Symbolic Imagery in the Works

Symbolic Imagery in the Works of Ernest Hemingway

While author Ernest Hemingway is known for his brevity, that should never be confused with his ability to pack a powerful punch with few words. To help him deliver commanding and poignant stories, Hemingway relied heavily upon symbolic imagery. Hemingway had a knack for utilizing imagery and making it look easy. The imagery and symbolism become so much a part of his characters that it is difficult to separate them. A few stories that illustrate this point are "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "A Clean Well-Lighted Place," "The Killers" "Hills Like White Elephants" and The Sun Also Rises. All of these stories contain images that become powerful symbols that become crucial to the structure of the story as well as the development of the characters. James Mellow notes that while Hemingway avoided "self-conscious symbolism" (Mellow 190), he was a "superbly visual writer. He had an undeniable gift for focusing on some incident from life and shaping it into an image as incisive as a news photograph that carried unstated meanings" (190). Hemingway was articulate enough to capture all elements that attract readers. Samuel Shaw maintains that his style could very well be one of his greatest achievements because it brings "literature closer to life" (Shaw 77). We see this style in "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," where the imagery is critical to understanding Harry's circumstance. His life is surrounded by images that represent his past, present, and future. He cannot escape and neither can the reader. Similarly, in "A Clean Well-Lighted Place," the cafe is a setting that demonstrates the world that the old are drawn to in their loneliness. The imagery of the light cafe symbolizes the bright world of their youth that they attempt to rediscover. Imagery in "The Killers" also deals with issues of life and death but in a way that reveals much about the characters. Ole is surrounded by walls because he feels trapped while Nick sees opportunity with the door. In "Hills Like White Elephants," Jig is surrounded by images that symbolize the current state of her life. All of her choices seem to lead to some kind of burden amid the chaos she already knows. In The Sun Also Rises, the imagery of the steer and the bull symbolize manhood or the lack of it. Hemingway demonstrates the significance of symbolic imagery with these stories because the imagery adds so much depth to the characters. We would not understand them as well as we do had he not considered the importance of imagery.

Nature becomes an important aspect of Hemingway's fiction, especially in regard to symbolic imagery. In the short story, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," one of the most powerful images is the country of Africa. It is the continent and it symbolizes the mysterious nature of life and death. It is too large to be fully grasped and yet it cannot be escaped. Life and death both exist in this realm. Also within this realm are the concepts of good and evil. Thus, Africa becomes a symbol that holds some moral significance to Harry. It represents hope for better things since the spent the best years of his life in Africa. On a smaller scale, the snow-covered mountain helps Harry realize this hope. He is reaching for a mountaintop experience and snow, as well as the color white, is often associated with purity. From this point-of-view, we can see how Harry is transported back to better days earlier in his life when things were good and pure. The purity of his life existed when he was true to his work. The peak of the mountain represents the life that Harry recognizes even in death. As the mountain symbolizes life and purity, the plain symbolizes just the opposite for Harry. The plain is hot, oppressive, and generally without joy. It represents the stale life that Harry has resigned himself to for the last years of his life. These images help us see Harry's predicament. Other images are significant in this story as well. Harry's gangrene is an image that is difficult to shake and there is no doubt Hemingway was deliberate about this. Harry's rotting flesh symbolizes the rotting in his soul that has taken place over years. Throughout it, Harry seems to realize what it means in both cases and accepts it willingly. He states, "The marvelous thing is that it's painless. That's how you know when it starts" (Hemingway Snows of Kilimanjaro 82). He is painfully aware that there are two deaths occurring in this scene. One death is physical and the other spiritual. He has been dying a slow death since he abandoned his writing. Harry knows he "would never do it, because each day of not writing, of comfort, of being that which he despised, dulled his ability and softened his will to work so that, finally, he did no work at all" (89). The physical death, represented by the gangrene is the least painful of the two, as we understand that a slow death is much worse. Another powerful image in this story is that of the hyena that feeds off of dying, rotting flesh. Harry is that dying flesh as Helen is the hyena that devours him and thrives. The imagery in this story is vast and almost too large to grasp, but Hemingway pulls the images together in such a way that they makes sense when we look at Harry and his life.

