Tracing Cognitive Dissonance as Invisible Disability in Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

10.22059/jor.2025.402931.2735

Abstract

This present article examines Ernest Hemingway’s “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” through the critical lens of disability studies, with a specific focus on cognitive dissonance as an invisible disability. While Hemingway’s work has long been associated with themes of physical injury and hypermasculinity, this study explores how mental and psychological impairments, less visible yet equally debilitating, are embedded within the author’s minimalist narrative framework. Drawing on Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance and the foundational insights of Lennard J. Davis on disability studies, the study argues that the protagonist Harry’s internal conflict, marked by regret and self-deception, constitutes a form of psychological impairment hidden beneath the more conspicuous signs of physical decline. By juxtaposing Harry’s gangrene with his deteriorating mental state, the analysis challenges traditional binaries of mind/body and visible/invisible affliction. The article further places Harry’s cognitive dissonance within the cultural pressures of Hemingway’s masculinist ethos, suggesting that the suppression of emotional vulnerability contributes to his spiritual and artistic demise. Ultimately, it should be maintained that this reading of “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” offers a unique understanding of Harry’s identity as a disabled individual, and reveals how an examination of invisible disabilities can challenge the normative understanding of masculinity and artistic authenticity.

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References

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Research in Contemporary World Literature
Volume 31, Issue 2
June 2026
Pages 307-326

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