Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Gabriella Chavez

English 201

           

In the story “ The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber” Ernest Hemingway wrote about 3 characters who are in the African safaris who like to hunt. Macomber is married and his wife is with him but usually never goes camping with them, Wilson another character is a friend of Macomber that is a known for being a great hunter. There are many problems within the characters especially between Macomber and his wife, Margaret.

Macomber is very insecure with the way he hunts it is noticeable because he always ask Wilson for advice on how to shoot an animal. He has “insecure sense of self” because when he is around Wilson he acts very different and acts brave. He does not feel very good about himself so when he is around Wilson who is very confident with what he does.

Macomber also has low self-esteem because when his wife goes in the next room with Wilson he worries and feels bad about himself. He in a way competes with Wilson when they hunt together and does things he would not do if he were not with Wilson. He gains some sort of self-esteem after he kills the buffalo and wants to kill more; he gets some sort of adrenaline rush. In the end you can realize he still has no self-esteem.

Macomber was also is in denial with his wife, he believe she will never leave him because he has money. In the middle of the night when caught her sneaking back in he didn’t believe she was ever going to leave, even after she said she would leave. Macomber has a tragic death in the end that was due to his wife shooting him by mistake, but maybe she just wanted to get rid of him. That could have been stopped if he wasn’t in such denial.