The short story, "A Clean Well-Lighted Place" presents us with many images that are symbolic regarding life and Hemingway's attitudes. One of the most significant is the cafe, which becomes the old man's sanctuary. The man needs a place that is bight and clean as it represents the kind of life he desires. The old man is lonely and the atmosphere of the cafe chases his loneliness away. The two waiters are also important images in the story in that each one symbolizes a different point-of-view and take on life itself. Their conversation helps reveal what these symbols are. The older waiter represents his generation; he relates to the old man but he cannot articulate his position to the younger waiters, who represents a younger, hipper generation. The older waiter enjoys staying with the lonely old customers as he can relate to their plight. He knows that most of them do not have anyone to go home to and they would much rather be somewhere where the light is on and someone, anyone, is nearby. The cafe, the older waiter says, is "clean and pleasant" (Clean Well-Lighted Place 565) and this helps the lonely feel better. Michael Adams maintains that the cafe is the "most important symbol in the story because it represents a kind of hope, pathetic though it may be" (Adams). It is a place where "those without the innocence of youth, the illusions of belief, can pass the time with dignity" (Adams). The younger waiter becomes a symbol of freedom from the plagues of old age. He represents the younger generation with beauty and time on their side. The two waiters become opposites in that they represent different aspects and moods of life. Youth is the image of a handsome man who has better things to do at home with his wife than tend to a lonely bar. The older waiter symbolizes the loneliness of years with age and wisdom. The cafe is where these two images meet and attempt to make sense of things. Hemingway's underlying views of nihilism are touched in this tale as the older men come to terms with the notion that this is all there is in life and a bright cafe somehow brings a spot of joy to that realization.

The story, "The Killers" is another story in which Hemingway employs symbolic imagery to illustrate a certain position regarding life. Similar to "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," we see characters that are facing a certain finality and despair in life. Ole sees his death in the near future and does not feel compelled to do anything about it. Ole symbolizes nihilism because he believes that his death is near and that is that. In addition, he feels helpless against it and he has simply accepted it. He says, "There isn't anything I can do about it" (The Killers 613). As resigned to the notion of dying that he is, Ole cannot face his killers. He will wait for them to come after him but even that terrifies him. He tells Nick "there ain't anything to do now" (614) and his very paralyzed image symbolizes the nihilism Hemingway often espoused. Chris Semansky maintains the story is "rife with images of waiting" (Semansky), which illustrates Hemingway's "ideas on the human condition" (Semansky). Hemingway "creates suspense, develops characters, and suggests themes that lesser writers might take twice as many pages to accomplish" (Semansky). The image of the boxer doing nothing but waiting for those to kill him is powerful. The fact that he feels helpless against it symbolizes the futility of trying to cheat death. Waiting is a critical aspect in this story and there are several images that point to this notion. Walls, doors and clocks are powerful images. Arthur Waldhorn believes that the walls are significant symbols in "The Killers." They represent an "irresistible obstacle" (Waldhorn 37) which "adds to the total image of terror without becoming an effect for its own sake" (37). They are symbols of the prison in which Ole lives. He has no choice in this world and, as a result, nowhere to go. On the other hand, the door proves to be a symbol of hope and the future for Nick. Hal Blythe believes the doors are a "passages through what appear to be barriers" (Blythe). Blythe states that Hemingway "laced his narrative with the door motif to suggest that Nick is free to make choices" (Blythe). The images in this story are powerful because they seem to mirror the very characters to which they are attached. Ole is trapped, or at least he feels trapped, and thus, the walls are the perfect imagery for his circumstance. They keep him trapped and paralyzed. The door best represents Nick's circumstance because he has a choice and feels compelled to use the opportunity the door brings before it is too late. The imagery in this story is perfect because it corresponds with the characters precisely.

In the short story, "Hills Like White Elephants," we see imagery that represents change and chaos. Similar to "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," we have mountains that represent something else. In this case, they cause the girl to think of elephants because of their color but Hemingway had a deeper symbol in mind. While the mountains are generally seen as positive images, the vision that Jig sees when she looks at them is another story. The elephants she sees are symbols of difficulty and hardship, which represent her current circumstance. White elephants were something of a rarity and thus not used or treated as typical elephants. They became burdens because they cost more to maintain than anything else. While lovely and rare, they were useless other than their visual aspect. This image represents Jig's situation. She is facing a situation that is rare but one that would destroy her relationship with the father. If she decides to have the baby, she will undoubtedly lose him. He is not willing to settle down and he has no intention of giving in. He wants the carefree life they have always had and is trying to convince her that an abortion is no big deal. The hills are in the distance just as her unborn baby lies in the unforeseen future and he does not want any part of those hills or that future. Jig, presented with a new perspective of life, begins to resent the old one in which all the couple did was "look at things and try new drinks" (Hemingway Hills Like White Elephants 1391). While the baby is a white elephant to him, their lifestyle has become a white elephant to her. The unborn baby changes everything and the things that once were can never be anymore. Even if she has the abortion, things will never be the same between them. Their more immediate setting symbolizes the chaotic atmosphere that has suddenly become them. In addition, the train symbolizes the need for a decision. Jig cannot ride the fence, so to speak, forever. She must make a choice and the tracks symbolize the two very different worlds on either side.