Snows of Kilimanjaro - Immortality at the Summit
Mr. Callaghan
ENG 4U
2011-10-27 Immortality at the Summit
The story 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' is set in Africa where the characters are on a hunting trip. When the bearing on their truck breaks it leaves them unfortunately stranded. While on the trip Harry, the protagonist, acquires gangrene after he failed to apply iodine following the infection of a thorn scratch. The gangrene is eating away his leg and Harry is dying. Harry and his wife, Helen, are waiting for a rescue plane to come and save them but it is late. Harry can sense his death coming. This is when the realization sets in that he has run out of time and all the writing he planned to do will never get accomplished. As Harry lies on his death bed he experiences flashbacks of his life. All his flashbacks consist of great opportune moments where he could have written amazing stories but did not. He realizes he has failed as a writer and wasted his talent through his procrastination. Knowing he will die before morning he goes to sleep and dreams that the rescue plane has come to the camp and flies him to the top of Mountain Kilimanjaro where the summit is referred to as 'The House of God' because a leopard's carcass was discovered, frozen, at the top where it will be forever frozen, preserved and exist forever. Helen awakes in the night and goes over to him but he has passed away.
I enjoyed Ernest Hemingway's short story, 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro'. I found it to be a unique and enjoyable story. Hemingway is a very creative writer and in this story he covers all three writing styles as he plays the roles of a story teller, enchanter and a teacher. He is a storyteller because as Harry dies he recalls and highlights for the reader several memories that tell tales of his journey through life. Hemingway is also a teacher because he teaches lessons in the book. As Harry lay dying after reminiscing about his flash back he regrets the way he was unable to record the stories of his life on paper. The
ENG 4U
2011-10-27 Immortality at the Summit
The story 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro' is set in Africa where the characters are on a hunting trip. When the bearing on their truck breaks it leaves them unfortunately stranded. While on the trip Harry, the protagonist, acquires gangrene after he failed to apply iodine following the infection of a thorn scratch. The gangrene is eating away his leg and Harry is dying. Harry and his wife, Helen, are waiting for a rescue plane to come and save them but it is late. Harry can sense his death coming. This is when the realization sets in that he has run out of time and all the writing he planned to do will never get accomplished. As Harry lies on his death bed he experiences flashbacks of his life. All his flashbacks consist of great opportune moments where he could have written amazing stories but did not. He realizes he has failed as a writer and wasted his talent through his procrastination. Knowing he will die before morning he goes to sleep and dreams that the rescue plane has come to the camp and flies him to the top of Mountain Kilimanjaro where the summit is referred to as 'The House of God' because a leopard's carcass was discovered, frozen, at the top where it will be forever frozen, preserved and exist forever. Helen awakes in the night and goes over to him but he has passed away.
I enjoyed Ernest Hemingway's short story, 'The Snows of Kilimanjaro'. I found it to be a unique and enjoyable story. Hemingway is a very creative writer and in this story he covers all three writing styles as he plays the roles of a story teller, enchanter and a teacher. He is a storyteller because as Harry dies he recalls and highlights for the reader several memories that tell tales of his journey through life. Hemingway is also a teacher because he teaches lessons in the book. As Harry lay dying after reminiscing about his flash back he regrets the way he was unable to record the stories of his life on paper. The