"Ten Indians" is a short story by American writer

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

, featuring protagonist Nick Adams, Hemingway's autobiographical alter ego. It was published in 1927 in the collection '' Men Without Women''. The title is derived from a comment made by Mr. Garner - "That makes nine of them" - after moving an Indian ( Native American) who had passed out on the road. The title also alludes to the 1864 children's song,

Ten Little Indians "Ten Little Indians" is a traditional American children's counting out rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 12976. The term "Indians" in this sense refers to Indigenous North American peoples. In 1868, songwriter Septimus Winner adapt ...

Plot summary

Set in North Michigan on the

Fourth of July Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States ...

it features Nick Adams as he is travelling home with Joe Garner and their family in a large wagon. They pass nine drunk Indians and then Joe Garner has to stop and pull a drunk Indian out of the road. The Garners joke about the state of the Indians, and the two sons also disparage Nick's Indian girlfriend Pru and that she smells like a skunk. Nick feels uncomfortable and denies that she is his girlfriend. When Nick returns home from the Garners his father says that today he saw Pru in the woods with a man called Frank Washburn. His father said that they seemed happy and that they 'thrashed about' in the woods. Nick starts to cry. That next morning Nick takes a while to remember the heartbreak.

Analysis

By depicting a large group of drunken Indians the story reinforces common racial prejudices against Native Americans. Nick feels unable to challenge the Garners views. Nick's father is also unhappy about Nick's relationship with Pru, it is also implied that he lied to his son about Pru 'thrashing about' with Frank.Hemingway’s view about discrimination in the short story “Ten Indians”
Retrieved 28/9/2022.

References

1927 short stories Short stories by Ernest Hemingway Michigan in fiction {{1920s-story-stub