Short Fiction · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Ernest Hemingway.

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Chapter 1
A Divine Gesture
In a surreal garden, the Great Lord God searches for Adam and Eve but finds only talking bathtubs, boot jacks, and flower pots. After a bathtub claims Eve will return at four, God has the angel Gabriel drain it as a lesson. The boot jacks squirm and chant despite God's commands, and God, feeling busy and seeking peace, leaves the garden with Gabriel, who quietly follows.
Chapter 2
Up in Michigan
Liz Coates, a young woman working for the Smiths in the small town of Hortons Bay, develops a deep infatuation with Jim Gilmore, the local blacksmith. Jim, however, remains largely oblivious to her feelings. After a deer hunting trip, Jim gets drunk and takes Liz down to the dock, where he sexually assaults her while she is frightened and conflicted. Afterward, Jim falls asleep, and Liz, feeling cold and miserable, covers him with her coat and walks home alone.
Chapter 3
In Our Time
A collection of vignettes and stories exploring the aftermath of war, masculinity, and the search for meaning in a fragmented world.
Chapter 4
Chapter I
The chapter describes a night march of a drunken battery towards Champagne. The narrator, a kitchen corporal, recalls the absurdity of the adjutant's concern about the kitchen fire being observed despite being far from the front.
Chapter 5
Indian Camp
Nick Adams accompanies his father, a doctor, to an Indian camp where his father performs an emergency Caesarean section on a young Indian woman. After the successful delivery, they discover that the woman's husband has committed suicide by cutting his throat. The experience leaves Nick questioning life and death.

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A Divine Gesture

Up in Michigan

In Our Time

Chapter I

Indian Camp