In Our Time | Themes & Symbolism

In Our Time Significant Topics

Family

Four of the 16 short stories in the book deal with family relationships between and among parents and their son, "Indian Camp," "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife," "Soldier's Home," and 'My Old Man." Hemingway's view of family is an extremely personal one, drawn directly from his experiences with his own parents. If there is a universal theme running through the four stories that deal with families, it is that parents have both positive and negative influences upon a child, and it is up to the child to deal with those influences and benefit from them or, at least, survive them.

In "Indian Camp," Nick's Father is portrayed as a hero figure, idolized by his young son, eager to teach the son about life, and always prepared to answer the boy's questions in a methodical and honest way. An outsider might be critical of Dr. Adams' decision to include his...
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