# Scripps O'Neil — Short Fiction character guide > Scripps O'Neil in Short Fiction by Ernest Hemingway. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Henry Fielding, Scripps, II Scripps O'Neil, III Scripps, V Scripps O'Neil, Henry Fielding VI Scripps O'Neil **First appearance:** 0034-the-torrents-of-spring ## Snapshot A lean, abandoned husband who walks out of Mancelona into the snow, warming a frozen bird against his chest and planning Chicago. ## Who they are Scripps O'Neil returns home to an empty house and a distant Indian war-whoop, then sets off down the railroad tracks with nothing but grief and grand schemes. He is sentimental, self-dramatizing, and genuinely tender — the dead bird in his shirt says as much. His restless search for a new life gives the story its picaresque forward motion and its running joke about American ambition. ## Relationships ### [Diana Scripps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/diana_scripps) _family_ Diana Scripps and Scripps O'Neil are married, sharing a domestic life with underlying strain and dependency. ### [Mandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/mandy) _romantic_ Mandy and Scripps O'Neil are lovers, with Mandy representing a new romantic interest in Scripps's life. ### [Diana Scripps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/diana_scripps) _family_ Diana Scripps and Scripps O'Neil are married, sharing a domestic life with underlying strain and dependency. ### [Mandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/mandy) _romantic_ Mandy and Scripps O'Neil are lovers, with Mandy representing a new romantic interest in Scripps's life. ### [Diana Scripps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/diana_scripps) _family_ Diana Scripps and Scripps O'Neil are married, sharing a domestic life with underlying strain and dependency. ### [Mandy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/mandy) _romantic_ Mandy and Scripps O'Neil are lovers, with Mandy representing a new romantic interest in Scripps's life. ## In the story ### [Red and Black Laughter](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/red-and-black-laughter) A tall, lean man with two wives; leaves Mancelona after finding his house empty, walking the tracks toward Chicago. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/i) A tall, lean man standing at the next window, thinking of his two wives and his daughter Lucy. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/ii) Protagonist of the chapter; stands outside the high school, walks home, and finds his house empty. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/iii) Leaves Mancelona after a devastating loss, walks through a snowstorm toward Chicago, finds and warms a frozen bird, and contemplates his future in Grand Rapids. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/iv) Arrives in Petoskey after his wife left him, confused and seeking connection. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/v) Protagonist of the chapter; hesitates at a barber shop, enters Brown's Beanery with his bird, listens to the waitress's story, and considers working at a pump-factory. ### [The Struggle for Life](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/the-struggle-for-life) Looks for work, gets a job at the pump factory, and later walks with his wife Diana. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/vi) Seeks employment at the pump-factory, meets Yogi Johnson and the old pump-makers, and begins working collaring pistons. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/vii) After his first day at the pump-factory, Scripps visits the beanery and declares the elderly waitress his woman. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/viii) Marries the elderly Mrs. Scripps, feels a thrill from Mandy's touch, and ponders war and his own past. ### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/ix) Goes to work at the pump-factory; fascinates Mandy with literary anecdotes, causing tension in his marriage. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/x) Returns home from the pump-factory, hardened by work, and agrees to go to the beanery with Diana. ### [Men in War and the Death of Society](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/men-in-war-and-the-death-of-society) Mentioned as having started for Chicago on an eventful night. ### [The Passing of a Great Race and the Making and Marring of Americans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/the-passing-of-a-great-race-and-the-making-and-marring-of-americans) Sits with his wife Diana and Mandy in the beanery, listening to Mandy's literary gossip as his marriage dissolves. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/xiv) Sits with his wife as their marriage ends, listening to Mandy's literary gossip. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/xv) Rejects Diana's plea to come home, declares Mandy his woman, but feels unsatisfied and haunted by the squaw's image. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/scripps_oneil - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters