Analysis of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest HemingwayThe story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” was written by Ernest Hemingway in 1938. First, Ernest Hemingway reflects his concerns as a writer and his life in general through this story. In this story Ernest wants to "highlight some aspects that affect some American writers such as politics, alcohol, women, money and ambition" (Pollklas, 1998); furthermore, Ernest Hemingway also shares his fears through the story because he thinks that he might end his life without taking advantage of the time. This story begins with an epigraph on the mountain of Kilimanjaro and a dead leopard on the top of the mountain. Then, the characters Harry and Helen (who are a couple) find themselves on an African plain and start talking about Harry's gangrene in his right leg. Furthermore, they are both waiting for a plane to take them out of Africa. Harry is an ambitious writer and is married to Helen because of her money. Additionally, this story features many flashbacks where Harry remembers the good times in his life. At the end of the story, Harry imagines himself flying over Mount Kilimanjaro and then dies. Furthermore, to understand the story, it is important to mention how the leopard and the hyena depict different stages of Harry's personal and emotional life, to compare and contrast the plains and mountains, to demonstrate how the epigraph reveals the spirituality and the quest for knowledge, to indicate the ways in which Harry and Helen have become chauvinistic and feminist appearance stereotypes, and also to state the importance of flashbacks to the meaning and plot development in the story. plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay First of all, the narrator mentions a frozen leopard in the epigraph of the story: “Near the western peak is the dry lake and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one explained what the leopard was looking for at that altitude” (1 ) This is a foreshadowing where the leopard represents a stage in Harry's life that could be death and the search for paradise. Furthermore, this could represent another stage never reached in Harry's life since, being the leopard, Harry does not he never reached the top of the mountain, which could signify the pinnacle of his own writing Although he lived a wonderful life, he never wrote anything about it Furthermore, another important animal is the hyena as it also depicts a foreshadowing of the Harry's death, "... a hyena crossed the open space as it went around the hill... that bastard crosses there every night... every night for two weeks, so the hyena is waiting for death." of Harry while the vultures are on the prowl. On the other hand, the leopard is worthy because it took the hard road to Kilimanjaro, which represents the home of God, and the leopard also represents some different phases of Harry's life; for example, Harry's time in the war when he helped Williamson, "Nothing made Williamson faint until he gave him all the morphine tablets he had always saved to use himself..." (13), here the action of Harry is wonderful as she sacrifices herself to ease Williamson's pain. Furthermore, Harry does not want to hurt Helen and does not confess to her that he never truly loved her: “I love you, I really do. You know I love you. I have never loved anyone else the way I love you… He has slipped into the familiar lie by which he earned his daily bread” (5). So he too sacrifices himself so as not to disappoint his wife even more. The leopard not only depicts Harry's good deeds and phases, but also Harry's approach to immortality as thefrozen leopard in the epigraph which could represent life in heaven and on earth; This could be an explanation to the never-answered mystery of the Maasai. Furthermore, the hyena represents Harry's decay and the worsening of his illness until reaching the end which is death: "By now it had moved on him, but it no longer had a form" (14). The narrator mentions the hyena no longer having any form, and also its getting closer and closer to Harry until the moment it surprises and prevents Harry from speaking; “She still approached him and could not speak to her… but she approached him so her weight was all on his chest…” (14), the hyena is seen as a representation of death as it has no form anymore and there readers might notice the process of death. Furthermore, another important aspect is that the hyena is very similar to Harry in the sense of smell, since Harry says that it stinks, "But I'm very sorry about the smell..." (1), and also when he talks to the hyena mentions that he also stinks: “You have hellish breath, you stinky bastard” (14). Thus, the hyena depicts the stage when Harry is sick on the verge of dying. The story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” has some similarities and differences between mountains and plains. First, the symbolism of the mountain Kilimanjaro is contrasted with the symbolism of the plains; in the story, the mountains represent life because they contain “the verdant forest and the solid bamboo… waterfall” (15); therefore these images give the sense of living because nature grows precisely when there is fertile land, but in the case of the plains nature is more difficult to see. Furthermore, the mountains also represent the beautiful events that Harry experienced in the past. For example, in the flashbacks presented in the story, Harry begins to remember trips from his past in which he had lived happily such as "in the morning at breakfast, looking out the window and seeing snow on the mountains of Bulgaffa" (3); although he liked these places, he had not written about those places, so he only has fond memories of the mountains. In contrast, the plains represent decay and death because Harry is dying in the plains of Africa, but Harry not only presents her with physical decay, but also mental decay. First, he has “gangrene… in his right leg” (2) , so that disease will cause his death, but Harry also presents psychological decay because he is hopeless. and he continually complains because “all he felt now was great tiredness and anger” (2). Furthermore, the mountains and