Biography
Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois, and spent
childhood summers at his family's cottage in northern Michigan,
a setting that later appeared in many of his works. During
World War I, he served as an ambulance driver in Europe but
was hit by shrapnel within the first month of service and
sent home. He moved to Paris in 1920, and partly supported
by his journalism, partly supported by his wife's money,
he attempted to become a writer. Fitzgerald and Anderson helped
him get his short-story collection, In Our Time, published
in 1925. The next year he achieved instant celebrity with
the publication of The Sun Also Rises, a novel written
with his characteristically short, streamlined sentences
and sparse language. Hemingway's works are known for their
almost primitive masculinity, featuring such competitive
displays as hunting, bullfighting, and deep-water fishing.
His many novels include A Farewell to Arms (1929), For
Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), and The Old Man and the
Sea (1952), which won the Pulitzer Prize. Hemingway won
the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954, but a head wound
sustained in a plane crash made his last years painful and
increasingly desperate. He killed himself in 1961.
Explorations
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1936) reveals all the
qualities which made Hemingway an influential and controversial
artist. For decades, younger writers have responded to his
taut, minimalist prose and stoic values. However, there has
been plenty of debate about his portrayals of women, his
self-isolated macho protagonists, and the issue of whether
his austere style conveys more or less than meets the eye. The
Snows of Kilimanjaro is part adventure story, part personal
memoir, and part meditation on the modern condition.
1. As The Snows of Kilimanjaro begins, Harry is
lying wounded, possibly dying of gangrene. Does his condition
take on symbolic significance as the story progresses?
Describe how this happens.
2. Read over some of the conversations between Harry
and his wife as they wait for a plane to evacuate him from
the camp. They try to avoid quarreling, but repeatedly
drift into it. What causes them to do so?
3. The story includes italicized reminiscences -- Harry
thinking back over experiences in Europe during and after
World War I. Is there a common theme to these reminiscences?
Do they suggest times when his life had more meaning? Less?
Does Harry achieve some kind of overview of his life, and
what it has meant, before he dies?
Other sites to consult:
Nobel
Foundation Hemingway page. Includes the text
of his 1954 prize presentation, his acceptance speech,
and a biography.
Ernest
Hemingway and The Kansas City Star.
Read Hemingway's stories for the paper; learn about
the time he spent working at The Star; take
a literary tour of Hemingway's Kansas City; and listen
to audio clips.
The
Papa Page. Maintained by Marcel Mitran. Go
straight to the biography, which is quite detailed
and contains a large number of photos.
Ernest
Hemingway campfire and chat. An open discussion
forum (a live Hemingway forum is also available)
on the Kill Devil Hill site (scroll down to "Ernest
Hemingway Campfire Cafe Chat").
http://www.lostgeneration.com/hrc.htm: The Hemingway
Resource Center.
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1954/index.html:
A Hemingway page from the Nobel Foundation.
http://www.hemingway.org/: The Ernest Hemingway Foundation
of Oak Park, Illinois.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/eh.htm: A biography of Hemingway
from the JFK Library.
http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/hemingway/: “Picturing Hemingway,” an
exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery.
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