The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber

Margot Macomber as the Hemingway Code Hero in “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”

Set on an African Safari in the early 1900s, Ernest Hemingway’s “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” tells the story of a young man and wife, Francis and Margot Macomber, and their English guide, Robert Wilson, on a hunting trip gone awry. This essay will show how Hemingway’s character tied into the story itself.

Explain: Wilson clarifies how Margaret is cruel, along with other women. From this, the reader can tell how Margaret isn’t the only women he has met before. Also one can interpret that Wilson has also encountered this same situation before. This contributes to her character trait because he flat out says how shes is too cruel.

Benson, Jackson, J. The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway Critical Essays. Durham: Duke University Press, 1975. Print.

Scholars and critics often use this short story as a jumping off point when exploring the development of Hemingway's approach to writing and his narrative style. The characters, Jim and Liz, are like many of Hemingway's characters in that they are disinclined to philosophize, are prone to action, learn from experience, and avoid abstract

“The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber” also contains the theme of arduous moral situations for the characters. Margot, the wife of Francis, is challenged by the temptation to have relations with their tour guide. Eventually, she commits the crime of adultery, and her husband finds out about her crime and is deeply shaken. “‘Well, why doesn’t he keep his wife where she belongs? What does he think I am, a bloody plaster saint? Let him keep her where she belongs. It’s his own fault’” (Hemingway 13). By the tone of Wilson thoughts, it is inferred that he is not able to find fault in himself and decides to blame it on the most vulnerable person, Francis. In spite of Wilson being the only man to blame for this whole incident, Margot can also take part of the blame. She appears to be a faithful and caring wife, but her actions do not justify this statement.

Women in Hemingway’s stories are portrayed to be heavily sensitive and emotional, and unable to deal with the realities of life. They do not seem to understand how life is not necessarily always going to be a picture perfect world. In “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber”, Margot Macomber is shown as a very emotional women in many circumstances, as if she is not able to deal with obstacles that life will throw at her. One instance of this is when the two men are having a discussion about killing the lion. At one point, she is making jokes and seeming perfectly fine, then the next thing she starts to cry. Her husband, Francis, and Wilson even acknowledge this as well. They describe how they “both saw

“We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” Known by many, this common phrase has few words, but a intense meaning. In Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” the overcoming of fear is shown throughout the story. Francis Macomber and his wife Margaret Macomber are on an African safari with a man name Robert Wilson. Hemingway portrays Francis Macomber as wealthy and beautiful, yet cowardly. Macomber's wife Margaret also young and beautiful, but seemingly dissatisfied with her husband of eleven years. Robert Wilson is portrayed as a fearless man that has little regard for anyone but himself. The story is focused around Francis Macomber’s cowardly actions and his attempt to become

Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” chronicles a rich American couple’s safari hunting trip. Francis Macomber, a seemingly perfect man- handsome, wealthy, and athletic- and his wife, Margot Macomber travel to Africa for a hunting trip. The story opens on an afternoon cocktail hour, after a morning of hunting. Quickly, Margot’s frustration towards her husband emerges. She is embarrassed of his cowardness, and torments him. Richard Wilson, their safari guide, listens to the argument. Wilson is brave and athletic, essentially the qualities Macomber lacks. Earlier that morning, Macomber ran away from a lion, leaving Wilson to mercy kill it. Later, in an effort to win back Margot’s admiration, Macomber successfully gunned down three buffalo. However, an injured one charges, leaving Margot to shoot the buffalo, and Macomber. Hemingway’s use of literary elements enhance and deepen the reader’s understanding of the characters. He develops their actions and motivations through a code hero, symbolism, and allusion.

Modernism has its origins in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and it is characterized by a break with traditional styles of norms and rules. Modernism experiments with literary form and expression, and it is driven by a desire to overturn traditional modes of representation, and express new topics and sensibilities of their time. In the short story, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” we hear about man versus nature, and we are being presented to the literary techniques of the modern era - for example the iceberg method. In the following I will focus on elements, such as a characterization of Margaret and Francis Macomber and Wilson, a comparison between Francis Macomber and Robert

turning a blind eye to the feelings of Mr. Wilson and only concentrating on finding a new source

In the story he plays the guide and is an experienced safari goer and hunter. He, as described, is “[...]about middle middle height with sandy hair, a stubby mustache, a very red face and extremely cold blue eyes[...]”(The Short Happy... Pg. 01) Throughout the story, Wilson is the person we most hear the thoughts of, scattered through the narrative are his opinions and comments, presented mentally, and although minor, lead to important understandings in the story. Wilson, in his experience, has probably learned to keep his own affairs private, and as well, to keep out of others. He does a commendable job of trying to help Francis forget about his blunder against the lion, and remove strain in situations involving both Mr. and Mrs. Macomber. He is a diplomat, though as the story will prove, not a very consistent one. He holds a lukewarm contempt for women, especially American women, whom he deems “cruel” (and perhaps, once we look at Margot, this is not without merit). He is socially introverted, and as so tries to keep away from the personal affairs of the Macombers, but in the end fails and sleeps with Margot Macomber after her many flirtations and a late night seduction in his tent. Wilson is strikes as a person of regret and self abasement. He seems to truly love what he does, hunting for sport, but is known, as the story tells, to break a few of the tenets of

Ernest Hemingway is known for writing novels and short stories with unresolved endings. In his short story, ?The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber?, he

For my Written Task I decided to write journal entries from Francis Macomber, one of the main characters of Ernest Hemingway’s The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber is one of the texts that we read and I found it the most appealing to use for my Written Task. The narrator of the original story is mostly Wilson, but the story is about Macomber, so I decided to write something from Macomber’s perspective. I felt a Journal would best represent Macomber’s side of the story because it would be what he thought was important. It goes day by day and is purposely split up into sections within the days. These sections are each chunks of time in which Macomber does something but has space after, and would

In the short story “The Short Life of Francis Macomber," Hemingway portrays many emotions and motivating forces behind the characters’ intentions. Ernest Hemingway experienced many historical events in his lifetime. Throughout these experiences, he endured humiliation and disappointment from wanting to join the military, but unable to due to a health condition. Hemingway also underwent a divorce four times. These experiences help influence Hemingway’s writing style, especially in “The Short Life of Francis Macomber” when he demonstrates the challenges the characters undergo throughout the short story. This story is about the experience of an American married couple who go on an adventure in Africa. This adventure focuses on the big game hunt. If Francis were to kill the lion he would enter into his manhood. When things do go as planned for Francis he faces his wife Margot who is extremely judgmental of him. She never lets him forget about how humiliating he was to her. This couple argues and manipulate each other. In Hemingway’s “The Short Life of Francis Macomber," the use of interchanging personalities of Margot Macomber’s reveal her true intentions in her marriage between her and Francis.