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“The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber. (1048 Words) First Draft
Bravery, courageousness and fearlessness all are words that can be used to describe someone who is manly or masculine. None of these words are can be used when talking about Francis Macomber. Rich and successful, Macomber never needed to prove his masculinity to nobody. Even though undefined, in the short story “The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber” Masculinity is the main theme developed through the uses of imagery, symbolism and irony. At the beginning of their African Safari Hunt, Francis Macomber struggles to deal with his fear of death, while his wife takes part in adulterous activities with the leader of the hunt, Robert Wilson. Wilson is everything that Macomber is not. Brave and courageous, Wilson is desired by Margot for possessing all of the masculine qualities, and even her marriage to Macomber does not stop her from getting what she wants. Francis Macomber must overcome his fears and reach the epitome of his masculinity if he hopes to return from this African Safari with his wife, and most importantly his own life.
Francis and Margot Macomber are anything but alike. Early on it is clear that they are held together, not by their feelings for one another, but because of the social status Francis holds back in America. Hoping to re-spark their marriage, the couple embarks on an African safari-hunting trip with professional guide, Robert Wilson. Their plan has the exact opposite effect when Francis Macomber cowardly flees from a lion mid-hunt. Embarrassed at her husbands actions, Margot begins an affair with Wilson, the more masculine of the two men. When hunting for buffalo the next day, Francis Macomber becomes enraged when Margot kisses Wilson i...
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...e story. Once again using whiskey as a symbol to manhood, Macomber enjoys the strong spirit out of celebration of his newfound masculinity and happiness. Francis Macomber’s happiness is short lived when his wife ironically shoots him down, right after he explains his newfound joy to Wilson:
You know, I don't think I'd ever be afraid of anything again, Macomber said to Wilson. Something happened in me after we first saw the buff and started after him. Like a
Dam bursting. It was pure excitement. (p. 38, Hemingway) Clearly this quote states that no longer did Macomber fear death. Macomber develops from someone who is a coward in the eyes of his wife Margot, into someone who has reached the epitome of their masculinity.
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest. "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." 1936. The First Forty Nine Stories. London: Cape, 1946. 9-43. PDF File.
To begin, I will discuss some of Mac’s masculine qualities and traits he exhibits throughout the movie. Mac, played by Seth Rogen, is
2.Flora, Joseph M. Ernest Hemingway: A Study of the Short Fiction. G.K. Hall & Co., 1989.
From the beginning, Robert Cohn’s name defines himself－he is essentially a conehead in a society where concealing insecurities and projecting masculinity is paramount. Although he tries in vain to act stereotypically male, Cohn’s submissive attitude and romantic beliefs ultimately do little to cover up the pitiful truth; he is nothing more than a degenerate shadow of masculinity, doomed for isolation by society. In the incriminating eyes of people around him, Cohn is a picture-perfect representation of a failure as a man. Through Cohn, Hemingway delineates not only the complications of attaining virility, but also the reveal of another “lost” generation within the Lost Generation: those living without masculinity and the consequences they thus face.
...k of whiskey, a pack of lewd playing cards and condoms and Joy-Hulga discovers that Manley is not the slow, country bumpkin as perceived by everyone within the community (183).
In most of the world's greatest literature, there have been introduced countless courageous characters and triumphant victories. These characters have the power to father strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. Such characters as Janie from Their Eyes Were Watching God, Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, June from The Joy Luck Club, and Edna from The Awakening. Throughout each of these magnificent stories comes an example of bravery and courage. Although in some cases, the characters may not generally be perceived by the public to be courageous at all, they demonstrate extreme strength in overcoming adversity.
...Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.’” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 211-18. 27 vols. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Oct. 2009.
In the story, chronologically, Francis, Margot, and Wilson are hunting a lion they heard coughing and growling a mile or so outside of their camp. They drive to meet the lion, and from about 100 yards away, Francis shoots, hitting the lion in the flank and wounding it. The lion runs, and the trio continues to pursue it. Although warned, Francis is still surprised by the lions last-ditch attempted rush, and flees the scene of the kill. Ashamed by her husbands cowardice, Margot flirts, seduces and finally sleeps with Wilson, their guide.
In The Maltese Falcon, men are generally depicted as strong and highly skilled. The book is centered on a male character who earns his position as a hero by his fighting...
I recently read Earnest Hemingway's "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." This is a story about a thirty-five year old man, Francis Macomber who is on an African safari hunt with his wife, Margot. Led by his guide, Robert Wilson, Macomber tries to display his manhood by killing dangerous creatures. This in fact has the exact opposite effect when he humiliates himself by running from a wounded lion. Samuel Shaw stated in Earnest Hemingway, "…this is about much more than a hunting yarn, although it is that, too. It is a story that examines that elemental bases of the male-female relationship and the sources of human freedom and dependence" (82). The situation is complicated when Margot sleeps with Wilson and Macomber knows about it. Macomber has another chance to prove himself when they go into an island of trees to shoot a wounded buffalo. This time he stands his ground and shoots repeatedly as the buffalo charges forward. Seeing the whole situation from the car Margot shoots at the last instant, and in a brilliant ending by Hemmingway, misses and hits Macomber right in the back of the head, leaving the reader to wonder, "Did she mean to hit him?" Prevalent in this story is Hemmingway's use of the literary conventions conflict and ambiguity.
In The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume II. Edited by Paul Lauter et al. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991: 1208-1209. Hemingway, Ernest. A.
Francis Macomber is a thirty-five years old man, on an African safari. He is also there with his wife he is feminine as well as a coward. Macomber is considered a coward because when faced with his first lion, he bolted and fled, increasing hatred from his wife. She has been disapproving of him for a while. She is basically a snake in the grass and cheats on Macomber. Macomber decides to have a brave moment in his life for a chance and in the process, is killed. Gender roles and masculinity played a major part in the story; whether, it was Margot or Frances Macomber, and even more.
Hemingway, Ernest. "To Maxwell Perkins." 16 Nov. 1933. Ernest Hemingway/Selected Letters, 1917-1961. Ed. Carlos Baker. New York: Charles Scribner?s Sons, 1981. 400.
Throughout the 20th century there were many influential pieces of literature that would not only tell a story or teach a lesson, but also let the reader into the author’s world. Allowing the reader to view both the positives and negatives in an author. Ernest Hemingway was one of these influential authors. Suffering through most of his life due to a disturbingly scarring childhood, he expresses his intense mental and emotional insecurities through subtle metaphors that bluntly show problems with commitment to women and proving his masculinity to others.
...ugh, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.’ Hemingway was not big on self-analysis; he said upon receiving his Nobel Prize that "a writer should write what he has to say and not speak it." But the facts of his life are important, for Hemingway he believed that a good writer ought to draw always upon personal experience for his material. He wrecked his body in pursuit of a macho ideal. He wrecked his relationships in pursuit of… well, who knows what exactly he was after. After a lifetime of celebrating striving and stoicism, Hemingway ended his life wracked in mental and physical pain. Whatever his personal challenges, Hemingway's professional legacy is clear. American prose is different because of him, and his unique style has influenced art, film and countless other writers. We can only imagine that Papa would be proud