How Does Hemingway Present Harry In The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

In life, it is common for humans to achieve certain feats in order for their name to be immortalized, and to create a legacy that will extend far beyond their mortal years. Some people will base their entire life around trying to be remembered somehow, whether it be by creating a beautiful piece of artwork, being a teacher every students loves and remembers, or being the best actor of a certain generation. A great example of this is shown through Harry, the protagonist of Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro where we are presented with a character who yearns to be remembered by writing about some of things he has had to live though. However, while on his death bed, Harry realizes he never got a chance to write all the stories that
he meant to, thus driving him on a course of deep reflection before his imminent death. It seems that in death, Harry regrets not having told any of his stories and in his last hours on earth, he lives in a state of disparity and does not get the redemption that he desires. Hemingway illustrates a character’s disparity through the way he treats his wife, by outlining everything Harry regrets, and by using symbolic references and displaying Harry’s delusional state. Harry is an extremely selfish character.
Hemingway shows that Harry cares about no one else except for himself, especially his poor wife who has been through so much already. The way Harry treats his wife is a sign of his disparity. After his first flashback, Harry is very hostile towards Helene. He tells her “Your damned money was my armour. My Sword and my Armour” (Hemingway, 6). We know that Harry never truly loved his wife, but here he is admitting it to her. He used Helen for money, and money only, and money is a source of corruption, a way for Harry to give up on his aspirations and be content with being rich because his wife made him that way. He even goes on to call her “[A] rich bitch” and defends this statement by declaring it to be “rotten poetry”(7). In his last moments with his wife, Harry chooses to be inconsiderate and rude to this woman who is staying with him in his time of need and hoping that he makes a recovery. He is selfish, and never redeems himself when it comes to loving her. After telling her “You know I love you. I’ve never loved anyone else the way I love you” (7), it is then stated that “He slipped into the familiar lie he made his bread and butter by” (7). This is one of the most crucial line in identifying Harry’s disparity. Harry admits to us that he always lies when telling Helen he loves her, and by lying about his love, he makes money because she provides for him. In his last moments Harry chooses to not to tell Helen that he never truly
loved her, and while some may argue this is a redeeming trait because he spares telling her, it seems to be more of a confirmation Harry’s failures. He could have been a great writer with many experiences to share, but he chose the easier route, in which he doesn’t write a single thing and is dependant on his wife. Harry’s anguish is present in the way he treats his wife, and the wretchedness that he displays. During the time that Helen is hunting for a Tommie, Harry goes into a deep state of regret while laying in his cot.
It may also be important to note at this point that the infection Harry is suffering from is Gangrene, meaning that the skin around his leg wound is literally dying, falling off of his body, and creating a disgusting odour. However, while that is one way to define Gangrene, it can also be defined as “moral or spiritual corruption and decadence that pervades an individual or group”(Dictionary). During this reflection it appears that Harry’s moral corruption is of great importance to the regret he expresses. In his reflection Harry thinks: “He had destroyed his talent himself… by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride and by prejudice, by hook and by crook...it was never what he had done, but always what he could do” (Hemingway, 8). Harry has made a trade in his life that he evidently finds worthless by trading in his artistic talents for wealth and comfort. It is also interesting to see that of the things Harry has listed “sloth” and “pride” as two of them; both of which are considered to be two of the seven deadly sins. If Harry wants redemption from God, and to reach the house of God at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, than he has already gone about it wrong especially after admitting that he has succumbed to two of the deadly sins. Throughout the story, Harry thinks about what he could have been and who he could have been if he had only wrote while he
still had the chance. He never comes to a redemption over this issue, he regrets it and it seems that he always has. He never wrote because “each day of not writing, of comfort of being that which he despised, dulled his ability and softened his will to work so that,finally, he did no work at all”(8). Harry’s disparity is outlined through his regret. Harry is a man who seems to have destroyed himself morally, spiritually and now incidentally, physically. Harry does not deserve to be redeemed. Harry has walked down a path that he will never come back from, a path of corruption and wrong-doings, and a path that has led to his inevitable despair and demise. In the final sequence of the story, we can see the total corruption and disparity that Harry is overcome with. Although many scholars may argue that Harry’s plane trip to the top of Kilimanjaro is his redemption before God, Hemingway brings us back to reality and makes it appear as though the plane ride did not even happen. Harry dies without writing a single thing. Yes, Harry does receive redemption, but the redemption he receives is otherworldly, and only occurs in his own head. On earth, and in his relationship with others, Harry does not receive any redemption and he dies in a state of despair. After his plane ride, we are brought back to reality by Hemingway stating “just then the hyena stopped whimpering in the night and started to make a strange, human, almost crying sound”(20). In Africa, the hyena is a known as a carrion eater who scavenges the land in search for dead or wounded animals to eat for scraps. In a sense, a hyena can be considered an animal that regulates the circle of life by returning dead and wounded animals to nature. However, this hyena is crying like a human, almost in remorse for Harry who did not get his redemption, and thus, his rotting body is not pure and cannot be scavenged by the hyena.The Hyena, a despicable creature then acts as a symbol throughout the story that Harry cannot be redeemed due to the fear that is implied through its cries. Redemption is the quality in which a person is forgiven or absolved for all the failures and wrong doings they have done in their life. Clearly, Harry has not been redeemed and this is plainly obvious because of all the regret that Harry expresses about his life. Hemingway has weaved a story with a magnificent plot twist in it. As the readers, we are almost certain that Harry will come to a point of redemption because we are expecting him to redeem himself yet Hemingway leaves us with a sense of false hope. With the symbolic use of the immortalized leopard at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, Hemingway not only highlights Harry’s need to reach that point in his own life, but also makes the fact that Harry failed that much more tragic. As outlined previously, Harry’s disparity is evident through the way he treats his wife, the regret he displays and by symbols used in the story. The Snows of Kilimanjaro is a unique piece of writing that explores the disparity of man.