Themes Of Death In The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

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Recommended: The metamorphosis and the death of ivan ilych

Montanna Williams
Mrs. Songer
World Literature
12 October 2013
Death
In the writings The Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Death of Ivan Ilyich both Ernest Hemmingway and Leo Tolstoy have a prominent theme of death. These two works do not only show strong images of death, but also a sense of death’s presence. Throughout the two writings it is presented that chasing money, how both Ivan and Harry treat the people around them, and their egotistical life style can lead to an unpleasant death.
In The Snows of Kilimanjaro Harry’s fondness for money causes him to lose sight of what is critical in life. He gave up writing which is something he appreciated and was good at, for a wealthy woman that he truly did not love. Harry was more concerned with how he should act in his society instead of what he enjoys doing. He has a bad habit of falling in love with woman who were wealthy instead of looking for essential things like a woman’s beliefs and her values. “It was strange too wasn’t it? That when he fell in love with another woman, that woman should always have more money than the last one?” Harry knows what he missed out on and in the end he regrets that he stopped doing what he loved. On the other hand in The Death of Ivan Ilyich Tolstoy portrays almost every character in the book to be concerned with social class. Once Ivan’s colleges found out he died, after asking simple details, they immediately asked about if Ivan was wealthy or not. “Had he any property?” I think his wife had a little – but something quite trifling.” (1.12-13). Ivan and his family were not in the upper class of society, they were in the middle, and because they owned property it made them higher up in their social classe because that was very rare in Russia at that ...

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... a person should look at their life and how they should face their death. In The Snows of Kilimanjaro Harry was not content with the life he had lived. He made sacrifices and in result he was just not happy, and because of his sacrifices he had many regrets as he was dying. On the other hand Ivan Ilyich was too engaged in his work life and ignored his family matters. He didn’t step up to the plate; instead he ran away from the issues and hid behind his work, therefore resulting in a very non-loving family life. Luckily Ivan found peace in himself as he was about to die, even becoming joyful. Both of these writings teach that going after materialistic things, the way a person treats the people around them, and being self-absorbed can cause a distasteful death. Living life to the fullest and making the most of it can enrich your life and cause a more pleasant passing.

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