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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is described as Harry’s “femme de ménage” in his descriptions of Paris while dictating to his companion?

2. When Harry awakens in the evening, the African servant tells him that his companion has gone to do what?

3. Near Harry and his mistress’s camp under the trees, the narrator describes a nearly dry water hole where what animals come to in the mornings?

4. Harry’s companion tells him when she returns from hunting, “The boys have the wood all ready and the grass to make” what?

5. Harry and the woman are waiting for the arrival of what in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you describe the narrator of the story? Is the narrator’s perspective limited or omniscient?

2. How would you characterize the relationship between Harry and his companion? What is their greatest obstacle as a couple?

3. What is the woman’s reasoning for going far from the camp to hunt in the story?

4. What similar conditions does the protagonist of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” have with the author of the story?

5. Where was “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” first published? How was it received critically?

6. How long has Harry noticed the vultures in the opening of the story? What does he remark about their behavior?

7. How have Harry’s feelings about his impending death changed in the course of the story by the ending?

8. How does Harry’s female companion say she feels about Africa in the story?

9. In what ways does Harry exhibit apathy regarding his situation or life?

10. How does Harry’s behavior toward the woman progress as he drinks before falling asleep in the narrative?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the “Iceberg Theory” or “Theory of Omission” developed by author Ernest Hemingway. How did this technique of writing develop out of Hemingway’s past as a journalist? What is the central point of using the iceberg theory in literature? How is this style illustrated in “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Harry’s ambitions and regrets as a writer. How does the reader first learn that Harry is an author? What would you imagine Harry’s books to be like? In what ways is Harry a reflection of Ernest Hemingway?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the symptoms, treatments, and history of gangrene. How common in gangrene today? What treatments would have been available to Harry during the time of the story? How much time would Harry have had to get medical treatment in order to have lived?

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