Analysis of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest HemingwayThe story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” was written by Ernest Hemingway in 1938. Firstly, Ernest Hemingway reflects his concerns as a writer and his life in general through this story. In this story, Ernest wants to “notice certain aspects that affect some American writers, such as politics, drinking, women, money and ambition” (Pollklas, 1998); also, Ernest Hemingway also shares his fears through the story because he thinks he might end his life without enjoying time. This story begins with an epigraph about the mountain of Kilimanjaro and a dead leopard on the top of the mountain. Then the characters Harry and Helen (who are a couple) are on a plain in Africa and start talking about Harry's gangrene in his right leg. Plus, they're both waiting for a plane to take them out of Africa. Harry is an ambitious writer and he is married to Helen because of his money. Additionally, this story features many flashbacks in which Harry remembers the good times in his life. At the end of the story, Harry imagines himself flying over Mount Kilimanjaro and then he dies. Additionally, to understand the story, it is important to mention how the leopard and the hyena represent different stages of Harry's personal and emotional life, to compare and contrast the plains and the mountains, to demonstrate how the epigraph reveals the spiritual and the quest for knowledge, to indicate the way in which Harry and Helen became stereotypes of the chauvinistic and feminist aspect, and also to state the importance of flashbacks for the meaning and development of the plot of the story.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayFirst, the narrator mentions a frozen leopard in the epigraph of the story: “Near the west peak lies the dried and frozen leopard. carcass of a leopard. No one explained what the leopard was looking for at this altitude” (1). This is a foreshadowing in which the leopard represents a stage in Harry's life which could be death and the search for heaven. Additionally, this could represent another never-reached milestone in Harry's life, because as a leopard, Harry never reached the top of the mountain, which could mean the peak of his own writing. Although he led a wonderful life, he never wrote anything about it. Additionally, another important animal is the hyena, as it also represents a foreshadowing of Harry's death, "...a hyena ran through the forest going around the hill...that bastard runs through it every night.. . every night for two weeks. (8), so the hyena waits for Harry's death like vultures watch for their prey. On the other hand, the leopard is worthy because he took the difficult path to Kilimanjaro, which represents the house of God, and the leopard also represents different stages of Harry's life; for example, during the war, Harry helped Williamson: “Nothing fazed Williamson until he gave him all his morphine tablets which he had always kept for his own use…” (13), here , Harry's act is wonderful since he sacrifices himself to release Williamson's pain. Furthermore, Harry doesn't want to hurt Helen and he doesn't admit to her that he never really loved her: “I really love you. You know I love you. I have never loved anyone else as I love you… He slipped into the familiar lie with which he made his bread and butter” (5). Therefore, he also sacrifices himself so as not to disappoint his wife even more. The leopard represents noonly Harry's good deeds and steps, but also Harry's approach to immortality as a frozen leopard in the epigraph which can represent life on heaven and earth; This could be an explanation for the never-solved mystery of the Masai. Furthermore, the hyena represents Harry's decline and the worsening of his illness until his end which is death, "It had moved on him now, but it no longer had form" (14 ). The narrator mentions the hyena which no longer has form, and also the fact that it approaches Harry each time until it catches and prevents Harry from speaking; “She got even closer to him and he couldn't talk to her… but she got closer to him so all her weight was on his chest…” (14), the hyena is considered a representation of death since it has no form anymore and there readers can notice the process of death. Additionally, another important aspect is that the hyena is so similar to Harry in the sense of smell since Harry says that he stinks, "I'm terribly sorry about the smell though..." (1), and also when he talks to the hyena, he mentions that it stinks too: "Your breath is like hell, you stinking bastard" (14). So the hyena represents the stage where Harry is sick on the verge of death. The story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” has some similarities and differences between the mountains and the plains. First, the symbolism of Mount Kilimanjaro contrasts with the symbolism of the plains; in the story, mountains represent life because they contain “a green forest and a strong cascade of bamboo” (15); therefore, these images give a feeling of life because nature grows just where there is fertile land, but in the case of plains, nature is more difficult to see. Additionally, the mountains also represent the good events that Harry had experienced in the past. For example, in the flashbacks presented in the story, Harry begins to remember trips from his past in which he lived happily, such as "in the morning, at breakfast, looking out the window and seeing the snow on the Boulgaffa Mountains” (3); although he enjoyed these places, he didn't write about these places, so he just has good memories about the mountains. Rather, the plains represent decay and death because Harry dies on the plains of Africa, but Harry does not present