The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway is one of the author's finest and most fantastic literary offerings. Quite gripping, it is partly autobiographical in the mental wanderings of its protagonist and, bravely, partly dramatic too. Set in the desert wilderness of Africa, the tale centers on a bitter, self-pitying writer named Harry, who is stranded with his adoring and ever-loving wife and is slowly succumbing to his struggle with the gangrene that has ravaged his leg. As the story progresses with the help of touching lines of dialogue but especially through Harry retracing his life, loves and adventures at a frenetic pace, it is clear that death looms over the character. However, it is not death that takes on the central role in this composition. This work by Hemingway is indeed a critical look into the depths of a modern marriage; its limitations and unfortunate shortcomings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIt doesn't take long for Harry's emotional picture to be revealed to the reader. It has many roles and adaptations rolled into one tragically human enigma. He is a writer who no longer writes, a man who has had multiple lovers in multiple women (but never truly loved one), and a well-traveled man who sees marriage to his loving wife, Helen, as a obstacle to his inner muse and passions. Harry presents his story as something to be pitied and regretted, when the source of his anguish is actually himself and not his comfortable marriage. (Feminist critic Judith Fetterly chastised Hemingway for this particular tendency in his works [the unreliable male narrator] even calling out the writer in her book, “The Resisting Reader: A Feminist Approach to American Fiction.”) Harry should be a very happy and fulfilled man; having settled into a comfortable existence where he is granted the means to travel and explore opportunities, do new and surprising things, and have the loyalty of a woman by his side. However, Harry is far from satisfied; he is haunted by a history of regrets and bad choices, and can't even be happy in the lenient circumstances his marriage to Helen offers him because he knows he will never love her. Helen cannot possibly see the love in Harry's eyes when she looks inside herself, but she sees in him something worth loving and pines, like an ever faithful wife, for his love and attention. Like jaded, world-weary companions, they argue over drinks; Harry is caustic and careless in his argument, but Helen is resilient and, though still hurt, shrugs off the words as if they are not indicative of Harry's true feelings for her. Her pleas for him to give up the whiskey and soda he requests are not with the intent to control or manipulate him, but Harry continues to fight against her because as much as he resents her forbidding him, he resents himself for being immobile and not having the opportunity to drink. strength to solve it yourself. Helen is the woman who likes to love, care and need a man; she finds herself and her emotional anchor in being desired by an experienced man like Harry. So she feeds his fantasies and satisfies his appetites, and allows calluses to grow on his ego, if it means everything to him. It is highly speculative whether Helen realizes that her husband simply settled with her for stability and does not see her as a soulmate with whom he is complete and whole. The bigger picture is that as Harry lies there physically dying of.