ipl-logo

Ernest Hemingway And The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber

506 Words3 Pages

Ernest Hemingway was one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century. Endemic to his writing is the concept of the “Hemingway Hero,” a rugged individual exemplifying Hemingway's ideals of masculinity, self reliance, and fearlessness. The stories, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” and The Old Man and the Sea demonstrate the development of Hemingway’s hero character construct.
In “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” Robert Wilson is the personification of Hemingway's hero character construct. Wilson exhibits all of the traits associated with Hemingway hero, as a tough, masculine big game hunter. Wilson is described as a fearless, emotionally stoic individual who attempts to live life to its fullest by fulfilling his physical desires, even if that means sleeping with his clients’ wives. When he is confronted with difficulty Wilson remains composed, even when facing a charging lion (Hemingway, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” 27) However, while Wilson …show more content…

Santiago, the story’s namesake, is an old fisherman feeling the effects of his age. However, Santiago still embodies the Hemingway code hero. Santiago understands that he is not as young as he once was, but he does all what he can to avoid death. Hemingway writes that Santiago “drank a cup of shark liver oil each day from the big drum in the shack where many of the fishermen kept their gear … Most fishermen hated the taste. But it was no worse than getting up at the hours that they rose and it was very good against all colds and grippes and it was good for the eyes” (Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea 9). Santiago also acts courageous under pressure, fighting off the sharks that come to feed on his catch, and never gives up despite suffering from bad luck. Throughout the story, Santiago shows no signs of self doubt or pessimism, instead continuing to stand his ground in the face of

Show More
Related
769 Words | 4 Pages

She saw how he began to take control of himself and the regaining of his confidence. When the gun bearer came back after falling from the car to tell Wilson the buffalo was still alive, Margaret took the opportunity to regain her edge by saying this after Wilson told her. "Then it's going to be just like the lion," said Margot, full of anticipation.” (Hemingway p.14 para.3) She anticipated that the buffalo will make Francis look like a coward again, so she could regain her power to control him again.

Read More
1630 Words | 7 Pages

In Hemingway’s short story, “The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber” Hemingway uses the writer’s craft of perspective to develop the characterization of the three protagonists. Wilson, Margaret, and Macomber’s characterization is developed through multiple perspectives which creates a negative tone throughout the story. As the short story goes on, Mr. WIlson’s judgement of Francis Macomber is one of dislike, to then one of condemning, and finally, to one of liking. To demonstrate, Wilson’s first thoughts on Macomber are expressed here, “So he’s a bloody four-letter man as well as a bloody coward, he thought.

Read More
1246 Words | 5 Pages

In the short story, “Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” written by Ernest Hemingway, the reader can infer three different characterizations developed on a single character through various perspectives of other characters. The characterizations of shame, cowardice, and confidence are developed throughout the story on the character of Francis Macomber. A characteristic that is developed on Francis is the aspect of shamefulness. The shame that is brought upon him is shown through his choices and the reactions of the characters around him.

Read More
1358 Words | 6 Pages

In Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,” he uses the writer’s technique of perspective to show readers the characterization of the three main protagonists in this story. Hemingway creates a multipart claim using perspective as well as dialogue to show readers a pervasive, negative tone carried throughout the story. Wilson, Margaret, and Macomber are characterized by multiple perspectives with multiple traits and negative aspects to their characters. To start, Mr. Wilson is presented as being a very judgemental person, especially toward Mr. Macomber.

Read More
483 Words | 2 Pages

"The old man was now definitely and finally "salao" (Hemingway 9). This is how Santiago was known as because of his bad luck. Santiago's luck did not change throughout the story, in fact it got worst. The reason of why they called him "salao" it's because he was worst than an unlucky person. He was never known as a good fisherman.

Read More
170 Words | 1 Pages

​Conclusively, Hemingway utilizes the internecine nature of Santiago and the marlin’s relationship to convey the value of internal growth through suffering in The Old Man and the Sea. The battle that Santiago and the marlin face is mutually harmful, but not equally destructive. Although the marlin is the epitome of an ideal opponent to Santiago, it is unable to escape death completely and is overcome in the final hour. His physical wounds act as a temporary reminder of his struggle, but his emotional wounds express the significance of his hardship and form impenetrable scars that fortify his being. Without the marlin and the close battle it perpetuated, Santiago would have never known the true value of scars or been given a greater appreciation

Read More
483 Words | 2 Pages

Santiago is a man with heart for what he does. He loves to fish. He is going out and proving himself. Santiago does believe in himself but he still needs help from the others in his life. This is a novella written by Hernest Hemingway.