this. only physical decadence, but also mental decadence. First, he has “gangrene… in his right leg” (2), so the disease will cause his death, but also Harry exhibits psychological decadence because he is desperate. and he complains all the time because “all he felt now was great fatigue and anger” (2). Additionally, the mountains and the plains also contain certain similarities since both are stages in Harry's life. steps that teach Harry that life passes and the only certain thing is death because when he is in the mountain he is happy, but he does not pay attention to it because he is worried about other things. Moreover, when he is on the plain of Africa, he does not take advantage of the time because he complains all the time about the illness from which he suffers: "I don't want to move... It no longer feels like move now. except to make your job easier” (1); both in the mountains and on the plain, Harry lives without worry. The epigraph presented in the story helps readers understand the spiritual essence and the quest for knowledge. First, when the author says: “Kilimanjaro is a snow-capped mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai “Ngaje Ngai”, the House of God” (1); this place symbolizes paradise because in this place people can find peace and meaning of life. Moreover,hills and mountains have always been linked to proximity to God due to their religious aspect since these places can be closer to the sky, such as Mount Olympus in Greek mythology. Therefore, people usually want to climb mountains to get closer to God and feel the divinity of God's power. Additionally, “near the west peak is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one explained what the leopard was looking for at this altitude” (1); the leopard represents strength, power and courage because the leopard dies trying to reach the top of "The House of God", so he dies trying to accomplish a goal which is to get closer to God and try to find the meaning of your life. Additionally, this leopard was found dead, and his death represents the immortality of the leopard because he dies physically, but he will be remembered all the time because of his courage because not everyone would take that risk of going in this place knowing that he or she may die. Furthermore, these scenes represent Harry's life since at the beginning of the story Harry is lazy and he does not enjoy his life, but at the end he goes through a journey in which he tries to find meaning in his life. life. , he therefore behaves like the leopard who climbs the mountain to “The House of God” in order to find peace and knowledge. Harry and Helen are stereotypes of chauvinism and feminism. Firstly, 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 never did it” (3); therefore, Harry always insults him and he says that the only thing he cares about is his money and he says that "your damn money was my armor." My sword and armor… bitch… you rich bitch. It's poetry. I'm full of poetry now. Rotten poetry” (4); Also, Harry doesn't like Helen because he's with her to spend her money, and that's how he's always been with women since he only looks for women who have money. Therefore, Harry treats Helen as a sexual object by saying, “I would like to destroy you many times in bed” (7); as a chauvinistic man, Harry does not treat Helen with respect. Additionally, Helen is also part of a chauvinistic society as she is presented as a submissive woman as she always helps and cares for Harry despite his bad treats; for example: “Helen, this is supposed to be bad for you. Black was told to avoid all alcohol. You must not drink” (2); even though Harry always offends her, Helen always helps him. Additionally, Helen is also seen as a feminist woman in parts of the story since she is the one with the money in the relationship, making her independent from Harry "[money] has always been to you as much as to me” (3); so she is the one who gives Harry money. In addition, Hélène 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 it's a trait that few women have because it's supposed to be a man's job, but she breaks all the rules of a chauvinistic society. Therefore, Harry is part of this feminist society because he is sick in bed while Helen is outside trying to find something to eat. Additionally, Helen is the head of the household "her husband had died when she was a relatively young woman and for a time she devoted herself to her two children [one of her two children died in a plane crash some time later]” (6); Hélène is therefore a representation of an exemplary mother because she must take care of her son alone. Additionally, another feminist characteristic of Helen is that she likes to read, which meansthat she likes to learn many things. “She was always thoughtful…about everything she knew or had read, or had already heard” (5); this characteristic helps him learn more, and knowledge is a very important aspect of avoiding stereotypes. Ernest Hemingway uses five flashbacks throughout “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”; each flashback has an important meaning for the development of the story. The first flashback concerns the loss of life and money as the narrator goes back to when he was in the First World War. First of all, he tells the story where he had different experiences fighting against the Turks and the Greeks, "The Turks had come steadily and in pieces and he 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 he remembers when Herr Lent lost everything. probing the money because he was gambling all the time, “Herr Lent lost more. Finally, he lost everything” (4), this means the loss of money, which ties in with the central idea of ​​the flashback regarding loss. But there is something else when it comes to happiness, namely the memory of snow in Vorarlberg and Arlberg. This memory brings back fond memories as Harry describes many of the activities he did there like “singing Hi!” Ho!... run the orchard in three laps... unfasten his bindings, kick the skis free and lean them against the wall of the inn..." (4), Harry misses these good memories, and still once he never wrote anything about it. Thus, the feeling of loss is reflected throughout the flashback representing the loss of lives and money, but also the happiness represented by the snow. Then, the second flashback concerns Harry's attempt to avoid loneliness as he mentions when he was all alone in Constantinople: "He had been a prostitute all the time and then, when it was all over, he n 'had failed to kill his loneliness, but only made things worse...'