selr-realization in tragedy
... mountains, the Austrian officers’ assassination on a cold Christmas day, and the first time Harry saw dead men wearing white ballet skirts (Cunningham 41). Aside from these, death is symbolized in the lurking hyena and swarming buzzards who feed off of dead carcasses. All of these symbolize this “that now was coming” (Hemingway 5), referring to his own death which had been an obsession and now “meant nothing” (Hemingway 5). Harry is not pleased with his status as a writer now that he is faced with death. He has not met his ideal standard. Death is not as much symbolized in the “The Killers” but rather more apparent in the plot. Al and Max are gangsters who kill for a living and they embody the theme of death for the story. Hemingway’s introduction of death for both of the stories is quite different although they achieve the same purpose. In “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” Harry’s eminent death forces him to evaluate his decisions and achievements in life and through this he finds salvation. In “The Killers” Nick’s exposure to the threat of death forces him to evaluate his views of the world and the small town in which he resides. The theme of masculinity, a code by which most of Hemingway’s characters honor, in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is observed in Harry’s attitude. His dialogue toward his wife in the initial stages of his death is empowering and sets the stage for his opinions of her. Although underscored as a theme in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” masculinity plays a vital role in the setting as well as the development of the plot and personal attributes of the characters. Harry’s need to kill has brought him to the summit as he needed to “work the fat off his soul” (Hemingway 11). Harry’s masculinity is apparent in his brave and cavalier front he puts up toward his death. Although his front Self-Realization 4 wavers, Harry dies by the code. “Hemingway worshipped personal courage and heroism and his heroes project a macho-image that they desperately cling to” (Hamid 94). The characters in “The Killers” project the image as well. Al and Max, the two gangsters, were stereotypical in their attire and dialogue. They talk tough and mock the masculinity of Nick and others. Al and Max are counterparts to Nick, who believes he can do something to change the situation by telling Ole Anderson about the men. Ole also follows Hemingway’s code and knows he “must face the consequences of his actions and the only honorable course open to him to face death” (Hamid 95). Nick is in “the earliest stage of the gestation of the code” (Mangum 1623) and has not yet been exposed to the horror of the world to know whether he is a hero. His obligatory efforts in the situation set the stage for him in other Nick Adams stories Hemingway has written. The theme of self-realization in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is the stories central idea as well. “ The identification of Kilimanjaro as the “House of God” makes it a symbol of the ideal , the highest state of moral consciousness, the immortality of the highest kind of artistic creation” (Hamid 99). However, Harry has wasted his vitality and spent his time drinking, traveling, hunting, and chasing rich women. Now that he is going to die,”He would never write the things that he had saved to write until he knew enough to write them well” (Hemingway 5). The irony lies here on the ...