Harry

            During his lifetime, Ernest Hemingway was probably America's most famous writer and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" was probably the peak of his talented career. On that same note, Harry, the main character, whose last name is unknown, may be at the peak of his talent, but is too caught up in other things to realize. In "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," Harry tells a story that is both a narrative full of symbols and a personal memoir.
             In Hemingway's "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," Harry delivers a narrative full of symbols, such as the leopard's body and the case of gangrene. At the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Harry discovers that there is a dead body of a frozen leopard. Hemingway says, "Close to the western summit there is the dead and frozen carcass of a leopard" (3). This symbolizes the giving up of life for the gain of earthly desires. The leopard wanted to have something up on the mountain so bad that it was willing to risk its life to have it. Perkins, Perkins, and Leininger state, " he [Harry] sees the legendary gigantic frozen leopard on the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a symbol of death in the pursuit of vain, fleshy pleasures" (993). Another symbol in this story is the case of gangrene in Harry's leg. This symbolizes his shattered dream of becoming a great writer. Perkins, Perkins, and Leininger write, "The dream is shattered when he develops gangrene in his leg" (993). Also, Stallman says, " His gangrenous leg is a token symbol of his moral gangrene as creative writer" (212).
             In addition to a narrative full of symbols, Harry also delivers a personal memoir. Throughout the story, he is constantly thinking back about different times in his life. Harry looks back on his life and realizes that he didn't put forth the effort to be the writer that he was capable of being. He had remarkable talent as a writer, but he didn't know how to benefit from the talents he was gifted with. He was always holding something back.