The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber free essay sample

Characteristic of most of Ernest Hemingway’s works, â€Å"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber† begins with a man and a woman seemingly happily in love but ends with that very love turning on itself and resulting in tragedy. The events leading up to their downfall tell a story of a lack of consistency, and a person’s true character being shown. The main themes of this story are courage and cowardice which are shown through all three characters: Francis, Wilson, and Margot. Francis Macomber begins his immediate decent when he embodies the theme of cowardice in the beginning of the story. When he encountered a wounded lion, he ran in fear and had to be saved by Wilson, the tour guide. This one decision cost Francis everything. The first consequence of his cowardly actions was the reaction that his wife had. Margot had lost all sense of protection from her husband when she had watched her husband run in fear. We will write a custom essay sample on The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She even expressed her discontent with his actions almost to a point of mockery. Margot was quick to point out all of Macomber’s flaws and mistakes and to raise up Wilson, who was appearing more attractive and appealing to her by the second. But Francis, being a kind and gentle man, did not react in anger. Instead he began his plot to win back his wife’s affection. While most men would probably go after the other man which their wife had transferred her attention towards, Francis was from thence forward looking for ways to regain his sense of manhood in his beloved wife’s eyes. One day when the three were out on their safari, Francis spotted his chance when he ran across some buffalo. Without hesitation, Francis shot and killed two buffalo. There was also a third buffalo that he had shot and appeared to be dead but was only severely wounded. Francis had shown bravery but was no match for the wounded buffalo that had begun to charge towards him. Wilson, once again, stepped in to save the day but unfortunately, Francis would die in his act of courage and valor. Richard Wilson is exactly what you would consider a safari tour guide to the rich to be like- experienced, fearless, and a little pompous. Although perceived as an outright act of valor, Margot may have forgotten that what Wilson had done was in a way a part of his job title. Wilson was responsible, to some extent, for the people whom he accompanied on safaris. After all, when a safari guide for the rich, it is most likely not uncommon for Richard to run into some couples that knew nothing of what they were getting themselves into but were merely spending their vast amounts of money into something adventurous. In other words, Wilson was probably more than used to be a babysitter for the adventurous wealthy. But on the other hand, Richard Wilson’s courage is not to be demeaned. Being a safari guide alone requires an amount of courage that most individuals do not possess. Richard exhibited his cowardice with the way that he allowed Margot to act towards him. Once again, Richard Wilson is not on vacation, this is his occupation. By allowing Margot to kiss him in the car and continue to talk more than kindly about him to and in front of her husband, he was being very unprofessional. Any real man would have had the courage to stand up to the woman that he had just met and tell her that he could not allow her to act in such a promiscuous way towards him. Probably the most cowardice of any of the main characters, Margot’s actions showed very little courage. Marriage is a commitment which is often misunderstood or ignored by most of the individuals who have joined in the vow. When a woman says ‘I do’ to a man, she is in essence promising that man that no matter what she is his and his only, forever. She is promising a certain level of obedience to him and the utmost of respect. In this story, Margot, if she really meant her vows, threw them out the window quicker than Francis ever had time to plead his case. Not only did Margot make her husband out to be the most disgusting of men for running away, she starting chasing after another man in front of her husband. But her cowardly spirit did not end there. When Francis was trying to win back her affections by killing the buffalo, his life was cut short by a bullet that left a gun his wife was holding. Ending another human’s life for your own personal agenda is the most selfish, cowardly act that an individual could commit. Francis Macomber may have had a moment of weakness and fear when he came face to face with a lion but through his self control and his later actions, he showed much more courage than Richard Wilson and Margot put together. Francis had every right to act out and to be typical and take his anger out on Wilson, but he didn’t. Macomber died a noble man who only wanted the love of his wife restored to him. When an individual’s life is taken into consideration, it is not how they began that matters but how they finished.