(8), Harry was so empty that he tried to fill his emptiness with women who in the end, after a fight, abandoned him, leaving him alone and unable to put an end to his loneliness. Furthermore, another important feature of the second flashback is Harry's uselessness as he runs away from Turkey led by fear, "...he and the British observer had also run until his lungs hurt…” (9), here readers can notice the futility presented by Harry who only thinks about running away to Paris again. Additionally, 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 were on stag-foot racks above the fireplace were been burned and then their cannons…” (10), here readers may notice that the house is completely burned, which means destruction. After this, even more destruction is presented by mentioning the disgrace of the owner of the hotel in Triberg who was overtaken by a crisis: "The following year came inflation and the money he had earned the The previous year was not enough to buy supplies to open the hotel and he hanged himself” (11), so that readers can realize the inevitable feeling of annihilation Harry evokes in his memories; plus, Harry really liked where he lived in France. Even though he was poor, he was relatively happy in this place: "There was never another district of Paris that he loved like this, the sprawling trees, the old white plaster houses painted brown in below, alonggreen buses in that circle. square…” (11). The people of this town were poor, but they were happy despite the circumstances, just like Harry. Thus, this flashback depicts a mixture between destruction and happiness. The fourth flashback is important because it depicts the loyalty of a boy who was on a mission to protect a barn, and when someone tried to break in, he killed him and asked the narrator to help him to transport the body. However, the poor little boy never thought that he would be taken to prison for committing a crime, but rather that he would be rewarded: “He had no idea that he would be arrested. Thinking that he had done his duty…and that he would be rewarded” (13). This represents a misunderstanding since the poor little boy tried to help but was taken to jail. Finally, the last flashback is the most important of all since it is the only one in which Harry does not regret not having written as it is painful to remember the injured officer, Williamson, who died because of a bomb hit and even asks Harry to kill him “Shoot me, Harry. For the love of God, pull me” (13); this scene is so terrifying to Harry that he gives him the morphine he had kept for himself, "Nothing passed to Williamson until he gave him all of his morphine tablets that he always had kept for use…” (13), Harry sacrifices his last morphine pill to help Williamson. This can give readers a sense of hope for Harry to survive since even though he is dying, his good deeds could save him from death. This can be seen as a means by which Harry could achieve redemption. This redemption is the one that ultimately helps Harry reach the summit of Kilimanjaro. To conclude, this last flashback is very important since it helps Harry think that he is going to heaven. Harry dreams of flying over Mount Kilimanjaro, so he thinks he is in heaven, even though the reality is that he died on the plains of Africa. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper now from our expert writers. Get Custom EssayTo conclude, the use of animals is very significant in this story since the leopard and the hyena represent different emotional stages and feelings of Harry. Firstly, the leopard represents Harry's youth, but also the time when he went to war and did good deeds. Additionally, the frozen leopard resembles Harry because later in the story readers may notice that Harry is attempting to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro, which means heaven. So this search for God and immortality was done by both the leopard and Harry. Additionally, the hyena mainly represents the stage of death and illness because it always goes to the camp where Harry stays to hide him and wait for his death. Additionally, the hyena resembles Harry because both stink, the hyena because that is his nature and Harry because of the illness he suffers from. Additionally, the story “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” presents a comparison and contrast between the mountains and the plains. Firstly, mountains are a symbol of life since the author uses images such as waterfall, green forest, etc. Additionally, these places represent the good events in Harry's life; rather, the plains are a symbol of physical and psychological decadence in Harry's life as he is dying from gangrene in his right leg. Additionally, the mountains and the plains are similar because they are both stages in Harry's life and teach Harry that life passes and the only thing certain is death. Additionally, the story's epigraph reveals that Kilimanjaro, also called The House of God, symbolizes the.