the plains also contain some similarities since both are phases of Harry's life stages that teach Harry that life passes and the only certain thing is death because when he is in the mountains he is happy, but this does not be careful because he is worried about other things. Furthermore, when he is on the African plain, he does not take advantage of the time because he continually complains about the illness he suffers from "I don't want to move... There is no point in moving now if not to make things easier for yourself" (1); in both places, the mountains and the plains, Harry lives without worries. The epigraph presented in the story helps readers understand the spiritual essence and pursuit of knowledge. First of all when the author says “Kilimanjaro is a snow-covered mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called Masai “Ngaje Ngai”, the House of God” (1); this place symbolizes paradise because in this place people can find peace and the meaning of life. Furthermore, hills and mountains have always been linked to closeness with God due to the religious aspect as these places can be closer to the sky, such as Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. Therefore, people usually want to climb the mountains to get closer to God and feel the divinity of God's power. Furthermore, “Near the western peak is the carcassdried and frozen of a leopard. No one explained what the leopard was looking for at that altitude" (1); the leopard represents strength, power and courage because the leopard dies trying to reach the summit of the "House of God", therefore it dies trying to fulfill a purpose which is to get closer to God and try to find the meaning of its life. Furthermore, this leopard was found dead, and his death represents the immortality of the leopard because he physically dies, but he will always be remembered for his courage because not everyone would take the risk of going to that place knowing that he or she can die. Additionally, these scenes represent Harry's life as Harry at the beginning of the story is lazy and doesn't take advantage of his life, but in the end he goes on a journey where he tries to find meaning in his life. , therefore he behaves like the leopard who climbs the mountain to “The House of God” to find peace and knowledge. Harry and Helen are stereotypes of chauvinism and feminism. First of all, Harry is an example of a chauvinistic man because he treats Helen badly “Helen-You don't love me?... Harry-No... I don't think so. I've never done it” (3); so, Harry always insults her and says that the only thing he cares about her is her money and says that “your damn money was my armor. My sword and armor... bitch... rich bitch. This is poetry. I'm full of poetry now. Rotten poetry” (4); furthermore Harry does not love Helen because he is with her to spend her money, and this has always been the case with women since he only looks for women who have money. Then, Harry treats Helen as a sex object by saying “I'd like to destroy you a few times in bed” (7); being a chauvinistic man, Harry does not treat Helen with respect. Furthermore, Helen is also part of a chauvinistic society because she is presented as a submissive woman because she always helps and takes care of Harry despite his nastiness; for example, “Helen- it should be bad for you. In Black's it says to avoid all alcohol. You shouldn't drink” (2); although Harry always offends her, Helen always helps him. Furthermore, Helen is also seen as a feminist woman in some parts of the story as she is the one who has the money in the relationship, so this makes her independent from Harry "[the money] has always been yours as much as mine" (3) ; to Harry. Furthermore Helen is a strong woman because she knows how to work alone; for example "she had gone to kill a piece of meat" (5); Helen is very good at shooting and this is a characteristic that not many women have because it should be a job only for men, but it breaks all the rules of a chauvinistic society. So, Harry is part of that feminist society because he is sick in his bed while Helen is out trying to find something to eat husband had died when she was relatively young and for a while she devoted herself to her two sons [one of her two sons died in a plane crash some time later]” (6) ; therefore, Helen is a representation of an exemplary mother because she has to take care of her child alone. Furthermore, another feminist characteristic of Helen is that she likes to read, so that means that she likes to learn many things "She was always thoughtful... about everything she knew or had read, or had ever heard" (5) ; this characteristic helps her to learn more, and knowledge is a very important aspect to avoid stereotypes. Ernest Hemingway uses five flashbacks through “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”; each flashback has an important meaning for the development of the story. The first flashback is about the loss of life and money as the narrator returns to his time in World War I. First of all, he tells the story of when he had different experiences fighting against Turks and Greeks, "The Turks had arrived steadily andirregular and had seen the men in skirts running and the officers shooting at them..." (9), this represents the loss of life since the narrator actually fought in World War I. Then, remember when Herr Lent lost all his money because he gambled continuously, “Herr Lent lost more. In the end he lost everything” (4), which means the loss of money, which implies the central idea of ​​the flashback regarding loss makes you happy: the memory of the snow in Vorarlberg and the Arlberg. This memory brings with it fond memories as Harry describes many of the activities he did there as “singing Hello! Oh!... running around the orchard in three laps... melting the bindings, free the skis with a kick and place them against the wall of the inn..." (4), Harry misses these fond memories, and once again he never wrote anything about them. Thus, the sense of loss is reflected throughout the flashback which represents the loss of life and money, but also the happiness represented by the snow. Then, the second flashback is about Harry's attempt to avoid