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Ernest Hemingway PTSD

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“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places” - Hemingway (“Ernest Hemingway Quotes”). This fits with the Snows of Kilimanjaro due to the fact that Harry feels as if he is broken. The war and his lifestyle have broken him down with severe PTSD. In this piece of literature, the reader can see how Hemingway has really provided insight into his own personal struggles and how his lifestyle drug him down as he mirrors Harry to his own life. Both show how the PTSD cycle has affected their lives and sent them on a spiral downward resulting in a feeling of no escape. I chose this piece of literature because I feel that PTSD is still a problem today in the world, a problem of which we yet lack a full understanding. …show more content…

Hemingway feared that his own existence as a writer, as well as his personal life, were in jeopardy (Pollklas,1998). Throughout the story the reader is shown how Hemingway basically wrote Harry to reflect his own life. The two shared very similar problems that caused them pain. From the failed romances, to the war stricken guilt, to the guilt of not taking his writing career seriously, Hemmingway focused quite heavily on his failures. Hemingway’s inspiration for this story comes from a trip he took to Africa on which he found a new location that inspired him. While on this trip he survived multiple plane crashes and injuries. (Bio.com). Hemingway struggled with depression after his father’s death in 1927, an event that contributed to his own suicide attempt in the Spring of 1961, and a successful attempt a few months later …show more content…

Hemmingway lives, and dies, vicariously through Harry, and offers a rare glimpse into the psychological terrors he experienced throughout his life. “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” could be viewed as an early cry for help on the part of Hemmingway, ignored by the public as another dark literary piece by a talented author. By illustrating that final plane ride to the heavens, and leaving behind the one person in Harry’s life that mattered, whether or not Harry is capable of seeing her importance, Hemmingway shows us all that suicide may end the pain for the person in misery, but abandons those left in its wake. PTSD has been called many things over the years, but regardless of the name, its effects have impacted mankind since the dawn of warfare. Hemmingway courageously offers a glimpse into his own shell shocked experience, one that perhaps contributed to his own demise decades

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