The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Ernest Hemingway Essay

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

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

Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 and various other short stories once said, "Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations," and his observation is a perfect analysis of the importance of characters in fiction. The actions of characters in stories are what guide the most beloved ones. When a story is beloved it is most often driven by love of the characters, but the real question is why do readers love and relate to fictional beings. The types of characters that are most loved in fiction have roots in reality, and traits that make them more relatable to the reader.

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.

Wilson then couldn’t believe Francis approached him to ask if he was going to mention the situation with anyone from the Mathaiga Club. In Wilson’s internal dialogue, he felt shocked from Francis approach and felt as if Francis was an even more coward along with being an unexpected American. Hemingway uses Wilson’s inner thoughts on Francis as a perspective to express his judgment towards others. Later, Wilson began to connect in some type of way with Francis through their discussion on strategies for catching the lion.Wilson goes on to discuss how inaccurate it is to leave a wounded lion out in the wild for the safety of others that may be roaming. Through the dialogue between him and Francis, Wilson goes into explanation on how Francis ideas won’t work for various reasons. The discussion demonstrates the interest Francis has on the structure of hunting a lion and the connection they begin to develop. The dialogue written by Hemingway allows the reader see Wilson’s judgment about Francis slowly fading as Francis is now attracted to the technique and strategy on

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 only weak moment the reader witnesses is when he learns that Myrtle has been killed. Nick records his reaction: "In a little while I heard a low husky sob, and saw that the tears were overflowing his face. `The God damned coward!′ he whimpered. `He didn′t even stop his car.′ " (Fitzgerald 148)

The period between World War I and World War II was a very turbulent time in America. Ernest Hemingway most represented this period with his unrestrained lifestyle. This lifestyle brought him many successes, but it eventually destroyed him in the end. His stories are read in classrooms across America, but his semi-autobiographical writings are horrible role models for the students who read them. Hemingway’s lifestyle greatly influenced his writings in many ways.

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.

In Hemingway’s short story, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, we begin with the married couple, Franics and Margaret Macomber, on a safari in Africa with a man named Robert Wilson. Francis is shown to be a coward when he shoots his first lion twice, but is too afraid to finish it off even though it may be suffering. Margaret is very displeased with her husband’s cowardice and shows her contempt by berating him profusely. Francis is awoken from his sleep late at night after a bad dream to find his wife, Margaret, is gone. When she returns to the tent she claims she was out getting “a breath of air” but Francis knew she had just slept with Robert Wilson. Francis

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.

Ernest Hemingway’s “Fathers and Sons” is the final Nicholas Adams story. “Fathers and Sons” depicts a middle-aged Nick Adams reminiscing while driving with his sleeping son, Nickie Jr., to a hunting trip. The story accounts the relationship between three generations of men, Dr. Henry Adams, Nicholas Adams, and Nicholas Adams, Jr. As Nick drives through the countryside, he ponders his calm surroundings and his mind floats to thoughts of his father.

Hemingway views men and women almost equal in their share of power. In the story Hills Like White Elephants ultimately she has the power because she is the one who is pregnant and must make the choice whether to have an abortion or not. But the man has power over her because she doesn’t want him to leave her. During their conversation she directly asks him “And if I do it you’ll be happy and things will be like they were and you’ll love me?” This question shows the roll and power that he has over her. In the story The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber Macomber starts off as a weak, cowardly man who relies on his wife, while she is a strong person but is afraid of being left. A commonality between these two stories is the women gives the

credibility of the safari guide, Robert Wilson. He gives the reader an outside perspective of the relationship between Francis and Margot, but it is whether or not his presumptions are accurate that deems him credible or not. When Margot tries to downplay the killing of the buffalos by saying, "You're both talking rot...Just because you've chased some helpless animals in a motor car, you talk like heroes, " Wilson thinks to himself, "She's worried about it already." It is obvious that Wilson accurately interprets the state of the relationship between Francis and Margot because he sees the way that Margot controls her husband. The clear understanding of the relationship that Wilson shows throughout the story proves that he is indeed credible.

Confined by heartache and jealousy, Myrtle Wilson guiltily experiences anguish from her passionate love for Tom Buchanan. It is evident that her marriage with George Wilson is undesirable from her conversation with Mrs. Mckee, “‘I married him because I thought he was a gentleman,’ she said finally. ‘I thought he knew something about breeding but he wasn’t fit to lick my shoe’…