The Snows of Kilimanjaro

I enjoyed reading The Snows of Kilimanjaro even though I found it confusing and sad.  Since all of the works we have read so far parallel to Hemingway’s life, I did a little research about The Snows of Kilimanjaro.  I discovered that Hemingway had a fear of dying without finishing his work.  In the story, Harry has reoccurring dreams that reveal this same fear.  The line “but he had never written a line of that” were repeated over and over.  His dreams portray the sadness and disappointment he feels from not having the opportunity to write down all of the memories and thoughts he wanted to.  He struggles with this truth and ends up convincing himself that he would have done a poor job documenting these memories anyway, so it is probably better that he didn’t get the chance.  I found this aspect of the story depressing.  Not only does Harry not get to achieve his dreams, but he has convinced himself that he would have failed anyway.  Because of his injury, Harry is forced to sit around all day and think about his past.  I can relate to this fear and understand where Hemingway and Harry are coming from.  I want to live a meaningful life where I leave behind a significant impact on my friends and community.  It would be hard to accept the fact that my life would be cut short and I wouldn’t get to achieve all of the goals and dreams I have set.  It is also sad how rather than looking back on his life with a positive attitude, Harry only focuses on regrets.  The memories that come back to him in his dreams are all upsetting images of the war, lost love, bad choices and broken relationships. 

I had a hard time determining whether or not Harry loved his wife or not.  At first I thought he was just upset, and that is why he was calling her names and starting arguments. However, his dreams revealed how he no longer loves his wife and maybe never did.   He has been in several relationships during his life, and married Helen because of her wealth.   Harry knows how much Helen loves him and appreciates all she does.  Even though she treats Harry with respect and kindness, he cannot love her.  He looks down upon her class and is frustrated by the wealthy individuals he has been spending time with since their marriage.  I found this situation sad as well.  Helen loves her husband deeply and is upset about his death.  He however is not very emotional.  Rather than enjoying their last days together, they bicker the whole time. 

I found the ending to be confusing.  I think Harry realizes he will not live through the night, yet he dreams of the plane coming to rescue him.  His death is represented by the plane flying into the snow-covered Kilimanjaro.  The white sheet of snow represents his actual passing.

I'm sure the story contains many examples of foreshadowing and symbolism, but the appearance of animals are the ones that stood out to me.  The repeated appearance of the vultures and hyena represent Harry’s near death.  The hyenas cry always gave Helen chills and the hyena's cry is what wakes Helen up when she sees that Harry has died.