Snow of Kilimanjaro Essay Example For Students

Snow of Kilimanjaro Essay In this story The Snows of Kilimanjaro, the author Ernest Hemingway has basically two main characters, Harry and his wife, Helen. Throughout the story Harry has an infected leg, which seems to be seriously bothering him, it is actually rotting away. The author writes about Harrys time on the mountain with his wife just waiting for his death. In his story, Ernest Hemingway shows a great deal reality and emotion through his main character Harry, in the books themes, and its symbols. The authors story is about Harrys spiritual death as much as his bodily one. From the beginning of the story Harry knew he was dying but knows it with intellectual detachment. In the story Harry says, Cant you let a man die as comfortably as he can without calling him names? Whats the use of slanging me? Dont be silly. Im dying now. Ask those bastards. (Hemingway, Page 2208 and 2209) Throughout the whole story Harry kind of has this arrogant, cocky dialect, and he is quite rude to his wife. During the story Harry is also lazy and drinks a lot, and at some parts of his life he just lets it waste away. In this quote, the narrator depicts part of Harry He had destroyed his talent by not using it, by betrayals of himself and what he believed in, by drinking so much that he blunted the edge of his perceptions, by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride and by prejudice, by hook and by crook. (Hemingway, Page 2213) Harrys talent was that he could do whatever we put his mind to, and he was just lazy and let it slip away. In many modernistic stories the reader usually finds out that the main character is some what alienated from everyone. In this stories case that is true, also. Harry, goes through his own time and just wants to be left alone. He gets sick, and he just wants to give up all hope. It seems like once something goes wrong, or doesnt go his way he just gives up. He drinks a lot during this story to wash away his troubles and he doesnt care that his wife claims that it is harmful to his health. All he can say in return is that he is going to die anyways. This is a main part of the story. The symbolism in this story adds to the depth of it. Symbols are used to represent ideas or qualities in a story. Only by reading the story ironically, by regarding the symbols of permanence and purity as a mockery of Harrys unwholesomeness, can one maintain this critical position. It ignores the formal characteristic of irony, the implied meaning of snow and mountains in Harrys past, and the self-evident validity of Harrys final vision(Dussinger, Page 2) This quote shows that in Africa is where Harry had been his happiest in the good times of his life, so he had gone out there to start again. Africa is where Harry led a natural life style, one that was not filled with a lot of rottenness or greed from money. Since it is in Africa where he feels at home, that his Hemingways symbol by showing that nature can be a therapy for the body. The main symbol of this story though is the mountain. As the mountain symbolizes life-in-death, the plain on which the man is dying symbolizes death-in-life, and the essential contrast in the story is between the two. (Evans, Page 4) The mountain stands for somewhat of a perfection, because a person could usually only reach it if they were dead. The snow is symbolic of being pure. The snow is white and fluffy. It makes everything look tranquil and calm. These are all par of Harrys happy times. This story also has symbols in the face of animals. In this story are the hyenas and the vultures, they of course of lingering throughout the story because they are the object of Harrys death. These symbols play a huge roll in the story, they make the reader more aware of what is going on, or they also foreshadow events. This story has two endings. The use of these two endings kind of tricks the reader and makes the reader think a little bit more. This is a quote from when the plane rescues Harry and flies him toward the peak of the mountain. there all ahead, all he could see, as wide as the world, great, high, unbelievably white is the sun, was the square top of Kilimanjaro. And then he knew that there was where he was going(Hemingway, Page 2223) He wants the reader to read this ending and have it be the so called happy ending of the story. This ending is what Harrys dream and goal to be on the top of the mountain. The second ending is a little more on the gruesome side. This is how Helen finds out that her husband is dead, There was no answer and she could not hear him breathing. Outside the tent the hyena made the same strange noise that had awakened her. But she did not hear him for the breathing of her heart. (Hemingway, Page 2223) The hyena devoured her husband and ripped him into shreds. Some argue that Harrys money had only brought him unhappiness, and by the second ending of the story one may think that, but maybe that is why the author has the other ending, a happy one first. The reader can choose which one he or she would like it to be, the happy ending or the horror ending. The many themes of this story make the reader contemplate on ideas even a tad bit more. Theme is an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature. broad significance, a persons need to make a good death, the fickleness of fate, the moral guidance a primitive, natural world such as Africa gave cynical Americans. (Martin, Page 2) The idea that Africa is Harrys happy place where he has all of his good times is part of the theme. Another possible idea to look at could be through this quote the story questions the wealth and privilege of American imagination, because even during the Great Depression, value continued to be measured in materialistic