهارم جولای است... آنها به شهر رفته اند تا مراسم را جشن بگیرند، روز استقلالی که در واقع آغاز تاریخ ملتی است که سرخ پوستان را شکست داده و به پستی کشانده حالا سرخ پوستان به وفور مست و لایعقل در مسیر بازگست آنها در جاده افتاده اند

خانم گاردنر هم همانند همسرش ، سرخ پوستان را همانند شی می داند.. بیگانه و مطرود... او آنها را " سرخ پوست غربتی" می خواند... کنایه ظریف در اینجاست که غربتی به کسی می گویند که خانه و کاشانه ثابتی ندارد حال اینکه سرخ پوستان صاحبان و ساکنان اولیه این سرزمین بودند
او به عنوان مادر و همسر که اصولا می بایست حامل موازین اخلاقی و مسئولیتی در خانواده باشد، نفرتش را با کلمه " سرخ پوست غربتی" آنهم دو مرتبه اعلام می کند.... او آنها را جزء بشر عادی نمی شمارد بلکه از اعضای نژادی مطرود تصور می کند

کارل و فرانک فرزندان آقا و خانم گاردنر هم بارتاب نگرش والدین خودشان را نسبت به سرخ پوستان دارند
فرانک، کشاندن سرخ پوست مست به کنار جاده توسط پدرش را به سان کشتن مار می بیند و بعد در یک جمله ای توهین آمیز به نیک می گوید تو راسو را می شناسی چون دوست دخترت سرخ پوست است.... یعنی اینکه سرخ پوست ها همانند راسو بدبو هستند... این بیان نژاد پرستانه، آموزشی از سوی دیگر اعضای خانواده است اگرچه با سرزنش خفیف خانم گاردنر مواجه می شود

خانواده گاردنر، انسانهایی سخت کوش، خوش نیت و مهربان هستند اما نسبت به ارزش های آفریده جامعه خود... آنچنان که نیک را با خودشان به منزل می اورند، از او مهربانانه پذیرایی می کنند و از او دعوت می کنند که با آنها غدا بخورد اما سرخ پوستان در خرده فرهنگ آنها موجودات پستی هستند

نیک اما این گونه نیست، او دوست دختری سرخ پوست دارد که او را عاشقانه دوست دارد... او این فرهنگ را از پدرش به ارث برده... آموزش پدر او را انسانی صلح جو و آشنا با ارزش های اصیل انسانی فارغ از نژاد و رنگ پوست بار آورده.... چرا که وقتی که نیک از منزل خانواده گاردنر به منزل خودشان می رود، پدرش، در حال مطالعه هست... رفتارش با پسرش ملایم است و او را به سبب جا گذاشتن کفشش و پابرهنه بودنش سرزنش نمی کند... پدر، نیک را پسری مودب تربیت کرده است
اگرچه، پدر می داند، سوال های نیک در مورد دوست دختر سرخ پوستش به نام پرودنس میچل که پدرش او را با پسری دیگر در حال معاشقه دیده است به فاجعه می انجامد اما در بیان حادثه پیش دستی نمی کند چون می داند سبب آزردن او می شود... ولی با این همه به او دروغ نمی گوید و آنچه از صحنه خیانت او را دیده به پسرش نیک می گوید
بعد از بیان واقعیت، پسرش را تنها می گذارد تا مجالی برای بروز ناراحتی اش داشته باشد "" داشت اشک می ریخت"""" ر
همینگوی ساده و بدون آوردن جملات مطنطن این گونه ناراحتی نیک را بیان می کند
پدر به نیک می گوید به رخت خواب برود تا تنها بشود و با غم خود که فصل جدایی ناپدیر زندگی بشر است کنار بیاید

پرودنس، دوس دختر نیک بی اخلاقی می کند، همانند همان نه سرخ پوست مست در جاده( که ده سرخ پوست، اشاره به آن نه سرخ پوست بعلاوه پرودنس دارد) او از مسئولیت اخلاقی که متوجه اوست، فاصله می گیرد و بی وفایی می کند... اما نکته در این است که آن سرخ پوستها اگرچه مسئول اعمال خود هستند اما قربانی هم هستند.... قربانی آنهایی که با هوش تکنیکی خود، آنها را به انقیاد آورده اند... آنها را به موجودانی که قبلا نبوده اند تبدیل کرده اند... تمدن سفید پوستان در به انحطاط رفتن آنها بی اثر نبوده زیرا خیانت و مشروب سوغاتی آنها به سرخ پوستان بوده

سرانجام باید گفت که هر چند نیک بی وفایی میبیند اما خود نیز بی وفایی می کند ، در پایان داستان بعد از بیدار شدن از خواب می خوانیم که:ر

او مدت زیادی بیدار بود تا این که به صرافت افتاد دلش شکسته است

مدت زیادی طول می کشد که می فهمد، دلش شکسته است آیا نیک هم قربانی محیط خود شده است؟
نقد از جان گوردون

[Classic reverie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hemingway's "Ten Indians" is another short story that includes young Nick and his doctor Dad makes an appearance.

Short story in short- Nick spends the day with his friends and returns home not so happy.



➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
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“Have you got an Indian girl, Nickie?” Joe asked. “No.” “He has too, Pa,” Frank said. “Prudence Mitchell’s his girl.” “She’s not.” “He goes to see her every day.”

❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌Spoiler alert


Nick finds out his girlfriend is with another but is he really that upset, he is young and he recovered after a night's sleep.
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“I don’t.” Nick, sitting between the two boys in the dark, felt hollow and happy inside himself to be teased about Prudence Mitchell. “She ain’t my girl,” he said. “Listen to him,” said Carl. “I see them together every day.” “Carl can’t get a girl,” his mother said, “not even a squaw.” Carl was quiet. “Carl ain’t no good with girls,” Frank said. “You shut up.”
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“You’re all right, Carl,” Joe Garner said. “Girls never got a man anywhere. Look at your pa.” “Yes, that’s what you would say,” Mrs. Garner moved close to Joe as the wagon jolted. “Well, you had plenty of girls in your time.” “I’ll bet Pa wouldn’t ever have had a squaw for a girl.” “Don’t you think it,” Joe said. “You better watch out to keep Prudie, Nick.” His wife whispered to him and Joe laughed.
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“I went for a walk up by the Indian camp.” “Did you see anybody?” “The Indians were all in town getting drunk.” “Didn’t you see anybody at all?” “I saw your friend, Prudie.”
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“Where was she?” “She was in the woods with Frank Washburn. I ran onto them. They were having quite a time.” His father was not looking at him. “What were they doing?” “I didn’t stay to find out.” “Tell me what they were doing.” “I don’t know,” his father said. “I just heard them threshing around.” “How did you know it was them?” “I saw them.” “I thought you said you didn’t see them.”

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“Oh, yes, I saw them.” “Who was it with her?” Nick asked. “Frank Washburn.” “Were they—were they——” “Were they what?” “Were they happy?” “I guess so.” His father got up from the table and went out the kitchen screen door. When he came back Nick was looking at his plate. He had been crying. “Have some more?” His father picked up the knife to cut the pie.
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“Where were they in the woods?” Nick asked. “Up back of the camp.” Nick looked at his plate. His father said, “You better go to bed, Nick.” “All right.” Nick went into his room, undressed, and got into bed. He heard his father moving around in the living room. Nick lay in the bed with his face in the pillow.
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“My heart’s broken,” he thought. “If I feel this way my heart must be broken.” After a while he heard his father blow out the lamp and go into his own room. He heard a wind come up in the trees outside and felt it come in cool through the screen. He lay for a long time with his face in the pillow, and after a while he forgot to think about Prudence and finally he went to sleep. When he awoke in the night he heard the wind in the hemlock trees outside the cottage and the waves of the lake coming
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in on the shore, and he went back to sleep. In the morning there was a big wind blowing and the waves were running high up on the beach and he was awake a long time before he remembered that his heart was broken.

[Lou Hughes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn’t like this one much. Gonna give it 2 stars. It’s short and easy to read, but the story just didn’t sit right with me.

It follows this kid named Nick who’s out with some friends on the Fourth of July. There’s some awkward family stuff, and then he gets home and his dad tells him something about his girlfriend that kind of crushes him. That part—the heartbreak—was actually done pretty well. Hemingway nails that quiet, gut-punch sadness without overexplaining it.

But here’s the thing: the casual racism in this story really put me off. The way Native Americans are talked about—especially by the family Nick is with—is just gross. I get that it’s a product of its time or whatever, but still, it’s hard to get into a story when people are being dehumanized like that and it’s just treated as normal. It made the whole thing feel pretty cold and mean-spirited.

There’s probably something deeper going on about innocence or growing up, but honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to unpack it. It just felt like a bleak story full of people I wouldn’t want to hang out with.

So yeah, 2 stars. Some good writing under the surface, but hard to enjoy with all the nasty undertones.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes the Iceberg Style just creates a story that feels boring and pointless.

[Dale · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another short story by Hemingway making me question why he’s held in such high esteem. I have some follow up questions on this short story, but that’s not the way it works.

[Chris Moreland · Rating 4 out of 5]

"he was awake a long time before he remembered that his heart was broken"

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heartache!!!!!
Ah, he hit me right in my youth.

[Lini]

I know these were written like a hundred years ago but i keep getting jump scared by the slurs 😭 i love the yearning tho! i can’t wait to read The Nick Adams Stories once im done this collection

[Night veil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hemingway’s 'Ten Indians' captures family, prejudice, and teenage heartbreak.

The narrative follows Nick Adams as he navigates family tensions and complicated relationships.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought it was quite racist in depicting Native Americans negatively.

[Stephen Jackson]

Do I know entirely what Ernie meant to say in respect to the ten indians who found themselves the title's inspiration? No I do not. Mayhap it is commentary on how white people look and speak of those who are not so, but per chance that is the lens my own environment offers. What I do know is the familiarity or dare I say nostalgia echoed in the boy's "broken heart." He was awake for many hours the next day before remembering that his heart was broken. How I longed for a day when mine own heart was playing at such low stakes and mused at the clever simplicity achieved at such a story. I fell write into his trap.

[بسام عبد العزيز · Rating 1 out of 5]

تقييم الجود ريدز : 1 من 5 نجمات
تقييم البيض : 5 من 5 بيضات

"نك" الشخصية الأسطورية التي تملأ نصف قصص هيمنجواي في مغامرة اخرى من مغامراتها "العميقة المؤثرة الإنسانية"..
هذه الشخصية التي تثبت لي كلما وجدتها بمدى الإفلاس الأدبي لهمنجواي.. و إذا كان همنجواي هو قمة في الأدب الأمريكي.. فكم هو مفلس هذا الأدب!

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh 2.5 stars

[Josh Dockter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read better Hemingway stories.