The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway is the idol of many writers today and in the past, including the esteemed J.D. Salinger. Did you know that Salinger met his hero in person, and even had Hemingway read his manuscript? Not surprisingly, Hemingway was said to have liked Salinger’s work. 

After having read “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, I feel that I have already begun to grasp a sense of Hemingway’s writing style. His writing resounds with the heartbeat of the 1920’s realist/pessimist chauvinistic man, faced with the emptiness of life and the bitter knowledge of the choices he has made. It is gritty and straightforward, yet not without conviction, compelling, and a very authentic sense of soul. 

In the current short story, the main character is particularly aware of the negative choices he made and looks at life through a cynical, yet heartfelt lens. 

It is worth mentioning that war is a major theme. Within the former soldier’s memories is exposed the essential, many-faceted conflict of war. The nobility and immorality intertwined are perpetuated in the life of the soldier, in every breath and decision he has made afterwards. But here he is an injured former soldier, not injured by war or anything so magnanimous, but by a recreational hunting trip with his wealthy wife.

The subject is also a particular favorite of writers in general: a writer. In this case, he is a writer faced with his imminently impending death, causing him to look on his life with dissatisfaction at all the experiences he never wrote about. He is a failure, a sell-out, who sold his sense of authenticity, creative hunger, and real talent as a real writer for a comfortable marriage, sans passion, along with the luxurious lifestyle it provided. 

The story soon comes across the distant vision of the snow-laden mountain of Kilimanjaro. And at the end we get another, unexpected glimpse of this scene, along with the absolute conviction of the profound symbolism and importance of the mountaintop. What does it symbolize? Perhaps the snowy whiteness points us to his ideal of purity and authenticity, the life he wishes he had chosen. It is even more apparent that it is pointing to death, paradise, and release from his physical and emotional pain. It is a pinnacle, a higher plane providing clearer vision. It is a peaceful exit from his life of conflict and struggle. 

“The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is a short, quick read, worth your time and contemplation. I’d love to hear your thoughts and interpretation of the story. How do you feel about Hemingway in general?