欧内斯特·海明威在其几篇短篇小说中,将一种或几种动物作为象征,并围绕其展开故事。作为象征,动物或者展现了小说主人公的心理状态与情感上的渴求,使读者能透视主人公的内心深处,或者暗示着小说中的主要意象。 这一点在小说《乞力马扎罗山上的雪》中得到最好的体现。在这篇小说中,海明威先是将“豹子”用来象征主人公哈利的理想自我。虽然“豹子”这个心理象征只在小说篇首语中出现,但是它在整个故事中的作用却是举足轻重的。在篇首,读者被告知这么一个传奇──有一只豹子死在靠近乞力扎罗山的西部山顶的地方,死在试图寻求到达巅峰,获得不朽与永生的过程中。在读者看来,“豹子”无疑象征着优雅、速度、力量、勇气与尊严,它常以闪电般的速度精确勇猛地扑向猎 Ernest Hemingway in his few short stories, one or several animals as a symbol, and around the story. As a symbol, the animal either shows the psychological state and emotional craving of the protagonist so that the reader can see the hero’s heart, or imply the main image in the novel. This is best illustrated in the novel “Snow on Mount Kilimanjaro.” In this novel, Hemingway used the “Leopard” first to symbolize the protagonist Harry’s ideal self. Although the psychological symbol of “Leopard” only appears in the fiction, it plays a decisive role in the whole story. At the beginning of the essay, the reader was told the legend that a leopard had died near the western summit near Mt. Kilimanjaro and died in an attempt to seek the pinnacle of attaining immortality and eternal life. In the reader’s eyes, “Leopard” undoubtedly symbolizes elegance, speed, strength, courage and dignity, and it often pounces fiercely and humanely at lightning speed