With millions of deported Jewish and around sixty million lost souls, World War II was most probably the worst blood bath humanity ever experienced. In addition, its numerous disturbing events, all under the command of one man, influenced peoples daily lives: their habits, their hopes and especially their vision of life. After the war, in order to recuperate the lost time, people, repressed by the tragedies, wanted to live life to its fullest and, by seeking happiness, they found an escape valve for all the pressure caused by the war. Ernest Hemingway, an author touched by the horrific consequences of war, expressed his notion of life and happiness in his short story The Snows of Kilimanjaro. In fact, in his short story, Hemingway explores the protagonists laziness, emphasizes on the animal symbolism and represents Sisyphus of the ancient Greek mythology by his opposite to suggest that perseverance is the key to happiness. The main character, Harry, demonstrates his laziness which results into his unconscious desire to die by neglecting his own infection, by refusing to express his feelings and by going after easy money women make.
The fact that [Harry forgot] to put iodine on when [he] first abolished [his leg] (1655) shows negligence towards his own body and especially laziness. Furthermore, since the gangrene on Harrys right leg causes him to weaken and to die, his own carelessness and sloth lead him to his death and thus symbolize his unconscious desire to kill himself. In addition, as he had saved to write [his thoughts] until he knew enough to write them well (1654) Harry stops writing even though it is his career, clearly demonstrating his passivity. He thus ceases to express his feelings and his thoughts through his writings causing an emotional build-up within his unconscious that results into an outburst. In Harrys case, he quarrel[s] (1653) with his wife, Helen. Moreover, his regular alcohol consumption demonstrates his constant desire to repress his feelings creating a more important outburst, calling his wife a rich bitch (1657).
The Essay on Generation World War Life
Americans were ever held hostage in Iran. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. They never heard the terms "Where's the beef", "I'd walk a mile for Camel", or "de plane, de plane!" . They do not care who shot J. R. and have no idea who J. R. is. M. A. S. H. , The Cosby Show, The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, The Love Boat, Miami Vice, W ...
Also, by accusing his latest wifes bloody money (1655) for his failure, he blames himself for it as he is the one who scavenges for womens money. By depending on his wife, Helens money, Harry is clearly overpowered by his own laziness and Hemingway uses the latters characteristic in order to show that, with no motivation, a person can not fulfill his/her goal therefore can not attain happiness.
In Hemingways short story, two different kinds of animals are being used to symbolize Harrys opposite and the person he really is. The leopard is only mentioned in the opening paragraph but its perseverance is underlined throughout the story. The reader is first familiarized with the myth of the dried and frozen [leopard] carcass (1653) that tried to reach the climax of Kilimanjaro, known as the House of God (1653).
People like to think of heaven as some place joyful, elevated and cool to believe that a superior and better life awaits them where they can comfortably rest on Gods side. Therefore, the leopards perseverance, strength and courage enabled it to attain heaven. In addition, the leopard suggests that its qualities can not be associated to Harrys qualities since the latter lets himself carry by helicopter to the House of God as opposed to the beast which made its own way up.
Also, similarly to hyenas, Harry scavenges womens money as every time he fell in love with another woman, that woman should always have more money than the last one (1658) therefore the hyena represents Harrys personality. In addition, hyenas are known to be lazy animals as they search for the leftovers of other animals in order to survive. Similarly, Harry stays on his cot while [Helen goes] to kill a piece of meat (1657) in order to make him broth so that he can recover from his infection. Harrys physical death occurs when he is being transported to the House of God (1653) by helicopter while his psychological death occurs when the hyena started to make a strange, human, almost crying sound (1669).
The Essay on Can Money Buy Happiness?
Money makes the world go around. Money can take you places that you could never imagine. Growing up in my household I was considered a spoiled brat. My mother gave my sister and I any thing our heart desired. My cousins always wanted to come over our house because we had any toy you could think of. But as I got older I realized that material things did not make me happy. That’s why I believe ...
In fact, when Harry realizes he did wrong by blaming his wife for his failure, his physical body joins the leopard by helicopter although his mind stays in the heat shimmer of the plain [of Africa] (1654), in other words in hell. Hence, Harrys psychological resemblance to hyenas prevents him to get full forgiveness and, hence, full happiness in the House of God (1653).
In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, Harry can be considered as the opposite representation of the Greek hero Sisyphus therefore revealing that effort, perseverance and motivation is essential for happiness. As Sisyphus tried to defeat death, the gods condemned him to continuously push a massive rock to the top of a hill. Though the stone would always roll back down obliging him to push it back up, Sisyphus never gave up. After his condemnation, he had one goal in life, which was to push a rock. Sisyphus was aware of his fate and accepted it without complaining. In fact, he found a purpose to his life; to attain the climax and have the rock mobilized.
This Greek myth suggests that life is a continuation of meaningless events and in order to live happy, a goal must be established and attained. Although Sisyphus was doomed to do fruitless work, he was happy as he did not think of killing himself and continued his unprofitable labor. On the other hand, Harry considers his wife as a bloody fool (1654) to believe that [he] cant die if [he doesnt] give up (1654), therefore showing a sign of renunciation and the desire to die. As opposed to Sisyphus, Harry abandons his career as he let himself softened his will to work (1658) and destroyed his talent himself(1658), showing no sign of perseverance at all. The latter has the potential to do well in his writing but instead gives up to live off his wifes money whereas Sisyphuss goal was quite impossible but he persevered instead of giving up. Besides, Harry is consciously aware that he is dying although he does not make the slightest effort to defeat death.
Life Goals
Life Goals Essay Ever since I was a child I could lose myself to video games. I would often feel like I was a part of the reality just on the other side of the glass. I would always find myself fascinated by the creations and designs that came from the sci-fi games I played. I could play for hours on end because I felt like I was part of the universe, much like how people can become part of the ...
Hemingway insists on Harrys sloth in order to contrast it with Sisyphuss determination, which led to his happiness. Laziness, dependency, abandonment are all flaws which restrain Harry from happiness. In fact, he has no specific goals in his life therefore can not have the satisfaction of fulfilling them. Besides, money often seems to be the easy way to achieve happiness but Hemingway suggests that money does not buy happiness and Harry is a perfect example. The author also conveys through his short story that joy is not always easy to find and there exists a thin line between happiness and despair..
