The Snows of Kilimanjaro” by Ernest Hemingway and “The Death ofIvan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy are both excellent literary works that bothdeserve equal praise. Hemingway’s story is about a regretful, wasted authornamed Harry who is lying on an African plain dying of gangrene. Ivan, the maincharacter in Tolstoy’s story, is dying of a incurable illness and reminiscing ofhis life and grieving over everything he did not do right. Both stories haveequally effective points of view told in third person narrative. “The Deathof Ivan Ilych” has more realistic conflicts than does “The Snows ofKilimanjaro” which has extremely powerful symbols. Both Hemingway andTolstoy are successful in coupling these three elements with various themes tomake each of the stories equally enjoyable.
The point of view used in “TheDeath of Ivan Ilych” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” is a thirdperson narrative, and has been used effectively in both stories. Each of theauthors use a shifting form of narration that efficiently helps to depict bothHarry’s and Ivan’s situation. In “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” ErnestHemingway’s narrative changes from viewing the couple to inside Harry’s mindthrough a series of italicized flashbacks and since the two perspectives aredifferentiated in the text the plot is relatively easy to follow. The narrativein “The Death of Ivan Ilych” is more complicated than “The Snowsof Kilimanjaro.
” Tolstoy directs attention to Robbins – 2 variousperspectives: from Ivan’s mind looking out, from the point of view of othercharacters, and from the outside focusing in on various characters. Hemingwayuses a narrative that is direct, most of which is dialogue, and through this thestory unfolds: “I’ve been writing,” he said. “But I just gottired. ” “Do you think you will be able to sleep?” “Prettysure. Why don’t you turn in?” “I like to sit here with you.
“”Do you feel anything strange?” he asked her. “No. Just a littlesleepy. ” “I do,” he said. (Hemingway, 452) Tolstoy, on he otherhand, comments throughout the narration, interpreting each incidence: He reachedhome and began to tell his wife about it.
She listened, but in the middle of hisaccount his daughter came in with her hat on, ready to go out with her mother. She sat down reluctantly to listen to this tedious story, but could not stand itlong, and her mother too did not hear him to the end. (Tolstoy,156) Both pointsof view have aspects that simplify them, as well as aspects that createconfusion. Hemingway effectively uses italicized sections to separate Harry’sflashbacks from reality while Tolstoy’s narration is not as easy to comply withconsidering that there is no device to contrast the different perspectives. Tolstoy’s writing is an interpretation of the occurrences in Ivan’s life whereas Hemingway’s is more dialogue making it more challenging to interpret.
Considering both stories have complicated narration with styles of writing thatcan be confusing as well as both using different literary devices to aid ineasing any confusion, the point of view in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”is no more effective that in “The death of Ivan Ilych. ” The conflictsin “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and in “The Death of Ivan Ilych”are Robbins – 3 extremely similar and are both supported by a theme of coming toterms with a wasted life. The core of all conflicts is the external strifebetween both Harry and Ivan and the terminal illnesses that they battle. Sinceneither are in a position to overcome these diseases, various internal strugglesarise. Hemingway and Tolstoy both describe various failure and regret issues themain characters must examine: Now he would never write the things that he hadsaved to write until he knew enough to write them well. Well, he would neverfail at trying to write them either.
Maybe you could never write them, and thatwas why you put them off and delayed the starting. Well he would never know,now. (Hemingway, 438) Harry’s struggle concerns things he failed to completewhile Ivan’s is about all that he had accomplished through methods that were notmorally right: “?Yes, it was all not the right thing,’ he said tohimself, ?but that’s no matter. It can be done. But what is the rightthing?'” (Tolstoy,180). Tolstoy also explores an aspect of denial withinIvan making the use of conflict more effective than that used in “The Snowsof Kilimanjaro.
” “The pain did not grow less, but Ivan Ilych madeefforts to force himself to think that he was better” (Tolstoy, 156). Thedenial Ivan experiences about his death is more realistic than Harry’sacceptance of it. “?I’m going to die tonight,’ he said. ?I don’t needmy strength up'” (Hemingway,447).
Ivan struggles with death and pain, andattempts to battle it away after realizing that he has not lived his life as heshould of. Harry, on the other hand, is numb; he feels no pain and realizes heis dying but he does not struggle with death, he accepts it. This makes thestory very fictitious and creates no pathos for Harry. They each regret notliving to their potential and Ivan’s pain and suffering creates a great deal ofsympathy for him. Although the conflicts and use of theme are closely Robbins -4 related in both stories, Tolstoy creates pathos towards Ivan through a morerealistic situation rendering the conflicts in “The Death of Ivan Ilych”better than those in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
” The symbols in”The Snows of Kilimanjaro” are stronger and more meaningful that thosein “The Death of Ivan Ilych. ” The dominant symbols in both storiesrepresent death; Hemingway uses a hyena and Tolstoy a black sack: “Forthree whole days, during which time did not exist for him, he struggled in thatblack sack into which he was being thrust. . .
“(Tolstoy,180). Both areexcellent symbols, when the hyena appears so does the rush of death and the sacrepresents the darkness of death. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” also usesthe hyena to symbolize Harry because he posses all the qualities of the hyena,he is a lazy scavenger that takes the easy road in life. He lives by rich womenand has been too lazy to follow his dream of being a writer: He had destroyedhis talent by not using it, by betrayals of himself and what he believed in, byDrinking so much that he blunted the edge of his perceptions, by laziness, bysloth and by snobbery, by pride and by prejudice, by hook and by crook.
(Hemingway,442) This symbol also demonstrates a theme in the story of livingwithout passion. Hemingway uses the leopard in the epigram at the beginning ofthe story to represent what Harry would like to be, someone with strength,courage and passion. The leopard is found at the top of the mountain and why itwent there is a mystery. In “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” the mountainrepresents the afterlife, a place of inspiration that Harry can go to achievethe characteristics of the leopard. In “The Death of Ivan Ilych” thenarrator states that “In place of death there was light” (Tolstoy,181).
Tolstoy uses the light to represent Ivan’s afterlife. There is alsosymbolism in the way Robbins – 5 both Harry and Ivan die. Ivan slowly fades andwithers away to nothing in the same way his marriage, family and career did andHarry’s leg is rotting away just as his life as a writer decayed due to hislaziness. The hyena, leopard, mountain and rot are very strong symbolsespecially since their significance can account for more than one thing.
Tolstoy’s symbols are effective but only have single representations. Thesymbols used in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” are more effective thanthose in the “The Death of Ivan Ilych. ” because of their numerousportrayals. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “The Death of IvanIlych” are equally excellent works of art. The point of view in bothstories is slightly confusing but each author uses an original literary deviceto simplify the story.
“The Death of Ivan Ilych” uses conflicts thatare more realistic and that create pathos for the main character, making Tolstoymore effective than Hemingway in this aspect. Both stories use symbols that arestrong and very meaningful but Hemingway’s use of them is more effective in”The Snows of Kilimanjaro” because they are multi representative. Considering these factors, and that both Hemingway and Tolstoy effectively weavethemes of wasted lives and lack of passion into their plots, neither story isbetter than the other.
