Mighty Mountains

Here is an writing legend in the literature world. Ernest Hemmingway has left a mark on everyone. Nobody can escape him at all. He has written many short stories in his day. He just has a certain style to him. The Snows of Kilimanjaro has italics in them. Why? They are there to kind of describe what is going on. It is just some background to everything. The first set describes the mountain itself. It says, “Kilimanjaro is a snow covered mountain 19,710 feet high, and is said to be the highest mountain in Africa. Its western summit is called the Masai ‘Ngaje Ngai,’ the House of God. Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.” (Pg. 1983) It is all just simple information on the mountain itself. Nothing more, nothing less. The rest of the italics explain about Harry whole journey about him climbing Kilimanjaro. The italics are good for me, because I have a short attention span. Summarizing is good for me. As long as it is not overkill and takes away from the story, I am fine with it. Hemmingway pulled it all off rather neatly. It is a shame that he is dead now.