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The Mailer Review/Volume 13, 2019/Angst, Authorship, Critics: “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” “The Crack-Up,” Advertisements for Myself: Difference between revisions
The Mailer Review/Volume 13, 2019/Angst, Authorship, Critics: “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” “The Crack-Up,” Advertisements for Myself (view source)
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The larger setting is Africa the continent described as the Cradle of Mankind. The veneer of civilization is removed, human illusions stripped away. The story is told with a simplicity and universality reminiscent of the parables of Jesus in the New Testament. As was his wont, Hemingway uses several natural symbols, emerging spontaneously it seems from the setting—plain and mountain, hyena and leopard, heat and snow, symbols that Carlos Baker has well described.{{efn|“The story is technically distinguished by the operation of several natural symbols. These are non-literary images, as always in Hemingway, and they have been carefully selected so as to be in complete psychological conformity with the locale and the dramatic situation. . . . Like the death symbol, the image for immortality arises ‘naturally’ out of the geography and psychology of the situation.”{{sfn|Baker|1972|pp=193–194}} }} Hemingway uses these symbols to portray a series of contrasts. The hot, humid plain where Harry receives his death-wound is contrasted with the cold, pure summit of Kilimanjaro. The “evil-smelling emptiness” represented by the hyena{{sfn|Hemingway|2003|p=15}} is juxtaposed with “the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard”{{sfn|Hemingway|2003|p=3}} found near the summit—a contrast to which we shall return. | The larger setting is Africa the continent described as the Cradle of Mankind. The veneer of civilization is removed, human illusions stripped away. The story is told with a simplicity and universality reminiscent of the parables of Jesus in the New Testament. As was his wont, Hemingway uses several natural symbols, emerging spontaneously it seems from the setting—plain and mountain, hyena and leopard, heat and snow, symbols that Carlos Baker has well described.{{efn|“The story is technically distinguished by the operation of several natural symbols. These are non-literary images, as always in Hemingway, and they have been carefully selected so as to be in complete psychological conformity with the locale and the dramatic situation. . . . Like the death symbol, the image for immortality arises ‘naturally’ out of the geography and psychology of the situation.”{{sfn|Baker|1972|pp=193–194}} }} Hemingway uses these symbols to portray a series of contrasts. The hot, humid plain where Harry receives his death-wound is contrasted with the cold, pure summit of Kilimanjaro. The “evil-smelling emptiness” represented by the hyena{{sfn|Hemingway|2003|p=15}} is juxtaposed with “the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard”{{sfn|Hemingway|2003|p=3}} found near the summit—a contrast to which we shall return. | ||
The immediate setting is the African plain. The plain is the dwelling place | The immediate setting is the African plain. The plain is the dwelling place | ||
of mankind, the natural landscape of human mortality, the stage upon which | of mankind, the natural landscape of human mortality, the stage upon which | ||
each of us faces life’s challenges. Inevitably, it is also a stage where each must | each of us faces life’s challenges. Inevitably, it is also a stage where each must | ||
face death. Carlos Baker reminds us that Hemingway was a master of “cultural synecdoche” {{sfn|Baker|1972|pp=206}}, so it may not be too farfetched to see in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” a retelling of the Garden of Eden parable—with a new Adam | face death. Carlos Baker reminds us that Hemingway was a master of “cultural synecdoche” {{sfn|Baker|1972|pp=206}}, so it may not be too farfetched to see in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” a retelling of the Garden of Eden parable—with a new Adam | ||
and Eve, and a new Fall from innocence.<sup>7</sup> | and Eve, and a new Fall from innocence.<sup>7</sup> In “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”—a story that appears quantum-entangled with “Snows,” the | ||
hunter Robert Wilson quotes Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II, “we owe God | hunter Robert Wilson quotes Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part II, “we owe God | ||
a death and let it go which way it will, he that dies this year is quit for the | a death and let it go which way it will, he that dies this year is quit for the | ||
next” | next” {{sfn|Baker|1972|pp=178}}.<sup>8</sup> For both Harry and Francis, this would be the year. | ||
8 For both Harry and Francis, this would be the year. | |||
How do we read “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” meaning not only the ti | How do we read “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” meaning not only the ti | ||