In both "Indian Camp" and "My Old Man," Hemingway depicts the sons viewing their fathers with great admiration. Both of these stories are show a "bring your kid to work" of sorts, and in each the son is glad to be able to tag along and is reverent of his father's work.
For example in "My Old Man" we see Joe talking about his affection for his father:
"When I'd sit watching him work out I sure felt fond of him. He sure was fun and he done his work so hard." (Page 116)
and later on page 126:
"Gee I could listen to my old man talk by the hour, especially when he'd had a couple or so of drinks"
Hemingway's depiction of the interactions between fathers and sons makes me wonder what kind of relationship Hemingway had with his own father. Was it just as he writes the ones in his stories, a great admiration for his father? Or perhaps does Hemingway write his characters with the relationship he wished he had shared with his father. It would be interesting to know which one is the real relationship he had with his "old man."
It is interesting that Hemingway often has recurring patterns of relationships between characters. With a couple it always seems like he devalues the women and as you said, with father and son the father is always presented as a role model figure to the son. The fact the same kind of relationships pop up many times makes me think that they may be from his own experiences. I wouldn't be surprised if Hemingway looked up to his father just like the characters he writes about.
ReplyDeleteI think that fact that Hemingway was fairly young at this point changes how we should look at these recurring themes and relationships. I think that Hemingway just didn't have the experience of a great writer yet, and as such he writes what he knows he can write well in his own style. I think the way he writes these relationships has to be based off of either his own experiences or popular depictions during the time.
ReplyDeleteWhen Hemingway wrote "In our Time", he was only 19 years old. He probably hadn't been involved in too many romantic relationships. His portrayals are probably from his limited experience with women. I think it's noteworthy that all the relationships in Hemingway's stories between a man and a women seem to have a similar course of events. To me, these depictions just seem immature. I guess thats what you would expect from a teenage guy.
ReplyDeleteNick's view of his father doesn't seem to be entirely one of admiration, though--surely not as strongly as that expressed in "My Old Man." In "The Three-Day Blow" he worries that his father isn't quite as cool (manly, hard-drinking, independent) as Bill's father, and his day at "work" with his old man doesn't lead him to the same kind of gawking admiration we see in Joe. He turns his head away at the main thing his father wants him to see, doesn't seem to share his father's elation at his nifty improvised C-section, and in the final line of the story, he seems to take precisely the wrong message from the whole experience--whatever the Doctor is trying to "teach" him, it presumably is not that he "will never die."
ReplyDeleteIn "The Dr. and the Dr.'s Wife," we might read some sympathy for the Doctor, whose wife seems like a confining, censurious presence. The company of the son is portrayed as a relief for the father, and maybe for the son as well.