The End Of Harry's Last Hemingway
The author introduces the reader to the story of a character who from the very beginning feels the cold breath of Death on his neck. Harry, who is inevitably pushed to his death by the gangrene, transports the reader through a sea of memories in which he makes us understand that he has been wasting his time and not facing the future properly. However, like most of the characters of Hemingway, “the protagonist moves from cowardice to courage” (Samuelson, 1992, p.4); now that Harry´s end is near, he is too tired to confront it but he accepts it with open arms. The process of becoming a true man, according to the motto of Hemingway, begins in the moment he recalls his good all days, such as a lovely day skiing, the indelible memory of the first
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love and an event in which a soldier proved his relentless bravery; instead of letting himself be disheartened by the agony. Nevertheless, these events are interleaved by constant auguries of Death approaching, for instance the laugh of the hyenas, the vultures making circles in the air, etc. Apart from that, he blames himself on wasting time on parties and not taking care of his talent for writing.
Nonetheless, the pressure is not the only one disguised as savage animals or wrapped in an interior-monologue of self-blame; but also as a character made of flesh and bone: Harry´s wife. Harry believes that the money of Helen has contaminated his dignity and consequently he mistreats her. The glimpses of grace arise when he realises that he has never lost curiosity, and now that he is equally tired with his life and with his own degradation, the step to the other life seems to feel unimportant. In view of this acceptance, he recalls an anecdote of a leopard which unbelievably climbed the mountain Kilimanjaro and died in the summit, and thenceforth, he decides to follow in its footsteps as a moral guidance for his soul. The author does not unravel if Harry finally achieves the grace but, as Hemingway claimed “It is the wait until the next day that is hard to get through” (Plimpton, 1958), it can be said that he stays strong till the very end; moreover, not even Helen hears a whining sound until his last breath. In conclusion, even if Harry has learned too late that every single day is worth living, he has faced Death with dignity and he finally manages to close the cycle of his life
forever.
love and an event in which a soldier proved his relentless bravery; instead of letting himself be disheartened by the agony. Nevertheless, these events are interleaved by constant auguries of Death approaching, for instance the laugh of the hyenas, the vultures making circles in the air, etc. Apart from that, he blames himself on wasting time on parties and not taking care of his talent for writing.
Nonetheless, the pressure is not the only one disguised as savage animals or wrapped in an interior-monologue of self-blame; but also as a character made of flesh and bone: Harry´s wife. Harry believes that the money of Helen has contaminated his dignity and consequently he mistreats her. The glimpses of grace arise when he realises that he has never lost curiosity, and now that he is equally tired with his life and with his own degradation, the step to the other life seems to feel unimportant. In view of this acceptance, he recalls an anecdote of a leopard which unbelievably climbed the mountain Kilimanjaro and died in the summit, and thenceforth, he decides to follow in its footsteps as a moral guidance for his soul. The author does not unravel if Harry finally achieves the grace but, as Hemingway claimed “It is the wait until the next day that is hard to get through” (Plimpton, 1958), it can be said that he stays strong till the very end; moreover, not even Helen hears a whining sound until his last breath. In conclusion, even if Harry has learned too late that every single day is worth living, he has faced Death with dignity and he finally manages to close the cycle of his life
forever.