Ansley Gibson

Professor Diehl

HUMN 2010

26 January 2024

Throughout Ernest Hemingway’s short stories, the relationship between Nick Adams and

his father stood out the most. Nick is very observant of his father and strives to be like him. He is

his shadow in “Indian Camp” as he follows in his father's footsteps observing his every move.

He also refers to his father as “Daddy” which leads you to question what kind of relationship

they have. At surface level it seems that his father is his role model and he looked up to him and

strives to be like him. Also, in the “Doctor & the Doctor’s Wife” Nick’s father tells him that his

mother asked for him and Nick said that he would rather go with his father than mother. In my

personal opinion I think the relationship between Nick and his father is not healthy. I believe it is

an obsession of being like his father which might not lead to the best outcome. I think watching

his father and the way he acts is heartbreak within itself. I truly do not think Nick likes the way

his father acts and his ego, but Nick does not know anything but his father’s actions.

The second relationship I chose to analyze is Nick and his mother. Within the stories

there is not a lot of depth and background about her. All we know about her is in “Doctor & the

Doctor’s Wife” that she is lying in bed when the father enters the room, and she gives description

of what seems to be the illness of depression. Nick does not seem to have much of a relationship

with his mother due to his father. He constantly chooses his father over his mother leading to a

disconnect between the two. The mother also seems to be scared of the father which highlights
the masculinity toxicity that Nick is being able to watch first-hand. Nick’s lack of relationship

with his mother is a heartbreak within itself. The root of this issue stems from his father.