The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber Essay - 801 Words

Three’s a Crowd â€Å"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, â€Å"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. Macombers 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†¦show more content†¦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 i s 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, â€Å"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, â€Å"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. Finally, the conflict and the rising action of Hemingway’s story leads to the climax. This occurs when Wilson, Macomber, and his wife take their final journey into the wild. As a result of the sheer anger Macomber has for Wilson and his wife, his fear is drowned by adrenaline. Macomber instantly takes on the characteristics of Wilson as he takes out two buffalo on the journey. At this point, Wilson respects thisShow MoreRelatedThe Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber1145 Words   |  5 PagesItaly. The Cat in the Rain, Indian Camp and especially The Short Happy Life Francis Macomber represent this shift in the political climate of Italy. In his short stories Hemingway portrays knowledge as the dispersion of absolute power. The holders of power withhold knowledge to assert their power, attempt to nullify knowledge once it has been gained, and Force their way long after the strategy was applicable. In many of Hemingway’s short stories the oppressors attempts to prevent the oppressed fromRead MoreThe Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber1240 Words   |  5 Pages224 Cheryl Temple July 10, 2017 The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber: A Hemingway Hero In his novel â€Å"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber†, Ernest Hemingway portrays the conflict of how Americans consider normal aspects of admirable and heroic behavior. Francis Macomber, a wealthy American citizen goes on a visit the safari for an adventurous hunt. Francis wants to learn how to hunt and prove to himself that he can be a heroic male. 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Both stories have a lead female character who is very vulnerable and counts on the other men in the story. Hemingway portrays women as dependant on the men in his short stories. The women in his stories rely on their husbands, have affairs withRead MoreThe Killers And The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber1731 Words   |  7 Pages The Killers and The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber By: Ernest Hemingway When analysing Ernest Hemingway s work in both â€Å"The Killers† and â€Å"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber† you come across many forms of literary devices that hemingway used throughout both novelas and how his application of the elements used in both stories. 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And with this distinction, we can begin to assess the characters in the eponymously titled short story of discussion in this paper: â€Å"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,† by Ernest Hemingway. Starting from the character with the least impact—or to say, the character that does the least in terms of plot (and Im speaking relatively, of course), is Robert Wilson, the â€Å"white hunter†Read MoreThe Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber2435 Words   |  10 PagesErnest Hemingway was an intricate and dedicated writer who devoted a significant portion of his life to writing multiple genres of stories. Throughout his stories, the similarities in his style and technique are easily noted and identified. Two of the short stories he wrote contain themes and motifs that specifically explain the plotline. The first story, â€Å"The Snows of Kilimanjaro,† sets its scene in the depths of a desolate area in Africa, where the main characters, Harry and his wife, decide toRead MoreThe Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber By Ernest Hemingway1296 Words   |  6 Pagesthe darker parts of their nature and the insecurities they hide within. T he short story â€Å"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber† by Ernest Hemingway depicts the struggles between people caused by their weaknesses, yet are built upon the inner workings of gender roles, and how losing their fears could have let them break away from their cycle. The story starts with the wife, Margot Macomber, trying to join the men, Francis and Wilson, in conversation but they both quickly kick her from her wants inRead More Quick Death in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber Essay1932 Words   |  8 PagesQuick Death in The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber Ernest Hemingway created a masterpiece of mystery in his story The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. The mystery does not reveal itself to the reader until the end of the story, yet it leaves a lot to the imagination. At the end of the story Margaret Macomber kills her husband by accident, in order to save him from being mauled by a large Buffalo while on a safari in Africa. The mystery is whether or not this killing was truly accidental