Robert Wilson Conflict

Without Hemingway 's use of Wilson’s inner dialogue readers wouldn’t know what his thoughts on the affair are, neither would they know about his biased and role giving ways. Despite his prior judgments of Francis, near the end of the story Wilson shows a shift in his judgment when Francis, filled with anger, chases down and kills some buffalo. He says that Francis would “Be a damn fire eater now” and that Francis had his “Fear gone like an operation.” Because Francis gains the courage to hunt the buffalo without falter, Wilson believes that he is a “real man” now. This shows the shift in Wilson’s judgment of Francis, as well as how he perceives the role that Francis should fill. He views Francis as a coward who had never truly came of age before the buffalo hunt, which shows that Wilson believes that men should be fearless and able to hunt. Without Wilson’s perspective readers wouldn’t realize the amount of shift Wilson had in his judgment, nor would they have as much insight on Wilson’s ideals and standards. By allowing the readers to view multiple perspectives, the author allows the readers to see the judgmental, self biased, and role giving side of Wilson. He shows the growth of Wilson

She brings shame and pain upon her husband by hinting to him that he was not the actual one that killed the lion. Margaret uses the lion hunt as a way to mentally bully and harm Francis as she has done in the past to show she is the one that controls their relationship.

Francis reveals his lack of self-confidence and control over the situation. ?If he had been better with women she would probably have started to worry about him getting another new, beautiful wife but she knew too much about him to worry? (Hemingway). His lack of self-confidence has given her all the power in the relationship and it was a major contributing factor in her infidelity. Later on in the story, the growth of Francis?s confidence during the buffalo hunt and Margot?s displeasure with it is the final clue in determination of the death of Francis Macomber. The buffalo hunt gives Francis a new found sense of ?happiness?. This ?new wealth? of confidence is powerful for Francis and devastating for Margot . ?Fear gone like an operation. Something else grew in its place. Main thing a man had. Made him into man. Women knew it too. No bloody fear? (Hemingway). Margot knew at this point that if Francis survives the trip, he might possess enough personal strength and finally leave her, and that is what encourages her decision to kill him. At the end of the story Wilson confirms the reader?s suspicion when he reacts to the shooting by saying to Margot, ?That was a pretty thing to do? (Hemindway). That statement reinforces the belief that Margot was indeed taking advantage of the opportunity to ensure her long-term wealth and eliminate the possibility of being

In the short story “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” Francis is portrayed as a coward. His wife uses this to her advantage. She cheats on him and openly admits it only because she knew that he would not leave her because he was not good with women. The only reason she was with him was his money, which makes it that much easier to convince people that she purposely murdered him at the end of the story. Macomber’s newfound confidence made Margot nervous and agitated.

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

Wilson’s judgmental, self-virtuous nature is displayed when he converses with Francis over proceeding to kill the wounded lion. On page 12, Wilson says, “You don’t have to go in, of course,” he said. “that’s what I’m hired for, you know.” As Wilson speaks with Francis over killing the lion, his statement verifies that he retains a judgmental persona. By saying “You don’t have to go in, of course,” it is apparent that Wilson views Francis as very childish and cowardly. It also reveals that Wilson is prone to judging people based on first impressions.Although Wilson’s character has been primarily described as hyper-critical and condemnatory, there is certain evidence which expresses unseen compassionate emotions toward Francis Macomber. Following Francis’ death, Robert expresses a positive sentiment to Margaret regarding Francis. On page 26, Wilson says, “I was a little angry. I’d begun to like your

The irony of Wilson’s concern is neither revealed nor obvious until after the “accidental” death of Francis. Only after he cheats with Margaret does Wilson express his opinion that women are an inconvenience and his concern for his well-being. In doing this, he displays his lack of empathy toward Francis, and he also attempts to distort the cause for Francis’ possible actions as being caused by women on safari rather than his own selfish actions. In essence, the fact that Francis is killed once he has overcome his apprehension towards death while Wilson is just beginning to worry about his safety is extremely ironic and cruel.

By Hemingway starting in media res in his story The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber was a tactic to keep the audience interested and to hide the sexual tension between Margot and Robert increasing the audience's interest to see what would happen between the two to create conspiracies if Margot killed Francis on purpose or on accident. Hemingway found a way to keep the readers interested and fully alert by pacing the story to keep the audience absorbed in the storyline of this short story. Margot and Wilson always had an interesting relationships since the beginning of the story. Margot made it clear from the very beginning on how she felt about him since she is a very persistent person she would not stop until she had gotten

Joyful Toward the ends of the story, Francis and Wiloson went from enemies to friends. “Wilson looked at him appraisingly.” - Narrator -Explain Wilson started to like Francis during their hunt with the buffalo; especially after Francis stopped to be scared and became more fearful. Hemmingway changes the perspective Wilson has toward Francis. Conclude- Wilson throughout the story, has changes in his character and mood swings.

With the perspective of Margaret's that Hemingway has set as her gives the readers away to see her thoughts about Wilson’s outlook. In the final pages of the story, as Margaret is scared of something, readers see Margaret's perspective of Macomber take a major

In addition to the conflict in the story, there are scenes of rising action. One example of rising action occurs when Wilson and Macomber return to the wild to hunt for a lion once again. Macomber is able to get a shot off but only able to wound the lion before it runs away. As Wilson and Macomber search for the wounded lion to finish it off, he inevitably runs away frightened for a second time. Hemingway writes Macomber, “was running; running wildly, in panic in the open, running toward the stream.” As a result of this instance, Macomber’s wife takes a thriving interest in Wilson. Hemingway writes, “Once he had reached over to take his wife’s hand . . . she had removed her hand from his . . . his wife had reached forward and put her hand on Wilson’s shoulder . . . and kissed him on the mouth.” Later, Macomber’s wife sleeps with Wilson, which will completely change Macomber’s persona for the rest of the story. Macomber is so overcome with anger, his character quickly changes from cowardly to courageous.

Margot seemed distraught in the story and said “I wish it hadn’t happened. Oh, I wish it hadn’t happened” (2). She went to her tent and appeared to be crying because her shoulders were shaking. Francis’ cowardice makes him less of a man in Margaret’s eyes than he already was, putting an even bigger strain on their marriage and opening the door to infidelity with Wilson who is painted as a strong male character throughout the story. Wilson thinks to himself in the story “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” (12). Hemingway uses this line to display the idea that a man can’t control his own urges and he has to keep his wife in check with his own actions. Wilson takes no responsibility for the infidelity and blames it all on Francis’ cowardice. If Francis had shown courage in this moment it could have reignited the passion in Francis and Margaret’s marriage rather than put an unnecessary strain on it further complicating their dichotomy. He should have been the brave man his wife needed to see providing for her so she could feel some sense of passion with him.

The characters in Hemingway’s stories reveal much about how he feels about men and the role they should play in society. Most of Hemingway’s male characters can be split into one of two groups. The first of which is the “Code” Hero. This is the tough, macho guy who chooses to live his life by following a “code of

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.

Fear tends to become part of who we are, you can let it bring you down or you can overcome it, but it will always have a significant role that will influence how your life unwraps. According to the dictionary, fear is “a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagines” On “The Short Life of Francis Macomber”, Francis Macomber’s decisions of going hunting, running away from the lion and confronting the buffalo are all driven by fear. He is conflicted by the attitude of his wife towards him, and is constantly trying to prove himself as a real man to her. Throughout the story, you can identify little moments where Francis’ manhood is threaten, and his fear to be perceived as a coward is the force that moves him.