Abstract:Hemingway, a famous American writer, and Nobel Prize winner for literature is well known for his style of conciseness and rich connotation. And The Snows of Kilimanjaro is one of his masterpieces. By reading the novel, it’s not difficult to find that there are a large number of symbols handled skillfully in it, which not only make the novel more realistic, readable and artistic, but also help to highlight the theme of the novel. This thesis attempts to make a detailed analysis of The Snows of Kilimanjaro from the approach of symbolism, mainly in three aspects—landscapes, animals and characters, in order to outline its symbolic features and to discuss how they help to develop the theme of the novel.

The thesis is made up of four chapters. Chapter One consists of a general introduction to Hemingway and The Snows of Kilimanjaro. Chapter Two mainly introduces the theory of symbolism. Chapter Three is the backbone of the thesis, devoted to specific analysis of symbolic techniques employed in this novel. Based on the analysis of the text, it deals with three main aspects—symbolic landscapes, animals and characters. The purpose of the analysis is to show how the symbolic imageries reveal the thoughts of people and highlight deep meanings, and eventually raise the theme of the novel to a higher level. Chapter Four is the conclusion, summarizing the main points of the whole thesis.

Key Words：Hemingway  The Snows of Kilimanjaro  symbolism  landscapes  animals  characters

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Ernest Hemingway, Spokesman of the “Lost Generation”-1

1.2 Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro-2

Chapter Two Symbolism-4

2.1 Definition of Symbolism-4

2.2 Development of Symbolism-4

Chapter Three Symbolic Techniques in The Snows of Kilimanjaro-5

3.1 Employment of Landscapes as Symbols-5

3.1.1 The Land of Africa-5

3.1.2 Kilimanjaro-5

3.1.3 The Plain-6

3.1.4 Snow-6

3.2 Employment of Animals as Symbols-7

3.2.1 The Leopard-7

3.2.2 The Vultures and the Hyena-7

3.2.3 The Gangrene-9

3.3 Employment of Characters as Symbols-9

3.3.1 Helen-9

3.3.2 Harry-10

Chapter Four Conclusion-12

References-13