The Snows of Kilimanjaro: Hemingway's Reflection on Life
The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Information about the author
Hemingway reflects on his life through Harry. Hemingway struggled with alcoholism and developed his career among rich people. He was a womanizer and never reached happiness.
Elements of the story: characters, context, plot, climax, resolution, types of narrative, types of narrator, etc.
- Context: 1915 after World War 1
Plot: The story is about Harry, who prefers to be around rich people, enjoying momentary pleasures instead of reaching his dream and achieving happiness. Harry lived a life full of adventures and joy, but then he betrays himself because of the life he had with Helen. He starts describing his life with 4 flashbacks, showing regret about how he wasted his time. After all, Hemingway narrates the death of Harry, talking about the way Compton takes him to heaven, being at the top of Kilimanjaro.
- Climax: when he is dying and elucidating his friend taking him to the top of the mountain.
- Resolution: he arrives in heaven
- Types of narrative: non-linear
- Types of narrator: 1st person
Main characters:
Harry: Harry was an American writer who never found happiness because he always tried to belong to something he isn't.
Helen: Helen was a rich woman who was Harry's wife. She really was in love with Harry, but he didn't feel the same way for her.
Compton: Compton was Harry's friend who helped Harry to get out of the jungle when he was dying.
Symbols:
Leopard: symbolizes how Harry will go to the same place that the leopard was, the house of God. Symbolizes effort, struggle, commitment to get to the top.
Snow: the snow symbolizes the hope that Harry had during his death, and to connect again to himself.
Vulture: death coming.
Hyenas: death
Mountain: means the way you need to walk to get what you really want to achieve in your life.
Alcohol: addiction and decadence
Gangrene: decadence
Helen: he treats her bad, he calls her a rich bitch, she drinks whisky and soda
Places and events mentioned in the text; examples: the wars the protagonist participated in; the places he remembered and what he did in each one.
- Paris: he was in a cafe and in the bar, meeting important people. Mount Parnace was his favorite place where important people were.
The World War I (In the war, when he gave his last morphine pills for himself to the horribly suffering Williamson)
- He remembered being with his father picking blackberries in the USA