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Contradictory landscapes
Harry associates heights, such as mountains, with purity, divinity, creativity, and achievement. In contrast, he associates valleys and plains with sickness, evil, death, and meagerness. The peak of Kilimanjaro is, of course, the most obvious example of Harry’s preoccupation with high places. The beginning lines of the story note that the summit of the mountain is named “the House of God,” and that it is a place of blinding cleanliness, covered in pure white snow. Harry also has positive associations with other high places. For example, one of his happiest memories is skiing down a mountain in the Alps on Christmas Day. Again, the white snow on this mountain signals the purity and divinity of the moment. Additionally, when Harry lives in Paris, his favorite place and one of the happiest times of his life, he rents a room on the top floor of an apartment building, where he has a sweeping view of the neighborhood’s rooftops.
Juxtaposing these divine high places are the African plains, where Harry waits to die from gangrene. The heat of the plains exacerbates the stench of his wound, and vultures sit nearby, smelling his impending death. Harry’s wife Helen, whom he blames for the decline of his talent, hails from Palm Beach, Florida, a place well-known for its hot, oppressive climate. That Helen is associated with heat puts her in direct contradiction with the cold, clean, snow-covered mountains that symbolize purity. Additionally, juxtaposing landscapes make an appearance in Harry’s story about the ranch. On the mountain, the boy who killed the thief to protect the crops sees himself as a righteous protector, doing his duty to defend the ranch. However, when Harry brings the boy down the mountain and into the valley, where the closest town is located, the boy is arrested for murder.
Class
For Harry, anything associated with wealth and comfort is synonymous with creative stagnation, the decay of the soul, and literal or figurative death. On the other hand, anything associated with the working class, hardship, and simplicity is synonymous with creative stimulation, physical strength, and freedom. Helen is the ultimate symbol of the upper class, and when Harry is around her, he always feels that death is nearby, signaling the rot at the heart of his and Helen’s luxurious lifestyle. Although she is a kind individual, Helen represents the greater problems of materialism, laziness, and discontent, as this is what she and her money bring to Harry’s life. Additionally, Harry also notes that his friend Julian once believed the wealthy were a special, perfect race of people. When Julian discovered that this was not the case, he was emotionally wrecked. Thus, Harry associates wealth with not only having ruined his talent but also having ruined his friend’s naive but hopeful worldview. Wealth and wealthy people are a constant disappointment.
Meanwhile, Harry was at his happiest and most prolific when he lived in a rough, poverty-stricken neighborhood in Paris. He was inspired by the people he met there, although they were sometimes violent and crude. Additionally, while Harry no doubt witnessed many horrors during World War I, his memories over the course of the war are filled with a sense of freedom and vivacity. The traumatic moments were momentous and deeply meaningful, and the happy moments were often associated with the simplicity of nature or genuine connection with male friends and beloved female partners. Harry was much more content and whole when he lived a difficult but stimulating life. In contrast, his life of comfort and luxury with Helen is easy but bad for his soul. Harry can no longer write when he’s wealthy because he has lost the vitality and spirit he once had as a working-class man and soldier.
