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Some critics sustain that there are two endings to the story. One occurs when the hyena presses on Harrys chest, signifying his death. The other ending occurs when the plane flies Harry toward the square top of Kilimanjaro. This endings are also considered the literary and symbolic climax of the story.
Characters
Harry Once a promising writer, he sacrificed his talent for the comfort of his wifes money. Now, dying of gangrene, he realizes that he will never be able to write the great fiction that he had envisioned. He is painfully conscious of his defeat and loss. Harry is a classic macho Hemingway character, staring death in the face and not seeming to blink. He is shown to be an egotistical,cruel,callous and mean-spirited man. As the story progresses he takes his frustrations out almost exclusively on his wife. Helen Harrys wife; he married her because he thought he loved her; in truth, however, he married her because of her money. Helen is a loyal, loving, affectionate, and courageous woman. The portrait of Helen that readers have is created by the narrator but Harys prejudices colour it and the descriptions of his wife become the battlefield on which he fights his inner conflict about who is responsible for the atrophy of his talents. The character of Helen can be interpreted, on a symbolic level, as representing the destruction of creativity. Molo The servant who tends to Harry; his main function is to pour enough liquor in Harry so that Harry can stand the pain of his wound and that of utter disappointment. Compson The aviator who is supposed to arrive and take Harry to a hospital.
Symbols
a. The symbolism of Kilimanjaro is contrasted with the symbolism of the plains. Harry is dying in the plains from gangrene, a stinking, putrid and deadly infection, causing his body to rot. Agains harrys background of dark, smelly horror and hopelessness, Hemingway contrasts harrys memories of the mountans. Good things happen in the mountains; bad things happen on the plains. Hemingway ends his story with Harrys spirit travelling to the summit of the mighty mountain.
b. Harry sees the legendary leopard during his flight over Kilimanjaro. The dead, preserved leopard can be seen as a symbol of immortality, a reward for taking the difficult road. c. Hemingway uses the symbol of the vulture in its natural setting, Africa, to convey the horror of the apporaching death and the agony of waiting for death d. The plane is another symbol. The airplane is airborne-frin the heavens- and it is a symbol that is filled with hope; it expresses the possibility of escaping from the plains and the horrible vultures. e. Snow becomes a powerful symbol, especially throughout the flashbacks. The snows sets the stage for spiritual ascension and release. Spiritual ascension in terms of being released during death f. Harrys festering leg can also be seen as a symbol of his talent that is rotting . g. The hyena is another prominent symbol of Harrys deterioration. The hyenna is another carrion eater that is probably the most despised of all Afrincan animals because of its filth and aggressive team efforts to destroy and to steal other animals wounded and suffering on the plain. In this sense, the hyenna can represent Harrys choice of material comfort over true love because it is these two elements intermingled in his marriage that are the msot destructive to him as a writer. Therefore, although the hyena is a symbol of death, it is a spiritual as well as a physical one. The hyena becomes a very dominant symbol when it sits pressing on Harrys chest. We can say also that some of the symbols in the story are polarities as well.; the hyena at the end of the story and the leopard at the beginning are different extremes of the same pendulum, as are the clean white peak of the mountain and the fetid humidity of the plain.