loneliness as he mentions when he was in Constantinople alone: ​​"He had been a prostitute all the time and then, when it was all over, he couldn't kill his loneliness , but it only made things worse…” (8), Harry was so empty that he tried to fill his void with women who eventually, after an argument, abandon him leaving him alone and unable to end his loneliness. another important feature of the second flashback is Harry's futility as he runs away from the turkey driven by fear, "...he and the British watcher had also run until their lungs hurt..." (9), here readers might notice the futility presented by Harry only thinking about escaping back to Paris. Furthermore, the third flashback is important because it depicts a sense of destruction and happiness. First, the narrator mentions the burning of Harry's grandfather's house. Then that log was burned and all the weapons that had been on deer-foot racks over the fireplace were burned and then their barrels..." (10), here, readers might notice that the house is completely burned, the which means destruction. Subsequently another destruction is presented mentioning the shame of the owner of the Triberg hotel, involved in a crisis: "The following year inflation came and the money he had earned the year before was not enough to buy the supplies to open the hotel and hanged himself” (11), so readers will be able to realize the inevitable sense of annihilation mentioned by Harry in his memories; furthermore, Harry really loved where he lived in France, he was relatively happy in that place: "There has never been another part of Paris that I loved so, the sprawling trees, the old whitewashed houses painted brown underneath, the long green of the bus in that square roundabout..." ( 11). The people in that town were poor, but they were happy despite their circumstances, just like Harry. So, this flashback describes a mix between destruction and happiness. The fourth flashback is important because it describes the loyalty of a boy who was ordered to guard a barn and when someone tried to break in, he killed him and asked the narrator for help in carrying the body. However, the poor boy never thought he would be taken to prison for committing a crime but instead be rewarded: “He had no idea he would be arrested. Thinking he had done his duty... and that he would be rewarded” (13). This represents a misunderstanding as the poor boy tried to help but was taken to prison. Finally, the last flashback is the most important of all since it is the only one in which Harry does not regret not having writtenas it is so painful to remember the wounded officer Williamson, who was dying from the impact of a bomb that he even asks Harry to kill him “Shoot me, Harry. For the love of God, shoot me” (13); this scene is so terrifying to Harry that he gives him the morphine he had saved for himself, "Nothing passed out to Williamson until he gave him all the morphine tablets he had always saved to use himself..." (13), Harry sacrifices his last morphine pill to help Williamson. This could give readers a sense of hope for Harry's survival as even though he is dying, his good deeds could save him from death. This can be seen as a way for Harry to achieve redemption. This redemption is what ultimately helps Harry reach the summit of Kilimanjaro. To conclude, this last flashback is very important as it helps Harry think that he will go to heaven. Harry dreams of flying over Kilimanjaro, so he thinks he is in heaven even though the reality is that he died on the plains of Africa. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom EssayTo conclude, the use of animals is very significant in this story as the leopard and the hyena depict different emotional stages and feelings of Harry. First, the leopard represents Harry's youth, and also the time when he went to war and did good deeds. Also, the frozen leopard resembles Harry because later in the story, readers may notice that Harry tries to reach the peak of Kilimanjaro, which means heaven. So, this search for God and immortality was made by both the leopard and Harry. Furthermore, the hyena mainly represents the stage of death and disease as it always goes to the camp where Harry is staying to hide him and await his death. Furthermore, the hyena resembles Harry because they both stink, the hyena due to his nature and Harry due to the disease he suffers from. Furthermore, the story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” presents a comparison and contrast between mountains and plains. First, mountains are a symbol of life as the author uses some images such as waterfalls, green forests and so on. Furthermore, these places represent positive events in Harry's life; in contrast, the plain is a symbol of the physical and psychological decay in Harry's life as he is dying from gangrene in his right leg. Furthermore, the mountains and the plains are similar because both are phases of Harry's life and teach Harry that life passes and the only thing that is certain is death. Furthermore, the epigraph of the story reveals that Kilimanjaro, also called The House of God, symbolizes heaven and closeness to God, so people want to climb mountains to reach a spiritual essence. Furthermore, the leopard in the epigraph represents strength, power and courage because the leopard dies trying to fulfill a purpose which is to get closer to God and try to find the meaning of his life. Furthermore, this leopard was found dead and its death represents the immortality of the leopard because it dies physically, but will be continually remembered for its courage. Furthermore, Helen and Harry are a representation of chauvinistic society because Harry treats Helen badly, and also sees her as a sexual object. Furthermore, Helen also fits into a chauvinistic stereotype because she is submissive to Harry's treatments, and is always there even if he doesn't love her. Furthermore, Helen can be an example of a feminist woman because she has her own money, so she is independent from Harry, and also takes care of her son alone. Then she likes to read and this means that she is learning and knowledge is important to avoid stereotypes in society. Also, the use of flashbacks is.