Like much of Hemingway’s work, “Indian Camp” is concerned with the performance of masculinity. As Nick relates with his father and uncle and contrasts them to the Indigenous men he sees in the camp, he considers his own path toward manhood.

“Indian Camp” is an initiation story, a subgenre in which a protagonist is put through a new experience that changes them. Nick is being initiated into manhood by his father, who takes Nick to perform an operation without telling him beforehand. Throughout the story, Dr. Adams performs the white American masculinity that he shares with his brother, Uncle George, which he expects his son to emulate. The distinction between white and Indigenous masculinity begins in the boats, as the Indigenous men row while Nick “lay back with his father’s arm around him” (14) and Uncle George smokes a cigar. While Dr. Adams later demonstrates masculinity through action, this opening scene establishes a racial hierarchy, wherein white masculine dominance can be expressed through leisure.

Ostensibly, Nick is being initiated into Dr. Adams’s profession by performing as an intern and helping with the procedure. This work—particularly how Dr. Adams performs it—symbolizes the stereotypical division between masculine, scientific objectivity and feminine emotion and nature.