# Unknown — Short Fiction character guide > Unknown in Short Fiction by Ernest Hemingway. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Your, your **First appearance:** 0000-a-divine-gesture ## Snapshot A sardonic, unnamed voice who measures war, literature, and Indians against his own experience and keeps finding the ledger short. ## Who they are He talks his way through bars, poolrooms, and frozen roads, testing everyone he meets against the war he was in and the books he's read. He wants real communion but keeps getting humiliated by men who actually fought — Indians with medals, strangers with missing limbs. His restless, ironic narration shapes how the collection weighs authenticity against performance. ## In the story ### [A Divine Gesture](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/a-divine-gesture) The narrator describes the scene of God in the garden, the bathtubs, boot jacks, and the angel Gabriel. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/chapter-i) The narrator, a kitchen corporal, recounts the drunken march. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/chapter-iii) The narrator who participates in the ambush at Mons. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/chapter-iv) The narrator recounts the experience of defending a bridge barricade in the heat. ### [A Very Short Story](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/a-very-short-story) The unnamed soldier protagonist who is wounded, operated on, and later betrayed by Ag. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/chapter-vii) The soldier who prays during the bombardment and later keeps silent about his experience. ### [The Revolutionist](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/the-revolutionist) The narrator meets and travels with the young Magyar revolutionary in Italy, providing guidance and companionship. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/chapter-xi) The narrator observes the bullfight and later speaks with the torero at the café. ### [Out of Season](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/out-of-season) The young gentleman, referred to as 'the young gentleman,' who is hesitant and uncomfortable with the illegal fishing. ### [Chapter XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/chapter-xiii) The first-person narrator who tries to retrieve Luis and discusses the situation with Maera. ### [L’Envoi](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/l-envoi) The narrator visits the king and walks through the garden with him. ### [Author's Final Note to the Reader](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/author-s-final-note-to-the-reader) The authorial voice directly addressing the reader and providing the secret history. ### [In Another Country](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/in-another-country) The American narrator, wounded in war, undergoing physical therapy and grappling with his own fear of death and sense of not belonging among the decorated Italian soldiers. ### [Hills Like White Elephants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/hills-like-white-elephants) The American man, unnamed, who pressures Jig to have an operation, insisting it is simple and will restore their relationship. ### [Che Ti Dice La Patria?](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/che-ti-dice-la-patria) The first-person narrator who observes and interacts with the people and scenes along the road. ### [A Simple Enquiry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/a-simple-enquiry) The adjutant, who observes the interaction and smiles. ### [A Canary for One](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/a-canary-for-one) The narrator, an American husband traveling with his wife, reflects on the journey and the conversation with the American lady. ### [An Alpine Idyll](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/an-alpine-idyll) First-person narrator who recounts the descent from the mountains and the conversation about the peasant. ### [Today Is Friday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/today-is-friday) The first Roman soldier who defends the crucified man's dignity. ### [Today Is Friday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/today-is-friday) The second Roman soldier who cynically questions the crucifixion. ### [Today Is Friday](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/today-is-friday) The third Roman soldier who feels ill and is troubled by the event. ### [Now I Lay Me](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/chapters/now-i-lay-me) The sleepless narrator who prays and remembers his past. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters/unknown_narrator - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_15_se/characters