How Does Hemingway Present Harry In The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

In life, it is common for humans to achieve certain feats in order for their name to be immortalized, and to create a legacy that will extend far beyond their mortal years. Some people will base their entire life around trying to be remembered somehow, whether it be by creating a beautiful piece of artwork, being a teacher every students loves and remembers, or being the best actor of a certain generation. A great example of this is shown through Harry, the protagonist of Ernest Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro where we are presented with a character who yearns to be remembered by writing about some of things he has had to live though. However, while on his death bed, Harry realizes he never got a chance to write all the stories that
Hemingway shows that Harry cares about no one else except for himself, especially his poor wife who has been through so much already. The way Harry treats his wife is a sign of his disparity. After his first flashback, Harry is very hostile towards Helene. He tells her “Your damned money was my armour. My Sword and my Armour” (Hemingway, 6). We know that Harry never truly loved his wife, but here he is admitting it to her. He used Helen for money, and money only, and money is a source of corruption, a way for Harry to give up on his aspirations and be content with being rich because his wife made him that way. He even goes on to call her “[A] rich bitch” and defends this statement by declaring it to be “rotten poetry”(7). In his last moments with his wife, Harry chooses to be inconsiderate and rude to this woman who is staying with him in his time of need and hoping that he makes a recovery. He is selfish, and never redeems himself when it comes to loving her. After telling her “You know I love you. I’ve never loved anyone else the way I love you” (7), it is then stated that “He slipped into the familiar lie he made his bread and butter by” (7). This is one of the most crucial line in identifying Harry’s disparity. Harry admits to us that he always lies when telling Helen he loves her, and by lying about his love, he makes money because she provides for him. In his last moments Harry chooses to not to tell Helen that he never truly
It may also be important to note at this point that the infection Harry is suffering from is Gangrene, meaning that the skin around his leg wound is literally dying, falling off of his body, and creating a disgusting odour. However, while that is one way to define Gangrene, it can also be defined as “moral or spiritual corruption and decadence that pervades an individual or group”(Dictionary). During this reflection it appears that Harry’s moral corruption is of great importance to the regret he expresses. In his reflection Harry thinks: “He had destroyed his talent himself… by laziness, by sloth, and by snobbery, by pride and by prejudice, by hook and by crook...it was never what he had done, but always what he could do” (Hemingway, 8). Harry has made a trade in his life that he evidently finds worthless by trading in his artistic talents for wealth and comfort. It is also interesting to see that of the things Harry has listed “sloth” and “pride” as two of them; both of which are considered to be two of the seven deadly sins. If Harry wants redemption from God, and to reach the house of God at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro, than he has already gone about it wrong especially after admitting that he has succumbed to two of the deadly sins. Throughout the story, Harry thinks about what he could have been and who he could have been if he had only wrote while he