Read More
350 Words | 2 Pages

Ernest Hemingway first published “The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber” in a September issue of Cosmopolitan magazine in the year 1936. The story was inspired by an incident during a hunting trip where Hemingway was almost accidentally shot by his wife; he later joked about the situation and went on to write this story. The story opens with Francis Macomber, his wife Margaret, and Robert Wilson, a professional hunter, sitting at their camp preparing lunch in the African Jungle. As they sit for some drinks the topic of that morning’s hunt comes up, turning the conversation rather awkward for the three. While hunting a lion, Francis got to scared, panicked and ran away.

Read More
450 Words | 2 Pages

As described in the Encyclopedia of World Biography, Ernest “Hemingway now ranks among America's great writers. His critical stature rests solidly upon a small body of exceptional writing, distinguished for its stylistic purity, emotional veracity, moral integrity, and dramatic intensity of vision”( 274, vol.2). In fact, within a remarkable feat of dialogue-driven narrative prose, Ernest Hemingway rewarded the 1930s with an outstanding masterpiece : “The Short and Happy Life of Francis Macomber”. This short story that took place in Africa, merges within a myriad of themes; it interconnects between dishonesty, courage, cowardice, guilt and even self-betrayal.

Read More
761 Words | 4 Pages

Ernest Hemingway is commonly known for his description of war-torn veterans, especially those affected by World War I. This war caused a great break in values and expectations in the “lost generation” who went through it, perpetually ruining the rest of their lives. As well as his depiction of war, Hemingway is equally known for his creation of the Hemingway Code Hero. Hemingway describes a Code Hero depicting him as a These Code Heroes usually have been wounded or have gone through traumatic events and are continuously struggling to overcome their troubles. They are largely dissatisfied with their lives constantly seeking to find true meaning in life and tend to be disloyal to a large cause, but rather loyal to a small group of people or a relatively small idea.

Read More
1040 Words | 5 Pages

​“The World breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” Ernest Miller Hemingway, one of the most influential writers of the 20th Century, revolutionized the idea of what an American author was, and his works incited a dramatic impact on 20th century fiction. What is unique about his writings is that they tended to be very brief and expressed his ideas in a remarkably clear and direct way to readers. His distinctive writing style has brought him into the sight of many Americans and even won him the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954. Throughout his lifetime, his professional pursuits were not limited only to being a writer but also included volunteering to join World War I and serving as an ambulance driver for the

Read More
1662 Words | 7 Pages

Ernest Hemingway’s short stories exhibit a simple, but powerful writing style. This allows the author to have a clear message for the readers to discern. One could say that Hemingway is a master of dialogue and understatement. It was clear that every adjective that Hemingway used to describe each character was chosen carefully. Although the majority of his short stories were fictional, there was no fluff.

Read More
709 Words | 3 Pages

Santiago does the typical Hemingway Code Hero action, which is to take action, and move on with your life, to not be over-emotional about such affairs. Next, it is showed that Santiago has gone Salao, the worst and rarest form of being unlucky. Santiago has not caught a fish for eighty-four days and has not made any money. He has been living off old rice and beans, while using the newspaper as a pillow. Impoverished, he does not seem to be affected, instead, he does the opposite of what would be expected, and tries the hardest he ever has in order to catch a fish.

Read More
157 Words | 1 Pages

"A man can be destroyed but not defeated. ”(Santiago). Along the story Santiago was facing the fact that he had been running out of luck and was depending now on his skill and endurance. He is a queer old man, for he portrays courage, endurance and friendship throughout the story unlike many people around his age. Ernest Hemingway’s main characters always show this type of dignity and endurance when facing problems in an exemplar way, this he called the Hemingway Code.

Read More
840 Words | 4 Pages

Hemingway presents the elements of failure and suffering in The Old Man and the Sea by depicting several instances of suffering and failure which the Old Man, Santiago, has to go through throughout the course of the novel. According to Hemingway, life is just one big struggle. In the beginning of the novel itself, The Old Man, is presented as a somewhat frail old man who is still struggling with his life as well as his past failures. His skiff even had a sail which bore great resemblance to “the flag of permanent defeat”, with its multiple patches all over.

Read More

More about Ernest Hemingway And The Short Happy Life Of Francis Macomber

Related Topics

Open Document