stuff. (Martin, Page 2) The history and contributions EssayHarry, while in one of his fits, says to his wife, if you had not left your own people, your goddamned Old Westbury, Saratoga, Palm Beach people to take me on, hinting that the higher class from which she came was at blame. Harry had, in fact caused the downfall of his writing career by drinking so much that he blunted the edge of his perceptions, by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride and prejudice, by hook and crook (11). He had chosen to make a living other than by the pen- by chasing the money of others. Finally, Harry is convincing because he is plausible. Harry, like many others when faced with a problem, was looking for another reason for his destruction and not facing the truth. The truth is that in all his pursuits for money, he has forgotten his own dream of being a writer. He is also not unlike others who, when faced with final death, become frightened and try to escape the weight on his chest. Perhaps the most important way Hemingway develops the theme of this story is that he uses foreshadowing and symbolism. Hemingway uses symbols, including the memories that Harry recalls and the different animals to enforce the theme of The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Perhaps the most obvious occurrence of symbols is that of the different animals. The different types of animals represent both the type of person Harry wishes to be, and the type of person he actually is. First is the leopard, it represents all that he has not accomplished. The leopard, being the fastest land animal has mastered his surroundings and accomplished greatness. Harrys quest for excellence in his writing is shown throughout the story, this is directly correrlery to the great skill and dominance of the leopard of his kingdom. Harry strives to be like the leopard and accomplish greatness, but because of his blaming of others, he falls short. He is more comparable to that of the hyena. The hyena is a scavenging animal, dirty and sneaky. Harry is like the hyena in that he scavenges off the women in his life. He does not care about them; he only cares about what they might supply him with. In the story, the woman goes off to kill a piece of meat (10). Secondly, Hemingway also uses foreshadowing to help develop the theme. The first thing we read about it the dead leopard, leading the reader to think of death. Then as the story progresses the reader reads of the huge, filthy birds, and how they are slowly progressing closer and closer just like the death approaching Harry. After analyzing how the authors background, the plot, the characterization, and the literary devices contribute to the development of the theme The Snows of Kilimanjaro, one understands why this story rates high on the literary scale of value. One reason that this story rates high is that it fully achieves its purpose. The story achieves its purpose by the use of different writing skills and techniques. Hemingway uses not only his great analytical mind, bus draws upon his own experiences in life. His travels to Africa, and his troubled past with women, are both shown to detail in this writing. Hemingway then develops his theme by using the internal conflicts of the characters, and through the development of conflict introduces a believable plot. The most important way he develops the theme is by using symbolism. From the start, Hemingway is using symbols, and in every turning point, from the vultures introducing the death to the hyena bringing it in the end the story uses symbols. His use of symbolism is a contribution to the characters, and the overall readability of the story. Secondly, another reason this story rates high is that it has a significant purpose. Hemingway in writing The Snows of Kilimanjaro fulfils the purpose of entertaining, and entertainment with a deaper side it makes the reader think about life. He not only keeps the reader reading, but makes the reader think why or what made the character do this. This background together with a believable plot, convincing characterization, and important literary devices enables Ernest Hemingway in The Snows of Kilimanjaro to develop the theme that a person should neither waste the gifts he holds nor lead his life taking advantage of others. Annotated BibliographyBaker, Carlos. The Slopes of Kilimanjaro Ernest Hemingway A Life Story. New York: Scribners, 1969. Baker discusses Hemingways determination to produce as much quality work as possible. Hemingway after suffering from insomnia and wild mood swings decides to write less, but more quality. Hemingway also had a fear of dying without finishing a work, and could well express the feelings of Harry in The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Nahal, Chaman. The Short Stories The Narrative Pattern in Ernest Hemingways Fiction. Madison: Fairleigh, 1971. 80-119. Chaman points out that in The Snows of Kilimanjaro the different uses of writing style. Harry the dying hunter has flashbacks describing exciting events that have happened to him in his past adventures. Chaman goes on to point out that although these seem like flashbacks to the reader, they are very real moments to Harry. Plimpton, George. An Interview with Ernest Hemingway Hemingway and His Critics. Ed. Carlos Baker. New York: Hill, 1961. This interview, conducted by Pilmpton with Hemingway, discusses some Hemingways influences on his writings. Hemingway states that in The Snows of Kilimanjaro that he was drawing on his knowledge and memory of his last hunting trip to Africa, and trying to convey the feelings felt while on his trips. It is evident in this interview that Hemingway is extremely dedicated in trying to make his writings as enjoyable and meaning as possible. Shuman, R. Baird. Ernest Hemingway.