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").