The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

Death is one of life’s most interesting and greatest mysteries. Ideas and the understanding of death varies due to factors such as culture, society, religion and even cause, yet it also transcends all the above, because everyone dies. But there seems to be one idea that is unusually common about death; in the moments before death, a person sees their life flash before their eyes. In the Snows of Kilimanjaro, Ernest Hemingway tells a tale of death I believe one could argue is an unique and challenging way to think about one’s life “flashing” before their eyes.
Many people read Hemingway’s story and conclude the story tells of the regretful moments of reflection as death approaches Harry. On a broad scope, this conclusion is entirely believable.
One example is in the very beginning of the story as Harry lays on his cot watching the vultures outside loom. Harry sees these birds as a sign of his impending death, pointing them out to his wife saying, “I’m dying now. Ask those bastards.” (Hemingway) This is the first sign of defamiliarization as Hemingway takes a commonly well known bird that is being attracted to the rotting sight or smell of Harry’s gangrene leg and uses it as a tool change the reader’s perception of the bird from a scavenger to a messenger of death.
Traditionally defined as a conditional sentence with a false antecedent (Harding), Hemingway uses this concept throughout the dialogue. Helen says things such as, “I wish we had never come here,” or “If you wanted to shoot we could have gone shooting in Hungary and been comfortable." (Hemingway) These are moments of counterfactual thinking. Helen thinks about the alternative and what could have been. Words like “wish” and “never” introduce a counterfactual scenario and expresses discontent. (Harding) This idea again could be argued as further proof Hemingway looks to change the perception of reflection on life. Each moment that Harry reminisces on as he dies is counterfactual as he regrets never writing on them. In the same way, Hemingway’s idea of a life flashing before a dying individual’s eyes may be counterfactual in nature as that person wonders how they may do those moments differently if they ever had them back.
Hemingway challenges the reader’s perception of death from the very beginning of the story using mechanisms such as defamiliarization and counterfactuals. While this story is mostly bleak and melancholy, it is effective in challenging the reader not to only think about their own life but what it may look like at the time of their own