Dec 19, 2009

The Snows of Kilimanjaro | Introduction

In ‘‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro,’’ Ernest Hemingway presents the story of a writer at the end of his life. While on a safari in Africa, Harry, the protagonist, is scratched on the leg by a thorn, and the infection becomes gangrenous and eventually kills him. Where most of Hemingway’s stories feature protagonists who speak little and reflect nothing at all about their motivations and inner lives, in this story, the main character ‘‘sees his life flash before his eyes’’ as he realizes that he is dying. Many readers have seen Harry as a self-portrait of Hemingway himself. Reading the story this way, the reader can look into Hemingway’s struggles with himself: his insecurities, his machismo, his need and disdain for women. But it is not necessary to read the story through the lens of Hemingway’s biography. The story is a gripping look at a man who is facing death and regretting many of the choices he has made in his life, as well as being a memorable glimpse inside the head of a writer who is reflecting on his craft and the demands it has made on him.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro Summary

‘‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’’ opens on the African savanna where a man and a woman are talking to each other matter-of-factly about the man’s leg, which is rotting away from gangrene. The woman is trying to make him more comfortable and make him believe that he will survive, but he seems to be enjoying the black humor of the vultures who are waiting for him to die. As she speaks to him, his resentment of her money and her upbringing comes out in his comments.

The first of his flashbacks comes at this point. In this flashback, he remembers being in World War I then thinks about scenes in numerous winters. Details from the war and from various pleasant skiing excursions mingle in his mind. As that flashback finishes, Harry returns to the present and argues with the woman before falling asleep. When he wakes up, the woman has been out to shoot an animal for them to eat and he... » Complete The Snows of Kilimanjaro Summary